Page 23 of Witch Untold
I squashed the instinct to bridge the distance between us and give him a hug. These guys were loup garou, shifters of a different breed, and Necro City was their territory. Tor was an intruder. I could resolve this, but if I got Grayson’s scent all over me by hugging him, then Tor might lose his shit, and…yeah. That would be bad.
“Who’s your friend?” the dark-haired loup asked.
My pulse picked up slightly at the sound of Dean’s voice. But not for the reasons it would have a year ago. Back then, I’d loved listening to him speak. I’d almost allowed myself to love him. But things hadn’t worked out. Dean was the one who’d let me go. The one I hadn’t fought for, and now all I picked up on was the underlying snide edge to his question. It pissed me off and I was about to answer, but Tor beat me to it.
“I’m her mate.” There was a growl to his tone.
Grayson’s pale-blue husky eyes flared with comprehension. “Of course. Fee told us.”
His tone flirted with being amiable, but his body language said he was ready to whiplash into a fight.
I needed to keep things cool for the sake of the humans walking cluelessly by. They instinctively gave us a wide berth, their primal senses working for them even if they weren’t consciously aware of a threat.
I fixed a smile on my face. “Tor, this is Grayson, Fee’s mate, and Dean, his beta wolf. This is their territory.”
Tor frowned and then his body relaxed a fraction. “I apologize for the encroachment. I wasn’t aware.”
“No harm done,” Grayson said. “Dean, let the pack know we have a guest in the city.”
Dean graced me with a final lingering glance and then stepped away, phone to his ear.
“How are you, Cora?” Grayson asked.
“I’m good. You? The pack?”
“We’re good. We’ve missed you.”
My chest ached with nostalgia. “I’ve missed you too.”
Grayson looked to Tor. “You should come visit us soon.” He deliberately extended the invitation to my mate.
A year ago, I’d have considered it sexist, but I’d learned a shit load about shifters in that time. I might not be a wolf, but I was most definitely part of Tor’s pack, and Grayson was offering Tor respect by extending his invitation to me through my alpha.
Tor inclined his head. “We’d be honored.”
Both shifters relaxed, bunched shoulder muscles unknotting.
Crisis averted.
Dean rejoined us, his attention darting between Tor and me before settling on me with dark wistfulness in his eyes. “Are you okay, Cora? Really okay?”
Tor’s chest rumbled again. “You don’t get to speak to her.”
Shit? Did he know about Dean and me? Fuck, Leif must have told him. Either that or my mate was uber perceptive.
Dean bared his teeth and took a menacing step forward, but Grayson’s arm shot out to halt him.
I stepped in front of Tor instinctively, absorbing the heat of his rage through the thick fleece of my jacket. I had seconds, if that, to defuse this situation before Tor lost his shit. My mate may be a leader and strategist when it came to his pack, but when it came to me, he was fiercely territorial and protective.
Dean’s lip curled. “Afraid I’ll hurt your boyfriend?”
Anger surged like a fiery dragon in my chest; not mine, but my mate’s. Tor’s hands bracketed my waist, ready to lift me aside, but I pushed back into him, asking him for a moment, just one moment, with my body language.
“Tor’s my mate, not my boyfriend, and no, I’m not afraid for him. I’m afraid foryou. I’m afraid he’ll rip you limb from limb.”
Dean’s growl was cut off by Grayson’s whiplash demand.
“Go,” Grayson ordered. “Now.”
