Page 71 of Untamed

"Whoa, there, bro," Sarj catches me. I have to admire a male who doesn't flinch at touching a wolf with sick all down his chest, even if he's my little brother and my best friend.

"Where is she?" I rasp out.

"With Lyri, in her office. They are talking..." Sarj pauses, then continues, "well, Lyri is talking, and your mate is listening?"

He looks at me, his dark eyes staring into my own. "She seems sad, In. What happened?"

My legs start to give out, and with Sarj's help, I fall back onto the bed. He disappears into the bathroom and comes back out with a damp towel that I take gratefully. Wiping down my chest and arms, I start to tell him.

He sits quietly, nodding. "A mating frenzy," he says softly. "That's kind of terrible, In. Was she scared?"

"I don't know. I don't think much scares her," I reply honestly. Angry, yes. Hurt, maybe. But scared? My cat doesn't seem to be the type.

"Why the frenzy?" Sarj mulls over the topic, then brightens. "Let's call Alpha Macon. He taught us all that shit, right?"

"He's retired, Sarj."

My brother snorts. "Old alphas don't ever really retire. We could call up some allies, too."

I frown, rubbing my hands together to get the feeling back in my fingertips. "Let's keep this all in RustClaw for now." I'm thinking of my luna, of how special she is. "She's a target, and I want to keep her under wraps for as long as possible."

"Yeah, that's what Thjis said Lyri wanted, too," Sarj admits.

"We can try Alpha Macon, though."

He doesn't answer, which doesn't surprise me. He's ancient and becoming hard of hearing. And, unless his mate, Elizabeth, remembers to do it for him, he never turns the volume on their shared cell up.

"Alpha," I leave a message, "I need to talk to you. It's important." I hang up as Sarj rolls his eyes at me.

"What?" I question him.

"That's your message? It's important?"

"I don't want anyone to know about her, and I can't guarantee the security of Alpha Macon's phone," I explain.

"Shit. It sucks to be an alpha, huh?" Sarj grins, flopping backward on the bed next to me.

"Yeah. It kinda does." I lay down next to him.

"You stink."

"I know. Why do you think I haven't made you help me downstairs to find my mate?"

"I can help the pup shower-" Sarj croons. "Ow!"

"Good idea, Sarj. You can help me shower."

"I'm not washing your back," he mumbles, rubbing his arm where I hit him. "Or your nasty balls."

I just smirk as I sling my arm over his shoulders. Unsteady, I lean on my brother as we walk, and he half-drags me into the bathroom.

"What's it like?" he asks me quietly as he hands me the soap.

"What's what like?"

"Having a mate?"

I think as Sarj holds the removable showerhead up to rinse my hair for a minute. "Good. Painful. Good."

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