Page 30 of The Wolf Guard's Mate

While she ate, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what Clay said.

About how I would feel if she was the one who had lied to me about my safety.

If she had…

I’d be absolutely livid.

Olive wasn’t me, but she was clearly furious about my lie. And when I looked at it like Clay did, I couldn’t blame her for that.

Maybe I deserved her anger.

After she finished eating, she padded back to the theater room and plopped down on her chair again. My wolf retook his seat too.

“You need to leave if your human isn’t going to apologize,” Olive murmured to my wolf, her eyelids sagging a little. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but it must’ve been getting late. “It’s not your fault he was a jackass, but he still was.”

I knew what it was going to take to make things right between us. She had told Nova, and I had read the messages.

It was ridiculous, but if it meant making peace with her, I’d do whatever she wanted.

Not having to hide in my office anymore would be nice.

Sharing meals would be, too.

And…

Well, fine. There were a lot of benefits to having a mate. Benefits I’d never been interested in before. But now that Olive was mine, what was the point in avoiding any of those things? Why not figure out how to make our relationship work so we could both enjoy the benefits?

Yeah, it wouldn’t be easy. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t worth it.

As soon as the wolf gave me the chance, I would fix things.

Probably.

Assuming I could figure out how to do that. I knew less than nothing about relationships.

eight

OLIVE

I was sotired of being alone after a few days on my own in the mansion that having Hunter’s wolf around was amazing. He rubbed up against my leg every chance he got, licked me randomly, and wagged his tail almost constantly. He clearly liked being around me, and I couldn’t help but scratch his head and ears frequently.

I refused to consider that my enjoyment of his presence could have anything to do with the mate bond we’d accidentally created.

I was just lonely.

That was all.

I fell asleep partway through an episode of the dramatic mystery show I was watching, and Hunter’s wolf was already snoring next to me when I did. I woke up just long enough to lean the chair back as far as it went partway through the night. My legs were tingling because of the wolf’s weight on my lap, so I pushed him off of me and snuggled up against his furry side before falling back asleep.

I wokeup with my face plastered to Hunter’s sweaty, bare chest. His erection dug into my lower belly, and one of his hands was tangled in my hair again. The other rested lightly on my ass.

If I wanted to avoid the outcome from the other morning—which I reluctantly knew was the best option—I needed to figure out a way to get away from him.

Which was easier said than done, considering how much bigger than me he was.

I eased my front away from his just a little, and froze when his grips changed.

The one on my ass dug lightly into the soft flesh, taking a handful. The one in my hair pulled, just a little.

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