“What?” she continues. “So you don’t want him but you don’t want anyone else to have him? I’ve gone from a pack with one lousy alpha to having just a few more days around this pack with a whole bunch ofrealalphas who are unattached and you think I’m not gonna try and bag one? The one you’re not interested in is the hottest of the super alphas, so seems to me if you don’t want him, you shouldn’t care if I go for it.”
“That’s debatable,” says Misty, who I didn’t realize was clued into this conversation. “Joel is beyond dreamy. Not that Jase isn’t. I just prefer dark-haired guys. And… you know… lusting after guys that areactuallysingle.” She shoots Caroline a dirty look.
“What’s goin’ on?” Stacy asks, stepping up with a look of concern on her face. She’s picking up on the seriously unhappy vibe between me and this chick.
“She intends to make a pass at Jase,” I hiss. “She’s obviously clueless about what happens when an alpha identifies his mate.”
“Well, our pack was pretty sheltered,” Stacy starts to say, but Caroline cuts her off.
“Seems to me if you don’t want him, he’s fair game. No?”
“Caroline,” Stacy says, “it doesn’t work that way. He’s only going to be focused on Bailey and just Bailey unless their bond is somehow severed.”
“Well, if that happens, at least he’ll know I’m interested.”
She gets to her feet and downs her wine before she sets her empty glass beside the full one and moves in that direction.
Before I even calculate what I’m doing, I’ve got her blonde hair in my fist and I’m yanking her back.
She shrieks.
And all eyes are now on us, including…fuck… Jase’s.
Jase rushes this way calling out, “What’s wrong, Bailey?”
I let go of Caroline and mutter, “Ohmigod!”
I hurry away, mortified, feeling eyes on my back as I rush toward the building.
Jase catches up with me at the door.
“Bailey?”
“Leave me alone, Jason,” I mutter, going inside and heading straight for my desk where I squat to open the cupboard and grab my bag, fishing through it to find my keys. All I can do is shut off the lights and walk back toward the door, where he’s holding it wide until I get through. He steps ahead of me and I lock it. He follows me to my car, but just before I can grip the door handle, he’s between me and my car, demanding, “Talk to me.”
“What part of leave me alone don’t you understand?” I snap, then cry out, “I mean, fuck!”
He raises his hands defensively, expression hardening before he steps aside.
I push away the crushing sensation in my chest, unsure if it’s because of all that’s happening or just the look on his face right now and yank the door open and get inside, slamming it and driving myself home.
Of course he’s almost immediately directly behind me, following me.
Argh.
29
ERICA SAVAGE
“See how he looks at her, Erica?” Vivi asks.
“Uh huh, I sure do.”
Jason Creed is a testosterone-fueled powder keg and our sweet, inexperienced Bailey Blackwood has become the fiery match.
When we found out Bailey put Jase under Aphra’s shield and knew he was in there and ready to go into the rut the minute he got out, we were beyond concerned. It was good that Bailey asked for help because the last thing we wanted was for him to drag her off somewhere and make things even worse. Dani’s plan to get him to slow down and pay attention was perfect.
“I know from firsthand experience that when we finally let this wolf off his leash, this poor girl is going to need a whole lot of ice for her lady parts.”