Voices reached us as we closed in on the door to Carter’s office, indistinct and muffled by the thick wood, but clearly raised.

Bree flicked her eyes to the door, arching an eyebrow in silent question. She’d been quiet on the drive down here, probably something to do with the little declaration I’d made, but I didn’t regret it. She might not be ready to be my mate, but she was the woman I wanted by my side. And … I had to admit, if only in the privacy of my own mind, it had felt good to unload a little, get someone else’s opinion without having to worry about appearing weak or indecisive.

Instincts ingrained into me at a young age had rebelled, but I’d gritted my teeth, pushing them away. It didn’t make me weak—fuck that shit—I wasn’t weak. I was an alpha now, which meant I could do anything I damn well pleased.

Rolling my shoulders, I thought back to the gratitude that had been clear on Bree’s face when I’d asked her opinion, gaining me an insight into the mind of the woman who I was determined to win over. She needed me to share more than my body, or my heart—though she might not know it yet, they were both already hers for the taking—she needed my respect. And damned if I wasn’t going to find a way to show her that I respected her more than any other person I knew. And, if that meant letting her into my life—every part of it—then so be it.

I’d find a way to deal when my past tried to screw everything up.

But, in the meantime… “At least I won’t have to throw insults around to rile him up,” I quipped.

Bree paused, halfway through opening the door. She arched an eyebrow, and I took a moment to admire her beautiful face, drink in the sight of her standing next to me. “And you’d want to rile him, why?”

“Because Carter’s a slick bastard who doesn’t let anything slip.”

The scene that greeted us when Bree pushed the door open wasn’t anything I expected, but it made my job a hell of a lot easier.

“You’re an insufferable asshole!” Grace Lockett held a stapler in her hand, jabbing it in Carter’s direction, who was still seated behind his desk, all calm and poised. That’s if you ignored the muscle jumping in his jaw and the fact that his hair was all messed up, like he’d been yanking his hands through it.

He spun in the chair to face us, his nostrils flaring and teeth grinding. “Owen, Briana, what a surprise.”

Grace lowered her arm, her cheeks darkening to a rosy pink. “I’ll just…” Snatching her bag up and clutching it to her chest, she made a move toward the door.

Carter held up a finger and she jerked to a stop. “We haven’t finished here, Miss Lockett.”

If that had been fear flickering in her eyes, I’d have stepped in, but when she turned to the Mayor, her eyes were glacial. Controlled. As scary as the motherfucker seated behind his desk. This woman had everything under control, including the man surveying her from behind his throne—sorry, desk. “I won’t let you push me around and it just bites at your ass.”

I blinked, catching Bree’s eye and noting that she was just as shocked as I was. Okay, then.

Carter traced a finger over his lips, amusement darkening his amber gaze as he visually pinned the poor woman in place.

I mentally shook my head, wishing I had a pair of ear plugs handy for whatever the hell was going to come out of his mouth next.

“Actually, I’d prefer to bite your ass.”

Yep, that. I now needed to bleach my brain.

Grace’s lips puckered, the ice fading from her eyes to be replaced with disbelief. “Did you seriously just say that out loud? What the heck is wrong with you?” Her voice rose and she eyed the stapler that she’d only just relinquished. With a disgruntled huff, she glared at the apparently unruffled man in front of her, who just stared back.

Like he wanted to eat her.

And now I wanted to bleach my eyeballs. Hell, vat of bleach, anyone?

“Uh, maybe we should just…” Bree indicated the door with a jerk of her head, but I stayed her with my hand. I was pretty sure Miss Lockett was just about to—Yep, there she went, sailing out of the door with her head held high, giving us a brief grimace and a muttered sorry as she went.

The door slammed behind her, leaving the room in uncomfortable silence until Bree coughed, raising her hand up to cover her mouth in a suspicious manner that told me she was trying not to laugh.

Carter’s chair creaked as he waved us around his desk, a small smile playing on his lips and his eyes far away, as if he were seeing something we weren’t. “What can I do for you two?”

“You don’t want to go after her?” Bree said the exact thing I’d been thinking.

Carter blinked slowly, as if the idea hadn’t occurred to him. He let out a throaty laugh. “I enjoy the chase too much.”

Scrubbing at my chin and wanting to erase the last few minutes from my memory, I launched out of my chair and grabbed a tumbler from the table in the corner, tilting the decanter until the glass was filled with amber liquid. When I gestured with the crystal bottle, Carter nodded, holding up a glass that held the dregs of an earlier drink. Shifters might not be able to get drunk on human alcohol, but we enjoyed the buzz while it lasted if we drank it fast and hard, and that might explain Carter’s … loose tongue. Bree shook her head and I set the bottle down, rejoining them at the desk.

“Anyway,” I began, gulping down a quarter of the whiskey then tilting the glass in my hands, admiring the way the liquid clung to the sides before continuing, “enough about your love life.” I winked. “Or lack of it.” Carter narrowed his eyes and Bree smothered a laugh. Leaning forward in my chair, I set the glass down nice and careful, then rested my elbows on my knees. “What the hell is really going on with this fucking bullshit bootcamp?”

Carter didn’t show an ounce of surprise, instead tilting his glass back and draining it dry in one long swallow. “Took you long enough.”

“To do what?” I bit out.

