Page 38 of Fake It ’Til You Mate It

All Alpha cabins are basically split in two and his is no exception. One side belongs to Max and only Max; the only exception being, of course, his invited guests. It’s his private territory, and to encroach on it is basically a challenge to his authority as Alpha. We don’t have many challenges among opossums. With the adrenaline ramping up too high, we tend to drop before finishing a fight, so an opossum challenge would be pretty anticlimactic.

Wolf challenges? Predators? They’re a completely different story. Mercy is a rarity. To let your opponent walk away, it’s a sign that an Alpha won’t do whatever he must to hold his seat. If you can’t trust an Alpha to quash a challenge, it’s easy to start second-guessing whether he’ll protect you when it counts. Eventually, even if the first challenger gives up, there will be plenty more to take their place.

So, yeah. No one goes in that side of the cabin. The smaller half, however, is what they refer to as the pack den. It’s a place where all packmates can go and petition Max for whatever help they need. That’s communal space, and I figured he would set me and Gus up on a spare couch in the den all the way up until he helps me and Gus out of the cruiser, leading us to the front door on the larger half.

I drag my feet. It doesn’t work. His hand is on my shoulder, giving me the subtle nudge I need to take the path toward his entrance.

He shoves in the door. It’s not locked. Of course it’s not. Who would even think about trying to rob the Alpha?

I gulp, clutching Gus to me. He squeaks when I squeeze him more than I should. Murmuring an apology under my breath, I loosen my hold, then peer up at Max. “Are you sure this is okay?”

He keeps his other hand where it is, guiding me inside. “I’m the Alpha. I want you here. That’s all that matters.”

A shiver jerks down my spine.

“It’s alright, Killer. You’re safe here. As long as you’re under my protection, no one can get to you.”

It takes everything I have to keep all of my blood from rushing to my face. I’m a prey shifter. Letting a predator—letting an Alpha—be responsible for my safety is part of the gig. But it’s not just any predator, it’s my fated mate, and he’s leading me into his house.

I haven’t felt like I was going to faint in days, and while I manage to stay standing, it’s a little touch and go for a second there.

The house smells of Max. Of pine and richness, a masculine musk and mine. The cabin is decorated to suit him: everything is in shades of chocolate, something that soothes my baker’s heart.

“There’s a murderer on the loose.”

I quirk my lips in a crooked grin. “Are you sure you didn’t invite her into your territory?”

The look he gives me has my knees turning to jelly. “Yes, Honey. I’m sure.”

Oh. I blink. My knees are weak, but they’re not really wobbly. Not like I’m about to play possum. I’m still on my feet, and if my inner beast had her way, I’d be sleeping in Max’s bed tonight.

I shake my head. Right. Spare guestroom. “So where should I⁠—”

A knock raps against the thick wooden door. Max was already turning to unlock it, his senses giving him an advance warning that we were about to have a guest.

Tugging in the door, I peek around Max. Standing on the porch, wearing enough expensive-looking silk shirt and pressed trousers set, is Riordan, the Moonburrow deputy and Moonshadow Pack Beta.

He nods at Max. “The pack council is waiting for you.”

If it was bad enough that I was going to have to sleep in the Alpha cabin tonight, add that to being told that my presence was expected at the pack meeting next door.

There were at least ten different wolves waiting for Max and Riordan to join them. I slipped in, hoping that all of the predators wouldn’t notice the two prey animals—one wild, one a shifter—among them. Yeah, right. I had shifter eyes flashing at me from all directions.

Gus is on my shoulder. I reach up, laying my palm on his rump, comforting both of us as I shuffled to the other side of the room.

It’s much less furnished than the Alpha cabin. I see one large desk tucked near the back of the room, a seat behind it, and two seats in front of it. Max takes the seat behind the desk. No one sits in the visitors chairs. I almost do, but figure putting a little distance between me and Max might be a good idea right now.

Once he’s sitting, he gets right to business. Gesturing at each of the wolves in turn, he gives me a name and rank as though we’re part of the human military and not a shifter pack. They each nod—to Max, not me—and I wonder what the hell is going on.

Until he gets to the last one, and I’m suddenly distracted.

“And, of course, you’ve already met Riordan Lobo, Pack Beta.”

Lobo.

Lobo.

“Riordan’s your brother?” I blurt out. “I thought he was the Beta.”