Page 44 of Pack Kasen: Part 3
“Fuck you, man,” Emilio mutters, wrapping his arm around Joy and tucking her closer to his side.
“Adozen!” Wes whistles between his teeth. “That’s just on a Tuesday.”
It’s become a running joke among us. If Joy and Emilio aren’t arguing, they’re fucking, and they like to do both loudly. There’sa reason they have one of the farthest rooms from anyone in the bunkhouse. That’s it.
She shoots him a glare and turns back to me. “What I’m trying to say is that we have learned to make things up to each other.”
I snort. “I know, you nearly made things up to each other on my desk once.” She opens her mouth, but I shake my head. “I know what I’m doing.”
My six enforcers look at me, and none seem convinced by what I’m saying. Even Finan, my hopeful adviser, is eyeing me with a raised eyebrow.
I scowl at them and gesture to Finan. “Let’s get this meeting started.”
They’re almost daily at this point. They didn’t use to be, but we need to stay on top of patrols in case Cristofer makes his move. And watching a sixty-acre property takes teamwork and regular check-ins, so we cover all borders.
Kat was a no-show.
I told Fin to tell her about the enforcer meeting when I got back from hunting the feral after she had spent most of yesterday avoiding me.
Finan said she was spending time with her family, but the feral changed things between us again. We were getting closer. Now it’s like someone slammed the door between us.
“There’s been no sighting of Cristopher,” Finan says. “We’ve increased the patrols, and one of us has gone into town to keep an eye on things.”
“Cristofer won’t give up on Kat,” I say. “He’s around.”
“He would give up if you were to bite her and fully claim her,” Joy says.
“That isn’t happening.” Kat isn’t ready for it, and I’m not pushing her into something she doesn’t want. I’ve fucked thingsup between us enough. “We need to focus on finding Cristofer and tearing out his throat.”
“But Kat will always be at risk of?—”
“I said no,” I snap at Joy.
Everyone sits back in their seats.
Guilt forms in my gut. My pack is trying to protect Kat. If I bite her, Cristofer will have less of a reason to grab her. They want to keep my mate safe. That is not a snarling or snapping offense.
“She’s not ready for that,” I tell Joy in a softer voice. “Things between us are getting better, but what she needs is time. I want to give her that.”
“Then we’ll keep her safe.” Emilio wraps his arm around his mate’s shoulder. “Until she is ready.”
If she’s ever ready.
“Anything else happen on your patrols?” I ask, raking my eyes over them.
We spend the next several minutes focused on the patrols.
“Can I talk to you?” Silas asks as we wind up our meeting fifteen minutes later.
“What about?” I’d hoped to go looking for Kat and talk to her, or at least eat a meal with her, but Silas has been wanting to talk to me for a while now. I can’t brush him off again.
He waits for everyone else to leave. “Just something.”
The moment Finan pulls the door closed behind him, the last to leave, Silas sits up in his seat.
“I want to know if you have a problem with my being with Marisa.”
I blink at him. “Marisa? Your childhood friend and my former lover, Marisa?”
