Page 10 of Delivered to My Beasts
And I intended to find out what she was here for. I hated to think such things about my mate, but was she here to rob us? Take something from us? Was there some kind of pack war she wanted us to participate in? Was she a spy for another pack or sleuth?
I didn’t roll through these questions lightly either. This was my mate, but I would protect Crew and Jax at all costs.
I held my questions to myself but wouldn’t for long. I put a pot of coffee on, and while we usually did our own things for breakfast, we had a guest now.
No matter what, she was our mate. Before I judged and misinterpreted things, I would make us all a huge French toast breakfast. I pulled out the griddle as the sky lit up outside. Only a few minutes later, I heard movement in the other bedrooms and upstairs. Everyone was up and getting ready to come to the kitchen.
I set the spread out. French toast. Bacon. Fruit. A variety of toppings since I had no clue if she would eat any of them or even eat the French toast at all. We had rushed into the idea of having Imogen coming here and perhaps being our mate that we hadn’t gotten the time to know her. Sure, her food choices were trivial, but it really highlighted how little we knew about this person now sleeping in one of our bedrooms.
Not that I was scared. I’d learned over time not to be scared of very much.
But she was here and I wanted to know why.
Crew and Jax filed in. Neither said anything. They both grabbed cups of coffee and sat at the table, lost in thought as I was.
I took a deep breath as Imogen descended the stairs. I would let her eat before I started asking her things, but one way or another, this morning, I would find out the truth.
“You all are going to too much trouble,” she said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I answered. “Sit. Eat. Do you drink coffee?”
“Yes, but I can get it myself.”
“No need,” I responded, filling a cup and placing it in front of her.
Crew and Jax and I hadn’t discussed what I was about to do, but I had to find out. For me. For us.
She had her platinum hair pulled up in a bun, and she wore the same jeans as the day before but had a different shirt. A sweater that clung to her curves.
My mate was beautiful by any standard.
“Are you finished eating?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“In that case, why don’t you tell us why you’re really here, Imogen? Your scent tells a story of fear and nervousness. Youflinched at the owl, even though you’re a shifter. You are jumpy and have looked out the windows to the forest more times than I have in my five years living here. I’m sorry to be so direct but I’m a sharpshooter. Just tell us what’s going on before someone gets hurt. Not you. Not physically but us. We invited you here because you were a match and a potential mate. But I have a feeling you’re not here for that reason, and I won’t see my bond brothers get their hopes up for nothing.”
By the time I was done, I was being killed by the stares from Crew and Jax.
They could be angry all they wanted. I had to know.
She didn’t answer, just shifted in her seat.
“If someone is after you or coming for you, that puts us all in danger. All I’m asking for is the truth.”
“Yes. You’re right, Duke. You all deserve the truth. I didn’t get on the app to find a mate, well, not really. I was looking for a way not to be mated with the monster of a man my father betrothed me to.”
“Betrothed?” Crew said, leaning forward. “What kind of barbaric place are you from?”
“From the Severed Claw Pack.”
Jax’s turn to freak out. “The Severed Claw Pack? The one only hours away? The very one that started the rumor about us? That pack?”
Imogen nodded. Her cheeks flamed with redness. “My father is the alpha.”
I scrubbed my hands over my face. What in the fuck? “Walk me through it, female. How did you find us and even know we were on the app? Were we even matched? I don’t…”
She bit down on her bottom lip and despite her agenda to come here, which we didn’t even know the extent of, I wanted to bite that lip for her.
