Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 297(@200wpm)___ 238(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
“No, sir.” Tyler winced as he shifted in the seat. The cuts and bruises that had been on his body when I’d found him had healed quite a bit. The bleeding had stopped, and the smaller wounds had already disappeared. The perk of young wolf genes. “I was with Riley Abbott down by the river.”
The corner of Rob’s mouth tipped up. I had a feeling the alpha and his mate may have spent some time down by the river on a day off themselves. I had no doubt Tyler’d had sex with another shifter teen before, especially after a moon run. The topic wasn’t embarrassing or a big deal to any of us.
“A mountain lion must’ve been stalking us,” Tyler explained. “We were… distracted, and I didn’t get the scent early enough. Once I got a whiff, it was too late. He was already up on us. He attacked. I fought it but switched to wolf form.”
Rob’s eyes widened, but he stayed quiet. His gaze slid to me.
I nodded. He wasn’t seeking confirmation from me; no one would lie to their alpha. He was silently confirming what Tyler hadn’t said. Yet.
“So she knows? This Riley Abbott?” he asked. I’d seen Rob get riled, but it was rare. Just like me, we were known to keep calm in sticky situations. I didn’t run a pack, but I ran the only bar in Cooper Valley, and I dealt with shifters and humans partying, drinking, and burning off steam.
“She’s Kyle Abbott’s daughter,” I added. “He’s a deputy sheriff with Levi.”
Having a shifter as county sheriff came in handy on occasion.
“Right,” Rob said, making the connection.
Tyler nodded. “Yes. She saw me. Watched me fight and kill the mountain lion.”
“You said you were distracted. I assume then that she’s your mate?” Rob wondered.
I hadn’t asked Tyler that. I’d been too focused on the fact that a girl he knew from high school now knew that my son was a shifter. Hell, had he found his mate? At his age, it would be lucky. I was forty, and I had never met mine. Tyler’s mother was a female who’d been on a moon run with me when we were barely older than Tyler is now. Clara was not my mate. In fact, she’d met hers only a few years later.
Tyler’s words pushed my thoughts aside. “Actually, I was distracted because she definitely isn’t my mate.”
Rob frowned. So did I.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“She was into me,” Tyler said, glancing between us. “I’m not a player or anything, but I know when a girl’s interested. She was. She put out all the signs. Then we kissed.”
“So you went for her even though you knew she was not your mate? You let your dick do the thinking?” Rob asked.
I understood what it was like to have my dick do my thinking for me. Usually, if I wanted sex, I went for a she-wolf. Could I go for a human? I could, and had, especially with the easy pickings owning a bar. Every woman thought a bartender was hot when she’d had a few drinks. I didn’t take advantage of a woman who’d been drinking, but hookups were inevitable. I couldn’t be too hard on Tyler, considering.
“You’ll know,” Rob said with authority, not only as an alpha but as a shifter who’d found his mate.
I couldn’t agree because I didn’t know.
“So you were looking for a little fun and would’ve found it if a mountain lion hadn’t messed things up?” I asked.
Tyler ran a hand over the back of his neck, and a twig fell to the carpet. His gaze dropped. “Well, no. Because it was bad. The kiss, I mean.”
“You mean she’s a bad kisser?” A slow grin spread across Rob’s face.
Tyler shook his head, then frowned. “No. It wasn’t right. I felt nothing. Maybe even a little weirded out. Like kissing a sister, if I had one.”
Rob’s grin dropped to a scowl. “What did she think?”
“Oh, she was weirded out by the kiss, too, but not for long because…” He circled his finger in the air. “Mountain lion. Then me shifting into a wolf. She was definitely weirded out by that.”
“Where is she now?” Rob asked.
“She ran.”
“Ran?”
“Yeah. After I healed enough to move, I hiked the trail all the way to the head, but there was no sign of her. It was probably a good thing, too, because I was pretty much naked. Even I know no female–human or shifter–wants to be stalked by a naked guy.”
“Where is she now?” Rob repeated.
Tyler shrugged then winced. “I know what you’re asking. I wouldn’t have left her.” He flicked his gaze to me. “Dad would kick my ass worse than the mountain lion if I ditched her.”
I nodded because I would kick his ass if he didn’t treat a female right. Whether a kiss was good or not, he needed to make sure she was home safe before moving on.