Before she could say anything, she saw her husband coming up behind Dante, a glower on his face. “You shouldn’t be here.”
She suddenly remembered she was pissed at him.
Shoving the envelope against his sweaty chest, she hissed. “And you should’ve been in our room last night but life is full of disappointments.”
With that she turned to Dante, gave him a soft smile. “Thank you for having me here.”
“Of course,” he inclined his head, giving her husband a side-eye. “I can have one of the guys escort you back.” He indicated one of the shirtless men in the building.
“She’s fine,” Alpha grit out before she could respond. What the hell was his problem? Whatever.
Without a word, she turned on her heel and left, heading to her room to get ready for the wedding. She was halfway there when her steps faltered and she realized he wouldn’t be able to read the note, and he was prideful enough to not admit it to the others. Sighing, some of her fury seeping out, she went back to see them coming out, Alpha walking to the side, slightly apart from everyone else. She slowed to a walk, meeting him halfway.
“I’ll read that for you if you’d like,” she offered softly, tilting her head back to keep their gazes locked.
He didn't say anything, just handed her the envelope quietly, and she softened a bit more. Taking it from his hand, she opened the flap, and pulled the white paper out, looking down at the words, sobering.
“What does it say?” he asked, his voice gruff.
She swallowed, and read the note verbatim.
“I know who he is. As a gesture of goodwill, I will share that he will frame you in his next kill. I'll be in touch.”
What the hell?
"It's unsigned."
She looked up at her husband to find his jaw clenched tight. “How did you get this?”
“A man gave it to me.” She swallowed. “What does he mean?”
His hand fisted, and he took a step closer. “Did you see him?
She shook her head. “He was tall, wearing a sweatshirt. He had the hood up.”
He took the paper from her hand, staring at it for a long minute with his single gaze, before letting out a breath. “I’ll deal with it later.”
This was serious. Who was the guy and why the hell was he talking about a killer framing her husband?
Zephyr frowned as he purposely headed up the hill to the guest wing, leaving her standing there alone.
Her earlier annoyance returned. “Is there a reason you’re being deliberately rude to me or are you just this delightful every morning?” she asked, injecting joviality into her tone as she caught up with his longer strides.
He gave her a side glance but kept on quietly.
“It’s quite a feast for the eyes right now,” she poked at the bear, deliberately eyeing all the shirtless men coming out of the training building.
He didn’t respond, just began walking faster like he could outrun her.
“I mean, not that my eyes don’t appreciate it, but what was even the point of bringing me here?” she kept on. “A girl has her pride, you know? You don’t have to go around telling people it’s not a ‘real marriage’.” She emphasized the words with finger quotes. “Dante probably thinks I’m a hussy who’s tied you down, which granted I am, but he doesn’t need to know about that.”
He was listening, with the way his head was slightly tilted as he walked, his eye patch and scar visible to her in profile. Time to test the waters.
“I mean just yesterday someone asked me if it wasn’t a ‘real marriage’ and if I wanted to hook up for the wedding, which was very flattering but—”
He pivoted so suddenly she barely had a second to stop before tripping.
“Who?”