Fifteen minutes later—I refused to bow down to my younger brother—I grabbed a glass from the kitchen cabinet and filled it with water. I drank it in one long gulp. Only then did I turn and face my brothers. And Clint.
“Fuck,” I whispered.
Clint tossed a bottle of ibuprofen at me. I caught it with my free hand, then set my water down to get the lid open and take some. The shower had helped. I felt a little better with fresh clothes and the itchy start of a beard gone. My head still throbbed, and my stomach felt like it was made of battery acid. I couldn’t remember the last thing I ate.
“You did a good thing with Kara and her mate,” Clint said. He sat at the kitchen table, hands folded on the scarred surface. A plate piled with steak sat in the middle of the table, but it only made my stomach turn.
Colton must’ve understood because he went to the bread box and pulled out a roll. “Eat this.”
It had to be one of Marina’s since it had a golden exterior and a fancy twist in it, but it was plain. Thank fuck.
I gnawed off a chunk and chewed, hoping it would stay down. Shifters shouldn’t get hung over. I didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with me.
Oh yes, I did. I’d been drinking non-stop to keep from going after Willow and even a shifter’s metabolism and ability to heal couldn’t compete with constant guzzling of alcohol.
“He showed up yesterday. Kara’s mate,” Colton said. “Needless to say, they were mated by dark.”
I grunted in reply. So fucking easy. Literally. Kara had her mate’s mark on her neck, and here I was, nursing a wicked hangover with my brothers and Clint.
“You trying to get me to drink some more?” I asked them.
“No, fucker. You need to go get your mate.”
I eyed Boyd. “You mean the human I can’t have, or do you mean the undercover DEA agent posing as our neighbor?”
Clint shook his head. “Your mate. The one your wolf wants.”
“He doesn’t know what he wants,” I grumbled.
“Oh yeah?” Colton asked. “She’s been at Markle’s place a couple times now.”
I tossed my glass into the empty fireplace, shattering it into pieces. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
The men didn’t even blink by my action.
“Yeah, just as I thought,” Colton said. “She’s yours.”
“If she’s mine, why the fuck’s she with Markle? Did he take her wine this time?” I sounded like a petty, snarly wolf pup. I couldn’t help it. I felt like I should just shoot myself and the idea of Markle anywhere near Natalie made me want to rip the asshole’s throat out.
“Did she tell you who she suspected of drug running?”
I shook my head, realized that was a bad move, then grabbed a new glass from the cabinet for more water.
“I told her it wasn’t us.”
Boyd laughed. “For an alpha, you’re pretty fucking stupid.” I just stared at him. “Did it ever occur to you it might be Markle?”
I stopped, glass halfway to my mouth, and stared at him. “Markle?”
“Why the fuck do you think she went over there with wine that night?” Colton asked. “Why the DEA had her posing as Natalie Shefield, Markle’s next door neighbor.”
Markle. A drug runner. That actually made a lot of sense.
“We’ve been watching her,” Clint said evenly. “Since she left the other day from the picnic.”
My gaze narrowed and homed in on my oldest friend. “Why?”
He sighed. “Because she’s your mate, and if you’re not going to watch out for her, someone had to.”
“She’s fucking DEA, you asshole,” Boyd said. “Undercover. She’s here for a reason, and it’s not to ride your dick. I suppose that was a surprise twist for her, too.”
“I’m sure she can take care of herself,” Colton began. “But she’s not here to turn the house into a fucking bed and breakfast. She’s dealing with real bad shit. She needs backup, and I don’t see any from the DEA.”
“She’s doing her job, brother,” Boyd said, his voice calmer than usual. “Do you really think she wanted to keep herself a secret? To lie? Do you take her for someone like that? You’ve got a job, too, you moron. Being alpha, you have to make sacrifices, too. You’re more alike than you think.”
I sighed, even though what he said made sense. “That still doesn’t make her my mate.”
“No, your wolf made her your mate.”
“She’s human!” I growled, the windows shaking. “The pack won’t allow it.”
Colton came over and stood right before me. “You’re alpha. Tell the pack to get in line, or they can walk. You’re going to die, brother, if you don’t mate her.”
“I’m not mating her to save my life.”
“Why the fuck not? We all do. That’s the point!” Boyd shouted.
“Do you want her?” Clint asked, quieter than either Boyd or Colton.