Page 41 of Grey
“You guys think that Colton guy will come back again?”
“I’d say yes, there’s a chance he will strike again.” He opened the passenger door for her.
“He wants to take over the farm and push you guys out because he doesn’t have a home anymore?”
“Yeah,” he said. “He’s lazy, but also we’re shifters and there’s a certain amount of animal behavior that we can be prone to. It wouldn’t be unheard of in the natural world for a rival to take out the leader of a herd and take over. But we’re not ruled by the beasts, we control them. Colton is dangerous, and he’s proven that over and over again. But we took out his second-in-command and that’s going to cause a problem for him. They now have fewer people than we do, but of course, we’re not going around trying to kill people to take over. We just want to be left alone to live our lives.”
She let that roll around in her mind while he got behind the wheel and started the engine. Crew and Zara came out of the farmhouse and waved at them before getting into another truck. They were going to follow Grey and Tatum to the library as an escort and then head back to the farmhouse.
Grey backed out of the driveway and turned onto the road.
“Lazy and dangerous is a wild combination,” she said.
He snorted. “Yeah.”
She put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Being your mate is exciting, I’ll give you that.”
He shook his head with a laugh. “Hopefully, the rest of our life together is a lot lessexciting.”
“You know something, though?”
“What’s that?”
“I could almost feel you. It’s like when I woke up in that van, and although I didn’t know where I was or who had taken me, I could feel that you were close. Is that because we’re soulmates?”
“I would think so,” he said. “I could feel that you were in the van even though I couldn’t see you. There are some shifter groups that bite each other, and it solidifies their mating, makes it more permanent, I guess. But stallions don’t do that. You and I were mated the first time we made love, and that bond between us just gets deeper and stronger as the days go by.”
“That’s pretty cool. I guess we shouldn’t play hide and seek, huh?”
He grinned at her. “I would definitely find you.”
When they reached the library, she stayed in the car while Grey took the keys and opened the building, giving a quick look around to be sure no one was waiting to ambush them. When all was clear, he waved at Crew and Zara as they left, and she helped him carry in a couple boxes of equipment.
He started at the front door, installing a security camera that was small but powerful, so it would be finished before the libraryopened for the morning. By the time Mrs. Fielder came in, Grey was working on a camera for the back door, which was only for emergencies and was kept locked at all times.
“You’re well, dear?” Mrs. Fielder asked as she put her things on the desk and gave Tatum a hug. Pushing her to arm’s length, she hummed as she gave her a once-over.
“I’m fine. How’s your cheek?”
“It’s good. I used ice last night, and an extra glass of wine with dinner, and it’s not bothering me at all.”
Tatum grinned. “An extra glass, huh?”
“To dull the pain, of course. Plus, it’s a very good bottle.” She gave her a long, steady look. “You’re really okay? And safe?”
“I promise I’m okay and safe. Grey is setting up some extra security measures around the library that the patrons won’t even notice. I don’t think we’ll be seeing anyone try this again; Grey and his friends sent a very clear message to stay away.”
“Oh, good. That was pretty scary.”
“It was. I’m sorry you were hurt.”
“No apology needed, I’m just glad you’re fine.”
They went about their morning tasks ahead of the library opening, Tatum catching peeks at Grey as he worked. By lunchtime, he’d set up everything and they just needed to pick up the pepper gel. He’d suggested getting one for Mrs. Fielder too, which she thought was a good idea. Hopefully, they never had to use them, but she’d be ready if she did.
As they drove to the supply store, she said, “We’re still having our mating ceremony on Saturday night?”
“Absolutely, why?”
