Pack first. Family first. Always.
"Well," Gerri said, stepping uninvited into his foyer with the confidence of someone who owned the place. "I certainly didn't expect the chemistry between you two to be quite that intense, but wow. That was one of the more impressive displays between fated mates I've witnessed in decades."
Dorian's head snapped toward the matchmaker, ice flooding his veins. "You knew."
It wasn't a question.
"You knew she was my fated mate, and you brought her here anyway? When you knew how wounded my sister and pack are?"
Gerri's expression didn't hold even a flicker of guilt. If anything, she looked pleased with herself, like a cat who'd successfully delivered a particularly impressive dead mouse to her favorite human.
"I brought the one person most qualified to heal not only your sister and pack, but you as well, dear."
"I never asked for any of this." The words came out rougher than intended, edged with the kind of barely controlled fury thatmade pack members step carefully around him. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
Gerri opened her mouth to respond, but footsteps in the corridor cut her off. Dorian's entire body went taut as Harper reappeared, her color more normal but something guarded in her expression that hadn't been there before. She'd pulled herself together with impressive speed, but he could still catch the faint tremor in her—confusion, attraction, and something that might've been fear.
Not of me,his wolf insisted.Of what she felt.
"Are you alright?" The question escaped before he could stop it, his voice gentler than before.
Harper's chin lifted slightly. "Yes, perfectly fine. Just got a bit overwhelmed from the drive and the mountain air, that's all."
It was a lie. They both knew it. But Dorian didn't press, even though every protective instinct urged him to find out what had shaken her and fix it immediately.
Gerri turned to Harper with a bright smile that didn't quite reach her knowing eyes. "I really wish I could stay and chat more, but I have a client meeting back in the city that simply can't wait." She pulled a business card from her purse and pressed it into Harper's hand. "If you need anything at all—and I do mean anything—just reach out."
The look Gerri shot Dorian over Harper's head was loaded with enough meaning to power the entire mountain town. Then she was gone, leaving him alone with his fated mate in the sudden, charged silence of his foyer.
Get control of the situation. Be the responsible Alpha, not the man who wants to back her against the nearest wall and?—
"I can help you with your suitcase," he said, cutting off that dangerous train of thought. "Show you to your guest room where you'll be staying. Then maybe, if you're feeling up to it, you could join Lila and me for dinner tonight? Ease into things gradually."
Harper nodded, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. "That sounds perfect. I really am feeling tired from the trip and could use some time to decompress before meeting Lila."
Dorian moved to collect her suitcase from where Gerri had left it by the door, and the brief brush of her arm against his sent electricity crackling through his system all over again.
Control yourself.
He led her up the grand staircase he'd spent months restoring, the carved banister smooth under his palm from years of oil and careful maintenance. She maintained deliberate distance behind him, but he was hyperaware of her every movement and the slight hitch in her breath as they ascended the stairs to the second level. The guest room he'd chosen was far enough from his private chambers that his wolf wouldn't go completely insane, but close enough that he'd be able to reach her in seconds if she needed protection.
"This is beautiful," Harper said softly when he opened the door to reveal the room he'd personally restored over the past year.
Warm wood floors, a stone fireplace, windows that looked out over the valley, and furniture he'd built himself during the long winter nights when sleep eluded him.
He set her suitcase down beside the antique dresser, pride warming his chest at her obvious appreciation. "Dinner's at five. Just settle in until then."
"Thank you for your hospitality."
The formal words hit him wrong, too polite and distant for what had passed between them. But he forced himself to nod and step back toward the door, even though every instinct told him to stay, to make sure she was comfortable, to somehow bridge the gap that professional boundaries had wedged between them.
Just leave. Before you do something completely foolish like pull her into your arms and find out if her mouth is as soft as it looks.
"See you in a few hours," he said, then fled before his control shattered entirely.
The afternoon had stretched into evening like a punishment, each hour dragging by while Dorian paced the length of his home office. His wolf prowled restlessly, hyperaware of Harper's presence somewhere above him in the guest room. The scent of jasmine and summer rain had seeped into the very walls of his estate, making concentration impossible.
She's here. Under your roof. Your fated mate is here.
