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Was he disappointed? “Is that what you want?” she whispered. “For me to feel this way with someone else?”
“No.” He bit the word out, so harsh Olivia jumped. “Let’s go.” He clasped her wrist and led her from the room, not bothering to turn back—or release her.
Olivia couldn’t stop her smile then. He might not be happy about the effect she had on him. But he wasn’t denying it. And that was a good place to start.
Chapter Twelve
Gentry drove, so Mal sat in the front passenger seat, his attention seeking out Olivia in the visor mirror again and again. She was squished against her seat, making as much room for Dante as possible. He wasn’t doing so hot, the silver in his body making him weak and green. If he thought it sucked now, he was going to have a hell of a time when they dug the metal out. It had to be done so Dante could shift and heal.
The sooner they got there, the sooner he’d have to face facts. Him and Olivia. There was a small part of him that hoped she’d bond with another wolf—a very small part of him. Which would likely result in his wolf trying to kill whoever it was. She’d been worried about Dante, but not overly so. As big an asshole as that made him, Mal was relieved.
Is that what you want? For me to feel this way with someone else?
She hadn’t been prepared for his response. Hell, he hadn’t been prepared for his response. But as soon as the words were out, he knew the answer. Not just no, but fuck no. Having this much space between them with another wolf present was driving him crazy, a weakness he was doing his best not to reveal to Gentry or Dante.
He alternated watching the road and checking on Olivia. She seemed to shrink into herself in the morning sun, staring out the window with wide eyes, her brain in overdrive. Her wolf could sense what was coming and wasn’t making it easy on her. Once the shift was over, both Olivia and her wolf should be more at ease with their new status. For her sake, he hoped that was the case.
There’d been some improvements since he was last at the refuge. The fencing was higher, threaded through with razor wire and some high-tech cameras and sensors, but the ivy-covered cinder-block walls were just as tall and thick as they’d been three months before. Only now they didn’t offer the same sense of protection.
“New security?” Mal asked as they approached the refuge entrance.
“Brown went on an upgrade rampage after we got his daughter back.” Gentry glanced at him, steering Finn’s state-of-the-art, bulletproof SUV through the massive reinforced metal gates of the refuge. “She’s pretty messed up.”
“Who is Brown?” Olivia’s question was hesitant.
Mal’s tone was soft. “Brown is Finn’s head of security. Good man with an axe to grind. Eight years ago, the Others killed his wife and took his daughter.”
“She barely talks, acts like a cornered animal most of the time.” Gentry paused. “They turned her.”
Mal stared out the windshield, processing this new development. Brown’s daughter had been bitten by the Others, making her an Other. Where did her loyalties lie? She’d been a captive for so long, it was a legitimate question. Could being liberated from her abductors allow her alliance to move from one pack to the next? The unknowns were piling up again.
“She’s a wolf?” Olivia asked.
Gentry nodded. “Just like you, missy,” he said, all southern charm.
Mal glared at him.
“But the only wolves in Finn’s pack are you”—Olivia pointed at Mal—“Dante, Anders, Hollis, and Finn?”
“And Oscar,” Dante added, his voice hoarse.
Gentry chuckled. “Cute little thing, too.”
“Oscar is Finn’s son,” Mal reminded her. “The only natural-born wolf among us.”
Olivia
nodded, her hand absentmindedly rubbing her leg. “And Jessa is expecting a baby…wolf?”
Mal nodded. One more thing that needed defending. What the hell was Finn thinking? It was bad enough when he’d knocked up some hookup in the first place. She’d died because of it—leaving a son to be raised by their pack. Adding a mate and kids to the mix was asking a hell of a lot, from all of them. His actions dragged all their wolves into his emotional free-fall—taking one more choice from them. He flexed his hand, the familiar prickle of anger skimming across his skin.
“How are you involved, Gentry?” Olivia asked. “You’re not a wolf.”
“Never been invited to join the pack.” He winked. “But, hell, as long as I get to blow things up and shoot my big guns now and then, I’m happy.”
“You’d want to be turned?” Olivia’s curiosity made Mal smile. He liked that about her, the way her mind worked, even if all the questions got irritating. If he was ready to face facts, and he wasn’t sure he was, there wasn’t much he didn’t like about Olivia.
“Are you kidding me?” Gentry asked. “Who wouldn’t want to let out their inner beast now and then, raise a little hell, kick a little ass.”
