Page 18 of His True Mate
I never turned my back on them as we slowly backed away.
“I don’t get it. They were fine until you showed up.”
“It’s because our wolves are weaker,” Brady explained.
“Take that back. My wolf is not weak,” Cruz insisted.
“Look, like it or not, we were at a disadvantage. We couldn’t run or really connect with our wolves the way others do. And with Jed at the helm, we all cowered to him. You know it’s true. We’re more submissive than a lot of the Collier wolves.”
“I am not submissive,” he stubbornly muttered.
“It’s more of that disconnect,” I explained. “Even I can feel it in all of you. Not quite as much now, well, either that or I’m just used to it now. I’d be willing to bet that most of you still struggle to control your wolves. None as bad as Brady’s brother, Tim, but similar.”
Tim had grown up thinking he was human. He started experiencing blackouts and it turned out that was his wolf in control. Thomas said Tim’s wolf was almost as strong as he was with traits of an Alpha, but the human part of Tim was a total nerd without any fight in him. I didn’t even know something like that was possible. It was as if he and his wolf had extreme opposite personalities. I doubted it had been easy for the kid, but I heard he was doing much better with proper training.
“I never really thought about it like that, but I guess you’re right. We spent so many years trying to subdue our other side that it was bound to affect us in some way,” Brady acknowledged.
“There’s nothing wrong with my wolf,” Cruz grumbled.
I let the subject drop. I hadn’t meant to make him defensive about it. It was just sort of a known fact.
My wolf lived just on the edge below the surface at all times. But for former Larken wolves, they had locked theirs down, unable to shift at will. They probably didn’t even realize they still did that. It makes it harder for another shifter to sense their spirit animals but also makes them appear as less of a threat.
No doubt those wolves had easily sensed my presence and clearly weren’t too keen on having a dominant wolf in their midst.
The thing was, there were no signs of territory here. If I hadn’t been close enough to feel their wolves, I never would have suspected they were here. They were clearly working the rodeo. How was that even possible? What kind of life was that for a wolf?
I wondered if maybe they were local and just helping out. I wasn’t aware of any nearby packs, but it was certainly a possibility.
“Let’s grab some dinner and get our tickets,” Brady suggested.
“Hey, you aren’t supposed to be back here,” a pretty lady yelled out.
“Run,” Brady said on instinct.
“Relax,” I insisted.
“You can’t be back here,” she said a little calmer.
The girl was cute, and Brady certainly noticed.
“Hey, I’m Brady.”
She rolled her eyes. “Maxi. Now go on and get.”
“Maxi, can you help with my hair one last time. Pretty please,” another female spoke.
I looked around as my wolf sprang forth to take control. It wasn’t aggression though; it was something else.
Feeling off, like I was literally about to explode into a ball of fur, I quickly walked away.
“What’s his problem?” Maxi asked.
“No clue,” Brady admitted.
“Maxi!” the girl said again, stopping me in my tracks as I whipped around at the sound of her voice.
My whole body shuddered.
