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“Basically, I’m never sleeping again.” She felt numb, unable to comprehend how she had put her entire pack at risk. This shouldn’t be happening.
“Am I the only one thinking of the one place no sane person would consider going? I mean, not to say the guy is sane, but even the crazy people stay away from Tuisa. Their border security is monitored and patrolled non-stop. Nobody gets in or out of there without them knowing.”
“I could say the same for our magical wards. No one has ever gotten through them before.” She snapped at Travis, annoyed at the suggestion.
“Maybe he came in with the mail or is a maintenance worker, I don’t know. But he figured it out. And he’s here now. I say we stash her over there and have them keep her safe.”
“I’m not going over there.” She grit her teeth. Their warriors aren’t any better than Aisling’s. “I’m just as safe here. We have a huge, well-trained army just like them. There’s nothing they can do that we can’t.”
“Except he’s already inside our borders, and we don’t patrol or have any experience patrolling the wards since we never needed to. And they have cameras and technology on their borders. He may have gotten through our magic, but no one gets over Tuisa borders. You know that.”
She yanked Travis’s arm slightly. “If you love Tuisa so much, then you go over there. I’m staying here with my parents.”
Nicholas frowned at her. “For once, my son is making sense. Your presence here means everyone will be on alert, protecting you instead of finding him. If I get you out of here, we can use all our resources to find him.”
She shook her head. “Rule number one was to not leave the Aisling wards. I can’t.”
“That was operating on the assumption he couldn’t get inside. Now he’s here. That rule is moot. And what was rule number two?”
“Follow your instructions.” Her whole body was clenching as she fought the urge to rebel against him, but even her wolf had to submit to their Beta. Other than her Alpha, he was the only one who could command her wolf.
This couldn’t be happening.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll contact Alpha Axel and see what he says. I’m sending you home with a dozen warriors. They’ve alreadycleared your house and will stay there until I say. Pack some bags and be ready.”
“Seriously, Nicholas. I’ll be fine. He won’t be ballsy enough to come to my house. Not with so many people there.”
“Unless you’re okay with six men surrounding you at all times—when you sleep, shower, eat…”
“Every girl’s wet dream.” She couldn’t help being a smartass, but her dry remark was not met well.
He frowned at her, and Travis tried to disguise his laugh with a cough. “Not the time.”
“Yes, sir.”
She stepped outside just as her parents were pulling up, and she had to calm her hysterical mother. “Mom, I think you’re taking it much worse than I did. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. This is insane. I’m taking you out of here. We can go take a vacation, head to see family, over to Europe, take you to see Aunt Lonnie in Italy. Anything. I’m not letting somesegaiolosteal my baby.”
For several minutes, she listened to her mom cuss and rant in Italian, and just when she had her calmed down, Nicholas walked back up.
“It’s settled. We are escorting you outside the pack wards and meeting Tuisa halfway. They will keep you hidden over there, and Travis and Gio will go with you.”
She frowned. “Why not meet in NahleCheile? It’s much faster.”
“We want him to think we are taking you somewhere else. Gonna load several Suburbans and decoy cars. We’ll put someone in a blonde wig and lead him to the airport. Tuisa will have a full unit of warriors at the exchange. Go get packed, then load up in the Suburban I’m sending to your house. You got thirty minutes to be ready.”
Back at home in her room, she angrily threw clothes into her still half-packed suitcase from the mate tour. Tossing in random items from around the room, she barely paid attention to what she was bringing. She was so fucking pissed at this asshole. Her life was already a mess, and she didn’t have time for shit like this. Instead of getting on the road away from her mate, she was heading straight back to him, and that terrified her more than the stalker jackass.This couldn’t end well.
She didn’t want to think about why she was so afraid of Nassau, but it was inevitable. She could predict most men—they were easy, and she always knew what they wanted. But there was something about him. She couldn’t figure him out, and yet, he seemed to see right through her. She couldn’t play the game with him, and that…that’s what terrified her. Spending more time around him was going to weaken her resolve, and she knew it.
She tried to think of a way to change Nicholas’s mind before the exchange, but it was all so smooth, she didn’t have time to protest. Barely slowing down on a dark road, a Tuisa wolf she had never seen before ran from the shadows and hopped into the passenger seat next to Gio. A few more turns, and they slowed slightly until a dozen gray and black wolves were running alongside the car.
She felt the buzz and pushback when they passed through the invisible pack borders, then approached the guard station of the only road into Tuisa. They had a fancy little mechanical arm, and it reminded her the Tuisa brand and business was a ridiculously famous cattle ranch brand even among humans despite their intense privacy requirements.Gio continued to follow the muted instructions of their escort as he drove, and after the mechanical arm raised for them, she could see the spread of the wolves running along the border, their eyes glinting in the moonlight.
She wasn’t used to a traditional pack set-up since Aisling had magical borders, and they had never needed a patrol. But now,as she stared at the lines of wolves constantly moving, either along the border, or escorting their car inside, she thought maybe Nicholas was right—this was going to be safer. They probably wouldn’t even let her sleep alone. But the further into the heart of the pack they went, the more she felt the pull from her wolf. And instinctually, in the dark, she knew the way back to him, her hand raising involuntarily to the window as they passed his neighborhood.
Chapter 11
