Feral (Wolf Ranch #3) - Renee Rose Page 0,48

his face. “They just may not love the idea of me mating you.”

“Let’s not go there, then,” I said quickly, taking a step back and putting more distance between our bodies.

I couldn’t mate this guy. Did he think I could?

Why then, did having my body apart from his set off a sense of yearning that made my whole body ache?

“Right,” he agreed. “We’ll keep what’s between us private for now.” For a moment, I caught the hint of unhappiness in the lines of his face. The weight of responsibility for his brothers and the whole pack on his shoulders.

I squeezed his arm, the ache in me growing stronger. Rob was an amazing man. Selfless and giving. Strong and protective. And this life he had here on the ranch—I never thought I’d want something like this. My childhood had been so shitty. But now that I was here, now that I got to see what he had—the sense of community, of family—now it felt like exactly what I craved. The refreshing antidote to my childhood. A redo on a beautiful Montana ranch filled with kindness and love.

And really hot kinky sex.

Too bad none of this was real.

“So, Rob,” an older man came up and thumped Rob on the back. “When is the contingent from Canada showing up? Do you have any events planned?”

I didn’t know what they were talking about, but the detective in me didn’t miss the way Rob’s jaw clenched and the quick—and guilty—look he darted my way.

“I’ll be right back, Natalie,” he said, stepping farther away with the man, like he didn’t want me to hear.

“You’re not worried about that situation, are you?” Marina appeared at my elbow, speaking in a low voice.

I turned to face her fully. “What is the situation, exactly?”

She flushed. “Oh—um—it’s nothing,” she stammered. “Just some visitors that are coming.”

“What visitors?” I demanded. “Why would I be worried?”

Marina grabbed my arm and tugged me away from the crowd. “It’s this stupid thing,” she explained in a quiet voice. “The pack elders wanted Rob to meet some alpha female in case he wanted to mate her. They don’t know about you because Rob was kind of giving you time to adjust to the whole shifter thing. Plus… they don’t exactly love the idea of us humans mixing in.” She shrugged. “Don’t let it bother you. Rob’s alpha. He can do whatever he wants.”

That wasn’t true. I knew it as soon as I heard the words. A dictator did whatever he wanted. A leader didn’t. He had a responsibility to his pack. And Rob was definitely a leader. The kind who put the good of all in front of his own. So that’s why he looked so strained over the pack knowing we were dating.

Even though I’d known this thing with Rob couldn’t work, some part of me still resisted the obvious answer—telling him we couldn’t be and letting him have at it with the alpha she-wolf.

In fact, the idea of Rob being with her made me want to throat punch the woman.

Crap. Every day this got harder and harder. It was like a train running at top speed toward the car on the tracks. I knew there would be a crash, I just didn’t know how to stop it.

22

ROB

We were nearing the full moon, but this wasn’t a get together to shift and run in the moonlight. Instead, it was an afternoon picnic. By five o’clock, about twenty pack members were in the field behind the house. Usually, we met in the barn, so there was some shade and a roof in case it rained, but the construction project wasn’t finished. Sawhorses with boards across were set up as tables for the hefty quantity of food everyone brought. From Marina’s and Audrey’s potato salad to peach pie, hamburgers and even homemade ice cream had been devoured. The Barn Cats were tuning their instruments and setting chairs beneath a tree where they’d perform. Some laid out blankets, so they could sit and listen. Others had brought fold-up chairs.

Natalie sat beside me in a pretty green sundress that matched her eyes and had me wanting to slip the little straps off her shoulders and devour what was beneath. I’d kept as close as I could to her since she arrived. As close as I could without raising questions from the pack. I now wished I’d cancelled this BBQ before it started because being near Natalie without showing the whole pack she was mine fucking killed me.

People had,