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“Tara, shall I go along and make sure the cell is fae proof?”
Rune’s voice in my head was barely audible. As if I was tuning in to a radio station using an old-timey antenna and hadn’t yet found the sweet spot.
But...I shouldn’t have been able to hear him at all. I flinched, and spun back on my heel to stare at the shifter who wasn’t a member of my pack.
He was staring right back at me, waiting for an answer. I couldn’t give him one, though, because I was stuck on the way words had made it from his head into mine.
My fingertips brushed across the scab on my neck. Rune had promised that wasn’t a mate bite and I certainly couldn’t afford to bond with my Consort. Not when I was the Whelan Alpha, our Bargain mandating that I eschew even the idea of a mate.
Which meant the whys and hows were irrelevant. I was Alpha. I should and could manipulate bonds for the good of my pack.
So I did. I couldn’t see this new tether—it was too ephemeral. But I could feel something coursing between me and Rune when I fumbled around at throat-level. Grabbing that immaterial something between thumb and forefinger, I twisted.
Once. Twice.
On the third twist, it broke.
Persimmon spun away from me. Persimmon and warmth and the promise of a big, strong shadow. I hadn’t realized how much Rune’s proximity had been taking the edge off my muscles’ tension until every fiber contracted. Immediately, my head started to ache.
Whatever it felt like from his side, Rune’s eyes darkened. To wolf and wild tinged with human regret.
If he’d been anyone else, I would have expected him to go lupine, to howl and perhaps even attack someone to release pent-up angst. But this was Rune, who I’d first sighted meditating in a human diner. Rune who was gentle and protective.
Who deserved an explanation.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to explain that I was merely being an Alpha. I couldn’t tell him that, in a different lifetime, I might have reveled in the tenuous connection between us. But in this one, my clan had to come first.
I certainly couldn’t launch into those explanations in the mess hall while half the pack was watching. Instead, I jerked my chin upward in answer to his original question. Then I tugged on a different pack bond, the one connecting me to my father’s Beta.
“Once Ash is in the cell, contact me. I intend to change the code.”
Today appeared to be a two-for-one day, with a sale on upsetting those close to me. Because Willa was so surprised she ignored our audience and answered aloud. “Why, Alpha? You and I are the only ones who know it.”
A rustle of voices behind me promised that, yep, the entire pack was trying to decipher that statement. I’d need to make an announcement about Ash and fae at some point. But not now. Not at this moment.
Because another ping was coming in, this one from the guard currently on duty at the gatehouse. “Alpha, there’s a human here to see you. He says he wants to buy glitter.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” I answered silently. Then, aloud to Willa and Rune: “Go.”
***
I CHANGED THE HOLDING cell’s code on the way, using the security app on my cell phone. Assuming Ash wasn’t able to turn himself into immaterial wind then squeeze through a keyhole, he wasn’t getting out of there without me present. And Rune would handle any fae maneuverings in the worst-case scenario.
Or Rune would handle it unless severing our connection had hurt his feelings so badly that he decided to be done with me. I trailed my fingers across the healing wound on my neck a second time, both glad and disappointed to find that it was now merely a scab. It took all of my concentration to refrain from contacting Willa and asking if Rune was still present while I marched up to the guardhouse.
There, however, I forced myself to focus. Because the waiting human introduced himself as—
“Lenny Harrison. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
His name was instantly familiar even though the realtor I’d barked a single negation at was smoother in person than he’d been over the phone. His clothes were sharp, his haircut fancier than our small-town barbershop could manage, and his response when I ignored his proffered handshake was a self-deprecating chuckle.
“You think I’m here under false pretenses,” he continued when I just glared at him in silence. “I’d be lying, ma’am, if I said I didn’t want to buy your land. But that’s not why I came.”
Well, that was refreshingly honest. I unbent enough to ask a question. “Why did you come then?”
His face opened into a wide smile. “Like I told your security guard, I want to buy glitter. My son’s girlfriend works in your factory. Told me all about how hard y’all have been working. How your glitter’s been piling up in that storeroom with no buyers. I figured we might be able to engage in a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
That sounded like salesman-speak for wanting something for nothing. I raised one eyebrow. “Do you intend to buy our glitter?”
