“Is someone I’ve never met,” I said sharply. “So I can’t be expected to trust her.”
“That hasn’t stopped her from wondering about you.”
“Keeping tabs.”
“Robbie,” he said.
“Robbie,” I agreed.
“Would you believe me if I told you that his updates have gotten exceedingly vague as time has gone by?”
I would, because they had. I nodded slowly, wondering if I was going to have to fight this gruff man for one of my pack. Because Robbie wasn’t his. He didn’t belong to Alpha Hughes. He belonged to me. Here. With the pack.
“She understands.”
“Does she?” I asked.
“Probably more than you know. I can’t say you don’t have the instincts we do, because I don’t know what you are. But a wolf knows when he fits. When he finds a home. There’s a pull. In his head and chest. It starts off small at first. But it grows, if allowed. And you’ve allowed it.”
“You can’t take him back,” I said bluntly. “I won’t let you.”
He eyed me for a moment. Then, “I wouldn’t ask that of him. Or you.”
“He’s mine now.” And something primal in me took great joy from the thought.
“We know. It’s not exactly ideal, but—”
“Better than Osmond.”
The gruff man flinched at that. “Fair.”
“Fair? I think that might be an understatement.”
“Osmond was… unforeseen.”
“Osmond was a mistake. I think even Thomas knew that. Before it happened.”
“No one could have seen that coming.”
“Maybe you weren’t looking hard enough. Do you even know how it happened? When? Was he turned, or did he always belong to Richard Collins?”
The gruff man rubbed a hand over his face. “Those are questions we hope to ask him if he’s found.”
“When he’s found.”
“For someone who doesn’t trust what I’m saying, you’re putting an awful lot of faith in our teams.”
“I’m not talking about your teams,” I said coolly.
“He’ll work for us, Robbie will,” the gruff man said. “We ask that you keep us informed of any… changes.”
“Changes.”
“To your pack. Normally, when a pack adds members, there’s a vetting process. To avoid any chance of letting someone in who has other interests at heart.”
I blinked. “Was I vetted?”
“Partly. Mostly it was the word of Thomas. People usually didn’t say no to him. Even after he stepped down. He was… persuasive.”