Turner (White Wolf Ridge 1)

She’s not scared, though. She’s glaring at me with such appalling anger. "So you did that to him?"

Normally I wouldn’t even dare to explain myself, but she is my mate. "No, and before you ask, I don't know where he's at."

She’s about to ask more questions—I can see it in her eyes—but I have to make a call.

"Hold on." I say, "Call Max." My SUV rings while we wait for my brother to pick up.

"What's up, Alpha?" he answers on the last ring.

"Be on the lookout for that fuck. Don't hurt him, but keep an eye on his movements should he enter our territory."

"What's going on? Are those fucks giving you shit? I'll be down there."

"No. I don't have beef with the Wolfe Creek pack."

"Okay. So I'll keep Aria safe and not let that fuck bother her. What's his problem?"

"They think he might be her mate, but I don’t hold much stock in that shit. I need you to do me a favor. Hold down the fort. I'll be a couple of days. I might send Mark back, but I'm going to be down here for a bit." I know the questions are coming, and I don’t even get a chance to answer because he’s tossing them out.

"What's going on? You never take a vacation, and the season starts soon. They're going to need you here. Daphne's going to freak out. You can't do that; she's about to have a baby."

"Daphne? You’re having a baby with someone? I'm not going to be your other woman," Maria gasps and hollers.

"Whoa. You have your mate. Sorry, brother. I will handle everything." He ends the call abruptly, which is good because I could strangle him. I grab Maria’s ponytail a little rougher than necessary and slightly tug her back because she's banging on my chest and is going to hurt herself.

"Calm your sexy ass down. Daphne's my assistant, and our resort opens in a couple of days. She’s extremely busy and meticulous, so he’s worried about her. Besides, her mate is my cousin.”

“Cousin?” she asks, her cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

“Yes, and by the way, love, we only ever have one mate."

"At a time?" She cocks her expertly sculpted brows at me.

"No—one, period. We only get one. You're the only one who does this to me." I groan as I grind my cock against her wet heat. I ache to come right now, but I need to be inside her. We must get to the hotel now. She moans, pulling at my inner beast, teasing the fucker until he’s ready to pin her to the backseat and drill into her over and over.

"Enough. We can talk later. I'm barely hanging on to my sanity. I don't think my wolf can handle any more of this." I lift her off me and sit her back into her seat. "Buckle up."

She does, her eyes as hungry as mine. We need to get in before I lose my mind. We're pulling up to the valet, and I'm nearly out of my seat before the vehicle is in park.

"Deputy Arroyo, you're back." I want to break his jaw for even knowing my mate.

"Hunter has a room here for us," I growl at him.

"Please check-in inside. I'll park it." He walks around and gives her a smirk and shakes his head.

"You were here with someone else?" I get the faintest hints of scent on her, but they're fleeting, not embedded in her, but those who pass her or even hug her. I growl, trying to understand that she's human and they don’t live by our standards of celibacy. She can go on and live happily with another man while I suffer for the rest of my life.

A woman approaches us with a smile before we’re two feet into the lobby. "Hello, Maria.” She smiles widely at my mate. She then looks at me with an arched brow. I breath in and know immediately that she’s Hunter’s mate. “You must be Turner. My husband said to take this to room four hundred four."

"Thank you, Mrs. Wolfe,” I say, letting her know without explanation that I know who she is.

"Please, call me Cat, and if you need anyone to speak with, don't hesitate.” She pulls Maria in for a hug and whispers, “Welcome to your new world." Of course I can hear her, but that’s so the rest of people around don’t hear.

"She was human," I whisper as we part ways. "She's Hunter's mate. I smell him on her."

"What? You know that?"

"Yes, and it's probably why she offered to tell you about things. She would know more than others. I have questions for Hunter as well, but they must wait until I have you under me, becoming mine for life."

"I don't understand this, but I don't want to fight it. Cat is one of the most worshipped women in town."