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“HFE followed you, blindsided you, and would’ve kidnapped you. And you were so close to my territory, my wolf could sense you. I couldfeelyour fucking terror, Evie. But you were blocking me from finding you until you reached for the bond.”
“I thought I had it handled.”
“It’s my job to handle it for you.”
When cornered, go on the offensive. My sister had taught me that. “So, what? You’re allowed to protect me, but I’m not allowed to protect you?”
It was the first time I’d seen Nathaniel speechless, and I enjoyed it. For about a microsecond.
“Need I remind you that I’m an Alpha werewolf?”
“NeedIremind you that I’m a freak with plenty of magic at my disposal?”
“Call yourself a freak again,” he said, his voice quiet.
Shivering at the threat in his tone, I cleared my throat. “We’re getting off track. Look, we’re both new to this. We need to find some kind of compromise.”
“Here’s my compromise. Next time you find yourself being chased by our enemies—who would love to take you back to their lab so they can study your insides—you call me.”
I winced at that visual. “That sounds more like an order than any kind of compromise.”
He stared at me. I planted my hands on my hips and stared back. With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were their usual dark blue. “I adore you.”
I narrowed my eyes. What kind of tactic was this?
“Sweet-talking won’t get you what you want either, buddy.” Although it had a higher chance than hisorders.
“And there’s that cynical woman I fell in love with.” He took a step closer until he could catch my chin in his hand. “I was worried for you.”
“When I realized there was more than one of them, I was heading back toward wolf territory,” I muttered. “I realized I was in deep shit, and I’d decided to…”
“Decided to allow me to help.”
My traitorous lower lip was sticking out again. I sucked it back in. “Yeah,” I admitted.
His eyes flashed. “I suppose I should be grateful for that, at least.”
“Are you going to be like this all day? Just let me know so I can decide if I’ll hang around.”
“Fuck, you have a smart mouth. And youwillbe hanging around. You’re going nowhere without me from now on.”
I scowled at him. “Just try it, buddy.”
“That look would work better if your face weren’t bruised and swollen. You need some ice on it.”
He wasn’t wrong. I was feeling every bump and bruise. I followed Nathaniel into the kitchen. Tobias was nowhere to be seen. He’d likely fled when he heard us fighting. I couldn’t blame him.
Nathaniel hunted through the freezer until he found an ice pack. I took it and held it up to my face with a wince.
He was watching me. “Where else are you hurt?”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Evie.”
“Fine. Just don’t freak out.” I turned and stalked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Nathaniel prowled behind me, so close I could practically feel his warm breath on the back of my neck.
When we were finally in his bedroom, I dropped the ice pack on the bed and reached for my shirt.