“Why, of course! But we’ll put it on social media too. Maybe open up a new market for you among individual buyers.”
“And in exchange?”
He attempted to look wounded, but didn’t do a very good job of it. “Small business people have to work together.”
I cleared my throat. Waited.
“And, well, if you end up needing to ship out lots of small orders, perhaps Kimberley could be moved over to the mail room? The factory line is hard on her feet.”
Lenny was looking out for his pack. That made sense. Still, I couldn’t imagine a small-scale use of glitter so interesting that a video about it would go viral. “What exactly do you plan to do with my product?”
Rather than answering, Lenny pulled out his cell phone. Drew up a photo of a smiling woman who looked as plump and homey as this man appeared gym-toned and citified. “That’s Vanessa,” he said proudly. When I offered no comment, he added, “My wife. We’ve been married for twenty years, or will have been come September first. We were just kids when we got hitched, though. Could barely afford the wedding dress. I figure she deserves a party. Better late than never. A renewal of vows.”
“With glitter.” That actually made a modicum of sense. “What did you have in mind?”
“Something custom.” He leaned in closer, eyes sharpening. “I was thinking maybe heart-shaped sparkles on glitter to throw at the bride instead of rice.”
Heart-shaped glitter would be easy, and a biodegradable product would be appropriate for outdoor use. Making the sparkles shine in a heart pattern, though, was beyond my understanding. Still, I wouldn’t put it past Natalie to be able to create the desired effect.
“That might be possible,” I told him. “I’ll be in touch Monday with details.”
It was a clear dismissal, but Lenny lingered rather than heading for his car. “Don’t you need my number?”
“The kids have it.”
Before he could ask any more unnecessary questions, a throaty motor roared up the drive toward us, materializing into an unfortunately familiar shifter.
***
RYDER WASN’T THE KIND of companion I wanted business associates to consider when they thought of my glitter factory. Especially not a whooping Ryder spinning gravel to ping against the gatehouse as he swerved his motorcycle to a stop far too close to us for safety’s sake.
Had he expanded his tattoo collection since I saw him last? Or maybe the wind had just roughed up his hair when he rode without a helmet? Either way, he looked wilder than before. Wilder, but just as annoying when he greeted me with:
“Darlin’. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”
I blinked, wishing we were alone so I could suggest Ryder shove that particular pet name where the sun didn’t shine.
Instead, I pasted on the best customer-service smile I could manage and dismissed Lenny. “I’ll call you Monday,” I repeated. “In the meantime, please congratulate your wife.”
“With pleasure,” Lenny answered, this time willing to leave. So I guessed Ryder’s rough edges were good for something after all.
Still, my voice was hard when I addressed him. “You,” I told Ryder once the realtor was safely in his vehicle, “come with me.”
“With pleasure, darlin’.” He propped the motorcycle up on its kickstand in the middle of our driveway. But I ignored the irritant and instead took off at a trot for the holding cells.
“We don’t have all day,” I called over my shoulder.
“Can’t wait to get me alone, huh?”
Despite my lack of warning, Ryder’s rumble followed far too close for comfort. His presence at my back was the exact opposite of Rune’s. Hairs prickled as I remembered how easily Ryder had overwhelmed my alpha command. My breathing sped up until I forced it to slow.
“You will behave yourself while within my territory,” I growled once I was sure there would be no tremor in my voice. The holding cells were on the ground floor and we were nearly to the entryway. I couldn’t be certain, however, who other than Rune and Ash might be inside.
Which meant reining in this shifter who appeared unreinable. He was also stronger than me and possessed no apparent understanding of politeness. Even as I turned over ideas, Ryder’s innuendo filled the conversational gap.
“No canoodling? I’m disappointed, darlin’. Don’t you want...?”
He made an obscene gesture, his body just a little too close for comfort. I ignored my wolf’s impulse to raise her hackles and snap, which might have been a mistake. Because Ryder advanced one inch nearer...
...And a hand came out of nowhere to yank my companion off his feet.