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Chris grabbed the front of Aiden’s shirt and jerked him toward him, so close their noses were almost touching. “Your mark is on my daughter. If you ever let another woman touch you again or give Kenzie any reason to doubt you, I will rip out your heart. Do you understand me?”
Aiden gulped, “I won’t, I promise.” When he spoke, he was answering Chris, but he was looking at her. His eyes were so earnest, pleading, and filled with truth.
She nodded, ignoring her small insecurities, “I believe you.”
Chris shoved him away, hard enough that Aiden stumbled, “Good. I’d hate to have to kill you. Marshall would be pissed.”
Kenzie chuckled, “Thank you for defending my honor. But we aren’t official or anything, so technically he can do whatever he wants.”
Aiden growled deep, a snarl fixing on his face, “That is bullshit Mackenzie. You wear my mark and that makes us official, whether you are ready to admit it or not. Your father is right. No other woman should ever touch me because I am yours and I do not want anyone else. Whether I bare your mark yet, or not.”
Kenzie swallowed the lump in her throat and looked away from his intense gaze. She would not show him her doubts. “Fine.”
She didn’t hear him move, but suddenly he was crouching in front of her. He gently took her chin and turned her face back to him, “Kenzie, you don’t trust me, do you?”
She shook her head, “It’s not that.”
“Tell me then.”
He spoke so calmly but she could see the worry in his eyes. She didn’t even have to open herself up to know what he was feeling, she could see he was hurt.
She touched his chin where the lipstick smear had been, “You had a life before I came along. This mate bond kind of slapped us both in the face and we just rolled with it. The bond is telling you that you want me, not your heart. The bond doesn’t always mean everything. Look at your parents. Your dad rejected his mate for your mom.”
Aiden smiled and shook his head, “No Kenz, it’s more than that. I want you for you, not because of the bond. And my dad’s mate was also in love with someone else. Neither of them wanted the bond, so they both rejected it and are happier for it.”
Kenzie glanced at Chris over Aiden’s shoulder. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him, but Chris just seemed like the voice of reason in all this chaos.
Chris smiled at her and nodded,“He’s in love with you Kenzie.”
She couldn’t have been more shocked if Chris had slapped her. She looked back and forth between her father and the man she knew she already cared deeply for. Her own feelings were so jumbled these days. She knew she cared about him a lot and wanted him in her life, but love?
There was so much going on and it was all so confusing. How could she possibly know how she felt right then? She couldn’t deal with what her father said, so decided to ignore the comment. She focused on Aiden again, “Okay.”
He gave her a skeptical look, “Okay?”
“Yes, okay. I believe you.” She looked at Chris, “We came here because we had an idea about Andre and his intentions. Aiden, why don’t you tell him.”
Aiden took another moment to study her face before sighing and moving to sit on the chair next to hers. Then he told Chris what they’d discussed.
Chris looked shocked, “You think Corine is the mole? I know she has a less than appealing sense of superiority and would do anything to be the most powerful, but I can’t see her working with Andre. She would be betraying us, betraying William. She’s been on the council for half a century, working every day to keep peace between the species. Why would she go against that?”
Kenzie shrugged, “Maybe she doesn’t think of it that way.”
“What other way could it be?” Chris’ doubts were obvious. He couldn’t wrap his head around the idea. He believed it even less than Aiden.
“We need to figure out what Andre’s goals are. If they do not involve hurting the werewolves, but gaining them more power, I think Corine would jump at the opportunity.” The way Annabelle had said that Corine boasted that Kenzie wouldn’t be around for long, made her think she was involved with the kidnapping attempts.
When she voiced her thoughts, Chris shoved up from his chair and grabbed his phone. She knew she shouldn’t listen to his conversation but was too curious.
It was William who answered. “Ah Chris, missing us already?”
“No. We may have a problem, William. Are you alone?”
There was the scrape of a chair and some low voices in the background that she couldn’t make out, then silence, “Okay, I’m alone. What is it?”
Chris explained everything they’d told him, then waited for William’s reply.
“Son of a bitch. I can’t believe she would go this far.” His voice sounded angry, but she could also hear sadness. They had been friends for a long time, and he didn’t want to believe Corine could be capable of this kind of betrayal.
