Page 149 of Mate
I rise to my feet, cross the room, and walk up to him. “It wasn’t Amanda’s idea. It was mine. So if you have something against— ”
“You fucking know I do, killer.”
We’re the only two in the kitchen area, which gives an illusion of privacy. But that’s just it— an illusion. Everyone can listen in. Everyoneis. “Do you have a better plan?”
He glares. My heart flutters with fondness, and a bit of sorrow for what I’m about to do to him.
“Clearly, you don’t. This is the best way to keep the pack safe.”
“I’mnotletting you— ”
“That’s the thing, Koen. You don’t have toletme. I can do whatever I want. I could walk across the Human border right now, and you couldn’t stop me.”
His jaw tenses. “I am the Alpha of this pack.”
“You are. And everyone else in this room is going to follow your orders. But I won’t.”
Suddenly, he seems larger. Angrier. He towers over me in a new, unfamiliar way, and hisses through clenched teeth, “You are under my command. If I say that I want you here, you’ll fucking stay here. Your plan would put you in danger and out of my protection, and that’s unacceptable.”
“Koen.” I smile.
He leans forward. I should be scared. I’m justnot.
“I love you,” I say simply.
His eyes close. “You aremine. My mate. My— ”
“More importantly, you loveme. And that’s why you have no authority over me.” I reach up to caress his face with the back of my hand. Let my arm fall limp at my side, suddenly cold.
When I turn around, I meet Amanda’s eyes, and we nod at each other.
THE PLAN FALLS INTO PLACE LIKE A WELL-CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE.
The following day, Amanda and I are escorted to the territory of the easternmost huddle. Anneke, its leader, meets us under the tall trees on the riverside and welcomes me with a curious tilt of her head. “I hope you know what you got yourself into,” she tells me. When Koen and Saul get out of the front seats, she bows her head. “Alpha. I’ll take her from here.”
“Yeah. Give us a minute.”
Anneke and Amanda take a step back, and Saul feels my upper arm for the GPS tracker embedded in my flesh. “Still doesn’t hurt?”
I shake my head.
“Good. It’s a little bit reddened, but that’s for the best, since it’ll make it easier to notice for Irene. If it hurts— ”
“Shut it, Saul,” Koen grumbles. “She’s an adult Were and doesn’t need you fussing over her.”
Saul’s eyebrow perks up. “Excuse me,Alpha. I must have misheard when you threatened to chain her to the radiator to prevent her from stubbing her toe.”
“She is my mate,” Koen snarls. “Iget to treat her like she’s made of mother- of- pearl.Youdo not.”
Saul hugs me, wishes me good luck, and disappears from Koen’s sight at record speed. Then it’s just us. Across the sky, a bird of prey calls in a loud, descending pitch.
“I should have,” Koen mutters. In the sunlight, his eyes look darker than usual.
“What?”
“Chained you to my fucking radiator. I still could. I will.”
I laugh. “No, you won’t. But I’ll be all right. They don’t know I can shift again. If things get dangerous, I can always run.”
