She lifts her knee, pressing it lightly against my groin. A warning. The pressure is just enough to make me very aware of how close she is to ending my bloodline.
I grin down at her. “The more violent you are, the more I want to kiss you.”
Her heartbeat is a war drum under my fingers. She wants this. She wants me. But she’s too stubborn, too proud, too determined to keep control.
It delights me. Wolves love a good chase.
I release her wrist and step back, watching her exhale. “You should still come to the game. Especially if you’re taking Coach up on his offer.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but Ethan rounds the corner, the wrapper now crumpled in his fist like a trophy. He takes one look at Miranda and immediately grabs her hand, pulling her away from me.
“What were you doing?” he asks, suspicious.
“Talking,” Miranda says quickly.
I raise my eyebrows at the possessive way my son tucks himself against her side, keeping her hand locked in both of his. He’s claiming her. Pack instinct, raw and unfiltered in a child too young to understand what he’s doing.
“Ethan,” I say sharply. “Miranda doesn’t belong to you.”
Miranda frowns at me. “Don’t scold him like that.”
I frown and wish I could explain that possessive bonding in young wolves needs to be guided early before it calcifiesinto something unhealthy. That I’m not being cruel, I’m being careful.
But I can’t say any of that without saying everything.
“I’m going to change,” I say instead, ruffling Ethan’s hair. “Then we can get something to eat. I’m starving.”
“Me too!” Ethan bounces on his toes.
“Are you always hungry?” Miranda asks him, and the warmth in her voice does something to my chest I don’t want to examine.
“Always,” Ethan confirms solemnly.
I head toward the locker room, leaving them in the corridor. The team has mostly filtered out, gear bags slung over shoulders, the sound of chatter fading as they head for the parking lot.
Coach is waiting by the entrance.
“A word,” he says.
“What’s up?”
“Miranda and you. What’s going on?” His jaw is tense.
“Nothing.” I make a face. “She’s just a nurse, and Ethan likes her.”
“It’s more than that.” He studies me. “Do you want to sleep with her?”
I splutter. “What? Even if I did, there’s no rule against it. The rest of the guys sleep with human women all the time.”
“She’s not just any human woman. She’s going to be involved in this pack’s inner workings.” He crosses his arms. “You know very well that the others don’t spend so much time with the human women they sleep with.”
His meaning isn’t lost on me, and I press my lips together before spitting out, “She’s not my fated mate. I’d know.”
“Are you certain?”
“Leon.” I keep my voice flat. “I know the law. I’ve always known the law. And she doesn’t trigger the bond. So back off.”
He holds my gaze for a long moment. “Keep it physical if you must,” he says. “The moment it becomes something else, you come to me. Understood?”
