Silence hung for several seconds as both figures eyed each other, saying nothing. Despite the lack of words, Loren suspected that plenty of unspoken sentiments were being traded between them, too quickly to track. She couldn’t tell which way the pendulum swung. Then, in a beautiful and violent shift of muscle, the black wolf seemed to distort and Bill McGoven appeared in its place, rising to his feet, starkly naked.
“You have some damn nerve coming here,” he said, his voice bellowing. “You sneak onto my property. Attempt an ambush. Took efforts to cloak yourself in what? Deer piss? That isn’t a very friendly gesture.”
The intruder squared his jaw. “I wanted answers. I thought your mate would have them—”
He turned his gaze to her, and Loren flinched.Mate.That word had been uttered more than once—and each time, it seemed to hold more importance than a term of acquaintance. Way more importance.
“You wanted to talk. Then talk,” Bill growled, sounding equally as ferocious as he had while in animal form. “Now.”
“In private,” the man specified. “I think it would be better for all involved if we did. My man will stand guard, as will your people. If I am to believe that you didn’t attack Jamal in cold blood, those rules should be simple to abide by.”
McGoven cocked his head, his posture unreadable. “And then you’ll walk away without attacking another human on my property?”
The man laughed. “We will walk away. Tonight. I guess your Alpha didn’t inform you as to the terms of our truce. Though, it looks like his liaison has left empty-handed.”
Loren struggled to keep up with the conversation. Liaison. Sonia?
“Time is running out for you to do the right thing, rogue,” the man added without explaining the reference.
Bill remained tense. For a second, Loren was sure he would transform again and go for the man’s throat.
“Micha, Naomi, stay with Loren,” he barked out eventually. “As for you—” he raised his voice so the other two figures could hear him clearly. “You want to talk? We do so out in the open. Afterward, you leave. Understood?”
The man descended the porch steps. “Lead the way.”
Loren couldn’t ignore a sense of aggravation as the two men headed for the west fields. Their conversation would involve her. She knew it. And yet they seemed more than content to leave her out of it as if she didn’t matter. Had no say. No voice—
Something nudged her side, shocking her from the thought. The culprit felt cool against her hand. Wet—the snout of a large brown wolf, she realized. Its eyes glowed an electric green as they met hers with unmistakable energy only Micha could exude.Don’t worry,he seemed to say. Then he nudged her again and inclined his head toward the house.
Her curiosity aside, Loren didn’t need to be told twice.
The second they entered the back door, she moved to barricade and lock the front and close all the windows on the first level. The barriers wouldn’t do much if the large wolf still lurking outside decided to attack, but it was something.
Because, if things did go south, she couldn’t shift. She couldn’t run. She couldn’t even smell the danger until it was literally under her nose.
The pity party helped distract from her concern for McGoven—though not for long.
When she finally had the sense of mind to get her bearings, she noticed Naomi in the corner of the foyer, quietly scrambling into a set of clothes. Micha remained in the kitchen, and the confines of the relatively spacious room helped to illustrate just how massive he truly was while in lycan form. There was barely enough space for him to comfortably crouch between the center island and the wall.
“Are you okay?” she croaked. He couldn’t be comfortable.
Comically, he snorted and shot her a glance that seemed to say,I’ll keep watch.
Until what, exactly? An invisible pressure ratcheted up with every passing second, and she suddenly had an idea of exactly what Bill had been afraid of. Another confrontation with these men.
Another fight in which she was a liability.
Even if all went well and the intruders did leave tonight, it was only a matter of time before they returned.
And no matter how many days Bill had them running in the fields, they would never be a match.
Shewould never be able to hold her own.
And he would have no choice but to fight for her.
15
“Information wasn’t the only reason I came out here, rogue. I wanted to see it for myself,” Loreck Eislander’s man called as Bill led the way from the house. “The bond between you and that girl. Your sick, twisted imitation of it.”