But I was now as sure as Wade that Caitlyn was our mate. Which meant sending her away wasn’t an option, either. Neither of our wolves would allow her to distance herself.
Gib was going to be pissed when he heard my mate was a huge threat to the entire pack and our way of life. I wanted to run a hand over my face; to sigh. Being an alpha was a pain in the ass.
Instantly, I knew how to play this. We needed to keep her close. Know every move she made out here. Get our eyes on that research, and prevent it from being published.
“You ignored my brother’s refusal, and showed up here to trespass,” I said, my voice deep with all the frustration I felt.
She lifted her chin in defiance, but her gaze shifted from me to Wade, like I made her nervous. My wolf didn’t like her nervousness. Not one bit. I tried to soften my tone.
“After we address your… disobedience,” I flicked my brows so she remembered it would involve pleasure, “you may conduct your research on West land.”
Wade’s head whipped around and he stared at me, wide eyed. He didn’t say anything.
A smile spread across Caitlyn’s face and she opened her mouth to speak, then thought better of it.
“But there will be rules,” I added.
The smile dipped.
I lifted a finger. “Rule one. You will have Wade or myself with you at all times while you are on West land.”
She set her hands on her slim hips. “But what if you interfere? What if you scare off a wolf?”
“I assure you,” Wade drawled with a smirk, “we know how to be quiet in the wilderness.”
He didn’t say it, but he didn’t trust outsiders. Not after what had happened with his mom. Neither did I. I had to keep my pack safe, no matter how sweet the pussy.
I raised a second finger. “Rule two. You will remain here as our guest while you work. No putting up a tent to camp, no popping onto the land at random locations and times.”
I glanced at Wade, who was catching on to my plan. If she wanted her research data, she’d get it while one of us was with her. We could ensure she only tagged true wolves, not shifters. We could get her to stay here with us. At Wade’s house. Make sure she wasn’t a danger or threat. Know what her research was proving before she published it. In the meantime, we’d win her over and get her used to the idea of being claimed by two wolf shifters. Once she was ours, she’d see she couldn’t publish any paper that endangered our kind or our animal cousins.
We’d take care of the problem.
Gib and I lived in the old West homestead our great-great-great-grandparents had built, but he’d be returning soon with his mate and Ben. It was his place to raise a family. It was time for me to move out, especially since I’d be relocating right into a bed with Caitlyn in it.
These rules would also satisfy pack members. They wouldn’t be pleased to know a wolf researcher was on our land, but having her monitored at all times by both the temporary alpha and fill-in enforcer should keep them calm. For now. The saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer was apt.
She frowned. “I’ll stay with you? Every time I’m up here?”
“Every time?” My lips twitched. “How often did you plan on sneaking onto our land?”
She flushed and glanced at the ground. “I’m teaching an undergrad summer school class to… well, pay my rent. My plan was to camp here every weekend until I used up my trackers, or couldn’t find any more wolves,” she admitted. “All summer, if that’s what it takes. During the week, I’d be in Granger, teaching and monitoring.”
Wade took his hat off, ran a hand over his dark hair, then set it back on his head. The sun was over the mountains now, and the air was heating fast. “How many trackers do you have?”
“Ten.”
“I see. Well, you heard me,” I warned. “No camping. It’s neither safe nor welcome. You’ll stay with us.”
Camping in the wilderness held dangers to humans. Bears, even with bear spray, could easily kill, especially if it was a mom with some cubs. People in sleeping bags weren’t called bear burritos for nothing.
Caitlyn could fall down a ravine and no one would know where she was. Lightning. Mud slides. With every possible scenario I thought of where she could get hurt, I got more and more angry. Yeah, she was staying with us, where she would stay safe.
She looked at me skeptically.
“We said we’d never hurt you, and it’s the truth.” I offered Wade a glance and he nodded. “We protect what’s ours with our lives.” To Wade and me, this wasn’t a one-off thing. She’d be between us always. Starting right away.