Hooking his foot over his knee, he sat back in his chair and adjusted his cufflinks, giving us a knowing smile. “Drag your ass down here and poke your nose in.”

“Into what, exactly?” It was like pulling fucking teeth. Give me strength.

“What he said,” Bree added, sounding pissed and jabbing her thumb in my direction.

“I need your opinion before I share with you.” His eyes flicked to Bree, then back to me. “I hadn’t planned on involving anyone—”

I cut him off and said, “She stays.”

He nodded once, then continued, “Do you think any of the visiting human cops are a threat to us?”

I considered his question, going over the last couple of days in my mind. I hadn’t spent every second of every day with the visiting cops, but… “No.”

“And why do you say that?”

“My gut.” It had been telling me something, but not that.

He nodded again, sliding his fingers up his cheek until his thumb cradled his jaw. “Good.” I waited, but he didn’t seem inclined to say anything else without prompting.

So, I opened my big mouth and shoved my foot in it, “You sent humans to live in my house that might have been a threat to my pack?”

His nostrils flared, eyes narrowing. “Might have been. But your gut tells you everything’s fine.”

“And if it hadn’t been?”

“Then you would have dealt with the … situation.”

The only thing that kept me from leaping out of my seat and landing my fist in that arrogant fucker’s face was Bree’s hand on my leg, her nails digging in and grounding my incoherent rage. He’d thought nothing of putting my pack at risk. My family. My fucking mate!

“Breathe, Owen,” Bree murmured, catching my gaze with hers and holding it. Once she seemed happy that I wasn’t going to tear the Mayor a new one, she turned her attention to the man himself. “Why?” Simple, to the point, and exactly the question we needed answering.

I sucked in air. She was so calm, her presence next to me was like an ice bath to my rage, extinguishing it and allowing me to think straight.

I couldn’t help but stare at her, seeing her through eyes now wide open and ready to really understand exactly who she was to me. I’d thought I’d known, had already been willing to hand over everything I was to her, but I hadn’t even been close to understanding.

Not by a fucking mile.

She was perfect in every way possible. I knew fated mates were created from one soul, divided and then set on two paths to eventually join as one again, but now I was finally seeing it in action and it was … humbling. She was everything I wasn’t, everything I strived to be.

So caught up in my revelations, I almost missed Carter’s answer, “Because it has been discovered that the Purists’ reach extends to the human government.”

“We knew that,” I snapped, making a get it over gesture with my hand.

Glaring at me, Carter continued, “As you know, the Purists have recruited some humans to their cause. It is unknown whether their reach extends to the departments who are involved in this renegotiation of the treaty.”

Bree straightened. “You’re talking about spies.”

“Most likely spies, yes.”

“What else would they be?” Bree asked, her teeth tugging at her bottom lip as she chewed over his answer.

“Assassins, but it’s highly unlikely that they’d want to tip their cards so soon.”

Closing my hand over Bree’s which was still settled on my thigh, I asked what I thought to be the most important question, “And you wanted this information kept quiet, why?”

“Because the fewer people who know, the easier it will be for them to infiltrate Heartsridge.”

I was fucking missing something. “And why would we want that to happen?”

Carter’s mouth curved up in a smile that had my teeth grinding together, my wolf leaping forward and stretching beneath my skin. “Because if they come into our home and fuck with us, then we can deal with them ourselves. Shifter or human, I don’t care. They come here, they die.”

Well, couldn’t argue with that. Giving him a smile just as feral, I inclined my head. “Game on,” I drawled, picking up my glass and taking a drink.

In that instant, there was complete understanding between us. We would protect our people, no matter the cost. Beside me, Bree nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. “What is the shifter council doing in all this?”

“They are aware of the situation and will be sending people to assist when needed.”

The hand on my thigh tightened.

Carter didn’t notice the fact that Bree had paled, or if he did, he didn’t mention it. But I certainly did and filed that fact away for later. After staring into his glass, like it being empty fucking offended him, he continued, “As I said before, they are also looking into the drug manufacturing, to make sure it’s … ethical and in our best interests that it continues.” Basically, that it wasn’t some Purist bullshit. “The Council has informed me that while they will be arranging work placement training in the human world soon, we are to continue these bootcamps as a way to lure the enemy into a false sense of security. If they see that our guard is down—business as usual, with people coming and going—they won’t be able to help themselves from trying to infiltrate.”

Bree hummed under her breath, her finger tapping on my thigh. “I agree with Owen, I think this batch of cops are on the level.”

Carter nodded at Bree, the corners of his mouth tilting up in a satisfied smile. “When they leave, they’ll report back to their superiors and we’ll monitor how it goes from there.”

Bree removed her hand and plucked the drink from mine, swallowing it down with a sigh. “So, we just wait?”

I smirked when she passed me back the glass, placing my lips exactly where hers had been and draining the last drop. Setting the tumbler down, I thought about it. “You don’t think this is the human government acting on their own? Gathering intel on us?”

Carter pushed his chair back, a clear indication that this meeting was over. “I would be surprised if they aren’t. The only thing we can do is gather our own intel and wait it out.” Striding to the door, he held it open. “But we plan. We get ready.”

As we passed by him, I grinned, letting my upper lip curl up to bare my teeth. “Like I said, game on.”