Page 28 of The Return
“Afraid not. We’ll be living in the pack house. That gives our people easier access to us, while allowing our security detail better control over who enters the place.”
Corey’s cheeks flamed. “No. Not just no, butfuckno. That place is over an hour from town! I am not about to get up at two to get into work by four so I can open for six. I don’t get a lot of sleep as it is, so no way in hell am I losing that extra hour. Plus, I don’t usually leave work until five or six. That means I wouldn’t get back until at least seven, which means it’ll be time for bed already.”
“You can nap in the car,” Matt offered.
Corey didn’t reply, just sneered at me.
“Then you will have to decide which is more important to you,” Kinsey said, his tone clipped and annoyed. “As Alpha Mate, your responsibility is to your pack. You can’t run a business and serve your people as well.”
Corey’s lips drew into a sharp, white line, and I knew Kinsey was a hairsbreadth away from having his ass handed to him.
“Don’t help me here, Kinsey,” I beseeched. Corey was already mad.Don’t poke the nest, goddamn it.
“Facts are facts, Alpha. Your mate needs to learn his place and—”
“Get out,” Corey growled through gritted teeth. His snarl would do any wolf proud.
“No,” Kinsey replied, utterly unmoved.
“Get the fuck out of my shop!” Corey roared. It was a good thing everyone but DD had left, because that would have sent them scurrying for the door. “You do not come in here and try to dictate my life. I did fine for all these years, and not one of you sons of bitches cared about me then.”
“Corey, I—”
He spun on me. “And don’t even start about the scholarship and the loan. I’ll pay it all back, because I won’t be beholden to anyone who thinks they can run my life. You said I was your mate—you didn’t tell me that was the same thing as a slave.” He whirled around and jammed a finger in Kinsey’s chest. I winced. No one touched Kinsey. “And you? Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“I’ve been sent by the Council. You have no say in—”
I barely registered the fist that slammed into Kinsey’s face. It didn’t even faze him. “I have every fucking say in my life. You want something from me, you ask. I’m not saying I’ll agree with you, but we can discuss it. I am not a wolf, therefore, your Council has no say in my life.”
“Actually,” Matt squeaked, but that was silenced when Corey glared daggers at him.
Kinsey ran a hand over his jaw. “That was a weak and pathetic punch. It’s no wonder you need a bodyguard. Someone has to care for you.”
Now my hackles were up. “Iwill care for my mate,” I informed him. I grabbed Corey’s wrist before he went after Kinsey again. It was going to happen—I could see it in the burning rage that lit Corey’s eyes. They were dark with anger, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he tried to hit Kinsey again. “Go back to the Council and tell them thanks, but no thanks. We’ll fend for ourselves.”
For the first time since I’d known him, which admittedly wasn’t very long, barely five years, Kinsey smiled. “Excellent. The Council will be pleased with my report.”
The one-eighty in the conversation threw me for a loop.
“What?”
Kinsey took a seat, his arms folded on the granite countertop. He turned and regarded me. “As a human, your mate is more frail than a wolf.” He held up a hand to forestall anything Corey might say. “And I’m not trying to start something with you, I promise. I was told to find out if he had a backbone, or if he would need, in their words, more handholding than a wolf would. I’m proud to say, he’s pretty fierce. I think the group we have now is more than sufficient.” He gave a nod to Corey. “I’m sorry I had to push you like that. It was not my idea, I can tell you.”
“Well, fuck them,” Corey snapped.
“And the horse they rode in on,” Kinsey finished. “But you have to understand, you are the first human mate we’ve ever had. We needed to know if extraordinary measures were needed to ensure your safety.”
“Ensure my safety from what?”
“And take off the damn glasses. You’re indoors for fuck sake.”
His lips curled into a sneer, but he removed the glasses. I had to contain a gasp. Across the bridge of his nose, over the lid of his right eye, was a scar, maybe two inches long.
“Pretty, hey?” he asked, grinning. “One pissed-off Alpha, one bodyguard, and an Alpha Mate who found out she’d been cheated on is a recipe for disaster.”
“W-What happened?” Corey asked, choking on his words.
“I was her bodyguard. We were supposed to be attending a conference, but at the last minute, she decided she’d rather stay home. So we went back to the house, walked in, and there we found her mate boning their maid. She was so pissed, she tried to go after him with a kitchen cleaver. I held her back. The Alpha took that moment to try for a quickie divorce by stabbing her. I punched him, and his claw grazed my face. Hurt like a mother, let me tell you.”
