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“Natalie is mine. We’re mated, married for want of a better word. I need you to find a place close to Grey Ridge for us to setup because I won’t be leaving. That okay?” Beaming up at him, my heart warms even more when he leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Make sure it has room for a fourth office, Natalie’s going to be working for us.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” I say, stunned.
Van pushes forward, shaking his head. I’m not the only one caught off guard by this snap decision. He needn’t worry though, working for Chase was not anything we’ve discussed before.
“I’m not working for you; I have a job.” I stare defiantly at Chase as his domineering attitude flows down the bond. We’re newly mated. He wants to be near me twenty-four-seven
“You’re great at what you do. So now you’ll do it with me,” he states simply. In his head, his logic is sound.
“Except, I already work for Marcus, and I love my job.” Softening the blow, I rest my hand on his arm and lean up to kiss him. “I love you, Chase, but we’d kill each other. You’re too protective right now to actually let me do anything useful, and you’d be distracted with me around. How about we revisit it in a few months?”
Chase silently fumes, but knows he’s not going to win this battle. His eyes go to Tripp and Van who watch on with a mixture of amusement and stunned disbelief.
“Fine,” he responds gruffly, tugging me even closer to kiss me hard. “But you leave the tracker on your car.”
NATALIE: Tracker? What fucking tracker?
Chase smiles, ignoring the red-hot rage he must feel coming from me. Brushing my hair aside, he kisses my mark and lets his warm breath fan across my exposed neck. “And I love you, too.”
Tripp’s mouth falls open. He looks like he’d be less surprised if Chase had just burst into song.
NATALIE: This is not over
Chase shrugs, unapologetic, and I grind my teeth. We’re going to need to discuss boundaries. Probably every day for the rest of our lives.
Chase, noticing I’ve still nothing on my feet but some thin slippers, picks me up in a bridal carry and hoists my backpack over his shoulder. Striding away from the cabins, he doesn’t wait for Van and Tripp to follow, just marches with determination back to where the boats are tied, on a mission to get back home.
“Come on, let’s get out of here and get this over with. Nat can fill us in on the shit show that’s waiting for us back in Grey Ridge on the way.”
CHAPTER 41
CHASE
I don’t know why I insisted on driving. It was a terrible idea.
Van follows in a blacked-out SUV while Tripp sits in the middle of the back row, his head stuck between our seats as he asks Natalie a hundred questions, some I probably should have thought to ask before now.
How long do shifters live? Can humans be turned into a bear or do you have to be born that way? Does the full moon affect bears? Does it affect wolves?
If I’m a prince, will I have to go and do that instead of setting up our private security business? Do I get a castle? Why am I not angry at her all the time?
And the one he seems most interested in… Could other shifter women be interested in a normal human guy?
“I quite like the idea of a woman who can kick my ass,” he muses, finally sitting back and staring out the window, deep in contemplation.
“You need someone who can kiss your ass,” I mutter, shifting in my seat, knowing his friendly chat with my mate shouldn’t grate on me so much, but it does. I don’t like it when she smiles at him. It’s only when Tripp smacks my arm that I realise I’m growling at him.
NATALIE: This is why we can’t work together
When I glance at her, she smiles, resting her hand on my knee and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Maybe she’s right, for now.
“So, what’s going to happen when we arrive? Assuming these council guys are still hanging around?” Tripp is fascinated by the whole thing, but he’s going to have to play it cool. “They were not happy when we blocked them in. That woman was terrifying, but not in a good way”
I forgot to thank them for that. “There is no ‘good way’, Tripp.”
He just winks, respectfully disagreeing with me on that one.
“The first thing that’s going to happen is we’re going to drop you off at Taaffe’s, and you’re going to pretend you know absolutely nothing.” Natalie twists around in her seat and infuses her tone with impressive steel.
