Page 17 of Tolerated By the Sigma (Mate Hunt 7)

“Is that so?”

His forehead wrinkled as he frowned. “My wolf was a moron, which he clearly realized when we were nearly killed by our own pack in the forest after being rejected.”

I nodded.

I mean, I didn’t disagree with him.

I just couldn’t help but feel a bit… self-conscious about it.

“Charly.” He set his knife down, and leaned over the counter.

Damn, those muscles… seriously, I was going to have an eye-gasm.

“Ryder.” I used the same tone he had, leaning over the counter too.

“I want the truth,” he said, his voice getting a bit growly. His eyes hadn’t flashed though, so I knew his wolf wasn’t about to burst through his skin.

“I want a margarita, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to get it,” I tossed back.

“As soon as I get the truth, I’ll make you the best damn margarita on the planet.”

I rolled my eyes. “You turned me into a wolf, remember? Alcohol won’t do anything to me now, which makes it useless to me. So, no deal.”

“Alright, what do you want?” He remained where he was, his eyes narrowed.

I studied him.

He was offering me anything I wanted, as far as I could tell. There were so many options…

But I really didn’t want to admit my insecurity, so I went with the one thing I was pretty sure he wouldn’t agree to.

I leaned closer. “Let me give you a handjob and I’ll tell you what I was really thinking a minute ago.”

Ryder’s blue eyes flickered to red for a moment, but then returned to blue and stayed that color.

There was a long, tense moment of silence before he finally jerked his head. “Deal. But you answer first, and you let me feed you beforehand to reduce my wolf’s chances of going wild.”

“Fine,” I agreed.

He straightened to his full, gigantic height, and I watched his hands and arms move while I forced myself to remember what he wanted the truth about.

I fought a grimace when I remembered. “Honestly, I’m having a hard time not feeling like a condolence prize right now,” I admitted. “Your wolf didn’t want me the last time we met, and yeah, we were completely different people back then, but still. You didn’t choose me. Now that you can’t have your real mate, here I am.” I gestured to myself. “Backup chick.”

Ryder’s eyes were dark and angry—and flickering back and forth from red to blue.

I added, “I don’t want to argue about this.”

“We’re going to argue about this.” His voice was gravelly, his eyes blazing madly despite still being blue.

“No, Ryder. I—“

“My wolf fucked up when he chose Lisa.” Ryder’s words were blunt. “You’re not his backup; you’re his redemption. I was dying yesterday, and today, I’m alive. And that’s because of you.”

“Saving your life is not the same as being attractive, or first choice, or what you want.”

The man dropped his knife and strode around to my side of the kitchen’s island, spinning my bar stool and leaning over me so our eyes met.

“I was never attracted to Lisa, Charly. Not a single damn time. Yet when I woke up with you in my arms, I was so horny I literally thought my wolf was trying to rip control away from me and drive me back toward insanity.”

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