Page 60 of Bite Me Alpha Cole

“They’re overprotective!” I call back, frustrated at him for always seeming to be on the wrong wavelength. For someone who claims to be mymate, shouldn’t hegetme more?

As I step out onto the front porch, Shayne looks up at me from her seat next to Tommy. Worry creases her forehead, but I don’t miss that his arm is stretched out behind her. Tommy’s hand is flat on the wood of the step, but his bicep and forearm brush against Shay’s back. I can’t help but smile a little.

At least Shay’s having a good night.

“Are you guys okay?” Shayne asks, looking around at the three of us as Cole comes out the front door and closes it behind him. “You all look…spooked.”

“It was weird in there,” Cole murmurs, noncommittal. Shayne turns to me, taking in my pale face, frowning and wrapping her arms around herself.

“Should we…go?” Tommy asks, looking between Shay and me.

“No, we have more to do!” Rose says, moving quickly down the front steps and starting around the house, ready to further explore this haphazard little village.

Cole looks at me as well. “What do you think?”

I scoff a little, starting after Rose. “I’m fine!” I snap. “We’re not stopping onmybehalf.”

Cole’s sigh is audible as he starts to follow me with Tommy and Shayne.

I roll my eyes at all of Cole’s stupid performative sighs – his way of letting me know that he’snothappy with something I’m doing, even if he won’t say it aloud.

Stupid. I really, really hate that we have an unspoken method of communication. That is the opposite of what I want with Cole Kincaid.

We move through the western half of the town, Rose taking dozens of photos, continuing to narrate into her little recording device. We discover a building stacked with shelves and barrels of preserved goods, a springhouse with a couple of bottles of spoiled milk, and an empty barn that smells like cows.

“So, they left the food?” Shayne asks, frowning as she steps into the barn and looks around. “But they took the animals?”

“Apples can’t walk,” Tommy mutters.

“How’d they get them out so fast?” I wonder, turning to take in the sight of the well-kept barn.

“My guess is that they had protocols in place,” Cole says, likewise looking around. “Slaken is paranoid as hell. They were prepared for our assault, even if they didn’t know it was coming. Had a front to take on the military while their civilians escaped.”

“Shay?” I ask, carefully watching as my friend approaches one of the empty cow booses. “What is it? What are you seeing?”

Cole leans towards me, likewise watching my friend. “Does Shayne…know about cows?”

“She grew up on a dairy farm,” I say, casting out a hand toward her as she looks around, a little frown on her face. “She loves the big dirty things.”

“Cows aren’t dirty, they’re beautiful,” Shay murmurs, resting her hands on the metal boose and standing on her toes to peer at the straw behind it. She looks around with interest, like there’s something interesting in the straw.

“Shayne, if you’re noticing something, we’d be grateful to know it,” Cole calls.

“They were housing the cows in here all winter,” she murmurs, still studying the straw. “It’s clean – they were well cared for – but did you see how low on milk they were in the spring house?”

The rest of us glance at each other, even Rose stopping her incessant photography to shoot Shay a baffled look.

“Yes, I noticed instantly,” Tommy says, a bit dry. “How could I miss it?”

Shayne doesn’t notice his sarcasm, turning back to us. “For the number of stalls here, there should be more milk if there are fresh calves.”

We all just continue to stare at her, clearly not at all understanding what the hell she’s talking about.

“Which means there are no calves, or very few?” she says, holding her hands out to the side and speaking slowly like it’s all incredibly obvious. “Which means…the majority of the cows are pregnant right now and they’re going to calve in the spring. Like, soon.”

“Oh,” Cole says, his eyebrows arching in surprise.

“Looks like someone else is useful,” Rose murmurs, smirking at me and turning to leave the barn.

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