Page 7 of The Wolf Guard's Mate

“Aspreadsheet?”

His knuckles clenched on the steering wheel. “It seemed like a good idea.”

“Why?”

When he didn’t answer, I tried to poke his arm again.

He snagged my hand and laced his fingers through mine, squeezing my palm lightly. “Quit it.”

“Then answer my questions.”

“There are no unmated female werewolves in the city other than Sydney, and she rarely leaves the pack’s land. Her boyfriend’s reputation is enough to protect her when she does. You don’t have that. Anyone who shows too much interest is a risk. I already failed to protect your sister; I wasn’t going to risk letting you get attacked the same way.”

“Damn. I thought you were going to say you wanted to fuck me yourself.”

He snorted. “Do you takeanythingseriously?

“Nah. I should be dead right now. I’ve had enough seriousness to get me through however long I last as a werewolf.”

“I don’t think that logic works.”

“My tits aren’t trying to kill me anymore, so I’m going with it.”

“Your cancer was in your breasts?”

“Mmhm. These ladies are fake, so prepare yourself.” I shimmied my shoulders.

He grimaced.

“If that’s a deal breaker, you can get out of my car right now. I don’t care if you’re the one who bought it,” I said firmly.

He scowled. “Your breasts are obviously not a problem. Tits are tits.”

“Then why did you make that face?” I gestured to said face.

He didn’t answer right away, so I poked him again.

He grudgingly admitted, “I was thinking it must’ve been a nightmare to go through cancer alone.”

“Oh.” I sat back in the chair, my anger suddenly gone. “Yeah. It wasn’t fun.”

“How did you do it?” He sounded like he genuinely wanted to hear my answer.

We were just supposed to be hooking up… but Hunter’s personality didn’t exactly seem casual. It didn’t surprise me that he was asking big questions, and I didn’t have a problem with it.

“I couldn’t control the cancer, but I could control my attitude. So I did. And it was still hell—but I had hope, and it kept me alive as long as it did. Now that I’m not dying, I want to really live, you know? I’m just not quite sure how. And the medical debt is intense, so that sucks.”

Hunter pulled into the hotel and parked, turning to look at me.

I flashed him a smile, and he studied me. “You’re impressive, Olive.”

“It’s the fake tits. They’re better than my real ones were.”

He shook his head, but I could tell he was fighting a smile. “Let’s go.”

He liked me more than he wanted to admit. And not just because of the tits.

two

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