Havoc's Mate (Badlands Territory #2) - Lila Rose Page 0,10

and out of me.

Cora froze at my side. She went to turn my way until Kathy yelled, “Cora!” Cora’s gaze swept back to Kathy, and she continued, “I-I heard, well, Alton told me your mom fed him pot cookies.”

Cora’s cheeks flushed as she groaned and palmed her face. Thank fuck, or she would have seen my wolf gazing out. She shook her head. “I’m so sorry about that,” she mumbled behind her hands. She might not think we could hear, but we all did.

Kathy laughed. “It’s fine. He’s never been one to sit around, but this afternoon he did.”

“Think we did more than that,” Alton teased his wife, causing Kathy to blush.

“Um, yeah, so my mom is a little unique.”

“She’s cool,” Alton offered.

Cora smiled. “Thank you.”

Did Alton want me to rip his throat out? Those smiles were mine. Fuck, I was being ridiculous, but I couldn’t help it. Sitting so close to my mate without touching her was harder than I thought it would be.

I needed her attention back on me. “Alton, Kathy, why don’t you go order some food?”

Cora stilled, glancing at me out the corner of her eyes. “I’m not hungry.”

“That’s okay. We’ll get something to share for all of us, and if you see something you like, you can try it.” Kathy smiled. She moved out of the booth after Alton, and they made their way to the bar.

“Where did you move from?” I asked, picking up my drink and taking a sip to give myself something to do.

“Far away from here. I’ve been to a few places in the last few months.” Her body jerked, seeming surprised she’d told me that piece of information.

“How come?” I pressed.

She shrugged. “Just wanted to see different places.”

“Do you think Badlands is a place you could settle in?”

She stared out at the people around us, a soft grin slipping onto her lips. “There’s something about here that makes me want to stay.”

Fuck yes.

“That’s good.” Christ, I hadn’t spoken casually like this in a long time. Usually it was about pack business.

“Have you lived here your whole life?” she asked, glancing at me and then away.

“Born and raised.”

She smiled. My chest expanded. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was. She was stunning. Reaching out, I tucked a strand of her soft hair behind her ear. I didn’t miss her breath catching or the shiver.

My wolf wanted to howl with how happy he was. So did I.

“What do you like doing?” I asked.

Her head cocked my way. When her eyes moved to mine, it felt unreal that she was finally relaxing enough to look at me. Earlier, I spoke to a fellow pack member who had a human mate and asked if the human could feel the bond beforehand. He had explained that Cora would feel a certain type of connection toward me, but it would also make her uneasy because she wouldn’t be able to understand the intensity of it. So, while she was being cautious of the connection, her courage to meet my gaze made me damn happy.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“When you’re not working, in your free time?”

“Oh. Um…” She shrugged. “I love swimming.”

“The ocean ain’t far from here. Badlands borders it. I’ll have to take you some time.”

“I didn’t know it was so close. That would be great.” Surprise flickered in her eyes following her words.

I nodded. “It’s set.”

Her nose screwed up. “But… I mean, if I get the job, wouldn’t doing things out of work be bad?”

Hell no.

“I won’t tell the boss if you don’t.”

Jesus motherfucking Christ. Her laugh was like balm to my cuts, Viagra to my dick, and food for my wolf.

“How about we see how things go?” she asked, then blushed. “I mean if I get the job and… nothing.” God, she was cute.

“The help around the business would be great,” I told her. I wasn’t sure if it’d be enough of a hint to tell her she had the job.

“What is it you actually do?”

Shit, how did I explain I was an alpha in charge of five hundred wolves? I’d have to stick with the other side of the business. “The family owns a few places around here. We also have a couple of gas stations.”

“That must keep you busy.”

Besides the businesses, the pack was what kept me the busiest.

“Yeah, it does, but I think it’s time for me to take a moment to myself every now and then. Like tonight.”

She took a sip of her drink. “You don’t usually come here?”

“No.”

Her