“What makes you think they’re not going to spread the gossip?” I asked, gesturing toward the packs in the room.
“I have no control over what they might or might not do; all I can do is look out for my own. Axel said it’s not safe to cross the borders yet. One of the men they captured did some talking, and it sounds like they’re following one leader who’s giving out the commands. How many there are and what their master plan is, he doesn’t know. Chances are they’ll stay put until their leader orders them to try again or move elsewhere, so we’re going to give it a few days and then head back. I don’t think I need to say it, but I don’t want any of you shifting, and that includes indoors. Your wolves baying in the woods might attract unwanted attention, so put a lid on the urge. Axel added me to the call list. If anything goes down near the borders, we’ll be the first to know. Let’s head out.”
“I need to stop off at the store,” I reminded him.
He lowered his head. “What do you need that’s so important we have to go shopping in the middle of a pack war?”
Sunglasses? A chocolate bar? A few tabloid magazines? “Important things that could save lives,” I said, flouncing off.
Chapter 3
After picking up supplies at a small store, Austin treated everyone to dinner at a Breed restaurant. He wanted the locals to remember us so they wouldn’t mistake us for rogues. While the men stuffed their faces with shrimp and fries, chatting about cars and hunting, the women were quiet and filled with worry. April poked at her chicken salad while Ivy called Hope and asked about her day. I cleaned off my plate of fried chicken while observing a woman in a low-cut top who was flirting with my mate. Austin paid her no mind, but that didn’t deter her from eating her french fries and ketchup like a porn star.
When a Shifter ambled behind me and drew in a deep breath, I shuddered. I might as well have been spraying sex perfume all over that restaurant. Even some of the non-alphas noticed it when I made a trip to the salad bar. The pheromones Shifter women give off during heat work like an aphrodisiac, which is why we isolate ourselves until the cycle ends. For those who have an attentive mate, it ends sooner rather than later.
Before the men had a chance to open the dessert menu, I implored Austin to get us the hell out of there before I started a pack war for real. He gave me a roguish grin, leaning on the table until his biceps hardened. His messy hair wasn’t quite long enough to cover his clear blue eyes, and when he shot me a sexy wink and waggled those wolfish brows, I melted a little in my chair. Everything about that man was a turn-on—from his laid-back attitude to the slow way he’d lick his finger when he got sauce on it. If I had to sit across the table and watch him eat chocolate cake, I was liable to combust.
“Still thinking about earlier?” he asked, making a left turn.
I straightened my new sunglasses when the bright afternoon sun flickered inside the truck.
“Yeah. It’s kind of hard to think of anything else,” I admitted, scanning the woods that led to our cabin.
He reached over and squeezed my knee. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, Ladybug. Not as long as I’m around.”
And that’s all it took to put me at ease. If there was one thing Austin had proved in all the years we’d known each other, it was that he would never let anyone hurt me—he would always be my protector. He was unquestionably my guardian angel in many ways, and I’d never felt safer with anyone.
“You should have ordered some shrimp to go,” I suggested. “We don’t have much chili left.”
He parked the truck on the right side of the cabin and shut off the engine. The cold air immediately penetrated the glass windows, and I shivered.
“I’m not in the mood for leftovers,” he said. “Think I’ll cook up some cheeseburgers tonight with onion rings. How’s that sound?”
Austin cooking me dinner? That sounded like heaven and the twilight zone all at once.
I unbuckled my seat belt and then gripped my knees.
He leaned over and removed my sunglasses. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.” When his nostrils flared and pupils dilated, I jumped out of the truck and marched toward the cabin.
As soon as I walked inside, I noticed the chill.
“Did you turn off the heater?” I shouted, tossing my coat on the rack and kicking off my boots.
Austin slapped me on the ass as he walked inside and hung up his own coat. “It’s a waste of electricity if we’re not here.”