Page 87 of Big Bad Wolf

Rafe lay next to him, trying to catch his breath, memories of all the other times they’d done this racing through his head. It wasn’t always bad. It wasn’t always some forced show for their father and the pack. For a long time, it had just been him and his brothers pouncing on each other in the tall grass, for fun, for petty victories, to settle their latest argument. But it hadn’t lasted. Their father wanted a winner.

“Keep your hands off Ruby,” he muttered.

Theo laughed. “For fuck’s sake, Rafe, you don’t own the girl. You won’t have her and you won’t let anyone else have her either?”

Rafe sat up and Theo did the same, his green eyes flashing merrily in the sun. Everything was always a joke to him. The youngest, the prettiest. He never had to care about anything. Until they were in the ring and their father wanted blood. But even then, it was left to Rafe to make the hard decisions.

“Stay away from her.”

Theo’s eyebrows raised. “You’re serious? What are you going to do? Hang around here scaring off any guy that comes around?”

Rafe was ashamed to say the thought had definitely occurred to him. The idea of any man near Ruby sent his entire body on edge, every muscle coiled to pounce, every atom ready to act.

Theo saw it. He smelled it. The difference in Rafe’s body chemistry.

“Oh my God⁠—”

“Don’t say it,” Rafe warned.

“She’s your⁠—”

“Don’t fucking say another word.”

“Mate.”

Rafe closed his eyes at the word, like he could hide from it.

Theo stood, yanking on his shorts. “She’s your Mate! Holy shit.”

“Keep your voice down.”

“This is huge. What are you going to do?” Theo’s face was lit up like a pup with a bone.

“I’m going to leave, just like I said.” He had to leave. This was the only thing that made sense, the only way to keep her safe. Safe from him, safe from these other wolves, safe from whatever this damn Mate bond might mean for her.

Theo stopped in his tracks, staring down at where Rafe still sat in the flattened grass. “You’re going to abandon your Mate? What the hell are you thinking?”

Rafe ground his teeth together. “It’s for the best.”

“For the best?” Theo shouted. “How could this possibly be for the best? Can you even leave her? I mean, physically. I heard wolves that try to leave their Mates go mad.”

Rafe stood so they were nose to nose. He hadn’t heard that one, but he’d been feeling like he wanted to crawl out of his skin since he figured out what Ruby was to him. Every moment he wasn’t near her felt like being flayed alive, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to tell Theo that. “She’s human. I won’t force her to be tied to me forever. She doesn’t need any more of this werewolf bullshit in her life.”

Theo blew out a breath. “You didn’t even tell her, did you?”

Rafe flinched.

“Christ, Rafe! You didn’t even give her a chance to decide!”

“She’s not one of us! I don’t even know if it’s possible.”

“Of course it is! You found your Mate. That’s… That’s … amazing.” Something wistful crossed Theo’s face, but Rafe ignored it.

“It’s not amazing. It’s impossible. I’m leaving.” He didn’t want her to understand. This couldn’t work; none of this made sense. He had to get out of here before he did something rash, before he really did go mad with the need to touch her.

“I’m coming with you.” They both swung around at the sound of Ruby’s voice. She strode down the back steps, a backpack slung over one shoulder. She’d changed from that absurdly small skirt into a pair of black jeans, but the tight red tank top remained to torture him. She’d topped the whole thing with a red cloak that somehow suited her perfectly.

How much had she heard?