“Something you shouldn’t have done, since you initially agreed over the phone that if I asked you to come home, you would.”
“Bracken agreed,” Zander corrected. “I didn’t.”
Nick thought about it for a moment and then shot him a glare. “You’re a sneaky fucker, Zander.” Then he sighed. “Go. Keep me updated. It was good to see you.”
Zander snapped out of the memory and said, “The one thing Nick didn’t want was this shit making its way to the pack. If Gwen’s one of us, her shit becomes our shit.”
“It’s not ideal that your mate has trouble dogging her heels,” said Derren. “But that doesn’t mean Nick won’t want her to be one of us. Harley had trouble with extremists, but he didn’t ask her to leave—he knew Jesse wanted her as his mate, and that was enough for Nick. Hey, don’t worry so much about that. Concentrate on Gwen.”
Like Zander could do anything else. As the hours went on, he kept watch on her. Now that he knew she was his mate, it was as if he was looking at her through a different lens. A lens that wasn’t clouded by uncertainties, mistrust, or a need to guard himself. He saw her so clearly.
She was no longer someone who simply mattered to him, no longer someone he simply felt possessive and protective of. She was more. She was everything. And that knowledge seemed to take down every defense he had. It wasn’t that his walls were gone. No, but she was inside them now. Safe and close to him. Closer than anyone else had ever been.
It was hard to stand there and do nothing, to act as though his life hadn’t just been upended. His muscles fairly quivered with the effort to remain where he was instead of following the primal urge to cross to Gwen and claim her. Soon. He’d claim her soon. It had to be at a time when it was right for both of them.
Later, shortly before her shift ended, Zander turned to Derren. “Watch over Gwen for me while I use the bathroom.”
It was as he was washing his hands in the restrooms that Chase entered, the smells of greasy food and cigarette smoke clinging to his clothing. Zander turned to face him, meeting his gaze head-on. The bold stare pissed Zander off, but he didn’t want to hurt the man who would soon be his brother-in-law.
Chase crossed his arms over his chest. “I could start this by casually introducing myself, asking your name, and then subtly quizzing you while also doing my best to look all intimidating. But I don’t play games. I know who you are. I’m pretty sure you know who I am. I’m also pretty sure you know what brought me over here.”
Zander liked his directness. “Gwen.”
“Gwen,” confirmed Chase. “If you know who she is to me, to my fiancée, you know exactly why I’d be concerned about her.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
Chase snorted. “I doubt you even could. Gwen’s an emotional badass. It’s more likely that she’ll hurt you.”
Zander couldn’t even argue that.
“No, what worries me is that you marked her. I may not understand all the ways of shifters, but I do know that branding someone is no small thing. Does she know that?”
“You’re insulting Gwen’s intelligence by asking that question.”
Chase made a sound of impatience. “Gwen isn’t a person who lets people mark her as theirs in any sense of the word. She runs a mile from possessiveness. Did you play it down and tell her it was a hickey?”
“Why don’t you ask Gwen these questions? Probably because she’d tell you to mind your own business. Tell me why I shouldn’t say the same thing.”
His jaw hardened. “She’s practically my sister-in-law. I look out for her.”
“Yeah? If you’re so protective of Gwen, why haven’t you thrown Aidan out?”
“Because you’re here, and I knew you were involved with her. I figured it would be a good thing for him to see her with someone. Then maybe he’ll let her go. At some point, I will punch him in the dick. For now, I’ll teach him the same lesson you’re teaching him.”
That Gwen was taken. “If you don’t have an issue with Gwen being with me, why does the mark bother you so much?”
“Because the Gwen I know would never say she belonged to anyone but herself.”
“Then I guess you don’t know her as well as you thought. You made assumptions based on how she acted with her past partners. I’m not them.” Zander strode past him, heading right for the door. As he was leaving, he heard Chase’s voice behind him.
“I hope that’s true, because those were all assholes. She doesn’t need another asshole.”
Speaking of assholes . . . the moment Zander stepped out of the restrooms, he saw Aidan making a beeline for Gwen near the bar. Son of a bitch.
“Do you not like breathing? Is that what this is?” asked Gwen. Why else would Aiden try talking to her when four shifters would happily take him down for even sharing her air? Gwen didn’t fail to notice Zander signaling for the others to hang back, gesturing that he’d deal with it. “Really, Aidan, you should go.”
“I saw the bite,” Aidan clipped.
Yeah, it had gotten a lot of people’s attention. The other waitresses fairly swooned at the sight of it. Chase had glowered like she’d petitioned to cancel Christmas. And now Aidan was staring at it, face scrunched up in revulsion. But she sensed that the revulsion wasn’t born of any antipathy toward shifters. No, the glitter of bitterness in his eyes told her he just didn’t like what the mark represented—essentially, that she was no longer single.
“Are you mated to him now?”
“Aidan, do you honestly think it’s a good idea to confront me like this while Zander can see? I’d say use your brain, but, well, that’s a little like telling Colt to find his balls—utterly pointless.”
“Unless he’s taken you as his mate, you’re nothing to him but a body he doesn’t want to share. Like a kid with a new toy. Is that what you want? To be his toy?”
She smiled wickedly. “Oh yeah.” It was certainly fun.
Aidan’s lips thinned. “This isn’t a joke, Gwen. You think I’m wrong? That he’ll stay with you? Are you really that naive?”
She snorted softly. “Apparently not as naive as your parents since they didn’t use a condom. Aidan, seriously, just back the fuck off and go back to your date—this isn’t fair to her.” But he didn’t, and it was too late anyway because two arms curled around her from behind and held her gently but possessively.