Zoey took another step towards him. Michael reached out. Rafe growled the moment his brother’s hand closed around her arm, jerking her to a stop.

He shoved the Sherriff and earned a few more feet up onto the bank when the older man stumbled backwards. Irrationally, he was already plotting the best way to take the Sherriff to the ground, the easiest way to rip out his brother’s heart, and then the quickest route of retreat to get his mate out of here.

“Damn it Rafe. Don’t make me put you down.” The Sherriff put his hand near his weapon but he couldn’t find it in himself to care, not when he heard his mate squeak loudly.

“Michael! Let go. He’s hurting and I need to help!”

“What? No.” His brother yelled right back. “You’re not going anywhere near him. It isn’t safe.”

Rafe snarled at that. Safe? His little brother wanted to talk about safe? He had warned Michael once already not to touch his mate, not to get in the way.

Michael knew the rules. Pack Alpha or not, he couldn’t interfere in a mate bond, not if it was uncontested by the two parties involved. He would be foolish to even try. A mated wolf was stronger than an unmated one and there was no reasoning with one in heat.

He would fight twice as hard. He would be twice as vicious. He wouldn’t stop until he got to her, even if he had to put Michael in the ground to do it. His brother knew that.

The human part of his brain, the rational part of his brain, told him to think this through. He and Michael weren’t littermates. He’d never been able to read him as well as he had Gabe. They weren’t two pieces of the same puzzle but they were still brothers. They knew each other.

He knew Michael. Michael was always calm, always rational. He used his head and thought things through before he made a move.

Michael knew him. Rafe’s strength came from emotion. He was action and gut instinct. He was the one that attacked first and asked questions later.

Michael knew him so Michael must know that he was tempting his own torture by touching the girl and yet, he’d done it anyway.

Why?

“Of course it’s safe.” Zoey scoffed, jerking her arm away from his brother, “You just said I’m his mate. If that’s true, you know he would never hurt me.”

Such trust in him, in their beliefs and traditions, made something new and warm take up residence in Rafe’s chest. Attacking his own brother hadn’t been the way to introduce her to any of this, to him, and probably hadn’t won him any points. Still, she was fighting to get to him despite the roadblock his brother presented.

Rafe watched them interact, tried to process what he was seeing. Ever since he’d walked into his brother’s home earlier tonight, he’d been in a haze of lust and magic and rage. He hadn’t stopped to think about much of anything except finding her but now that he had, he knew what it was he’d been missing.

She wasn’t just a member of Michael’s pack. She wasn’t just a human that Michael liked and protected. She wasn’t just Michael’s friend. His brother loved her.

Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he’d known that. When he realized the scent of his mate belonged to the same girl that had been palling around with his brother since childhood, he’d known that. But at the same time, he’d thought that Michael was smarter than this.

Falling for a woman that wasn’t his mate? For a woman that wasn’t his? For a woman that his every instinct would demand he abandon when his true mate walked into his life?

It was childish and naïve and stupid, not things Michael had ever been. If Michael had fallen in love with her when they were children, before they’d known, that was one thing. But to have continued their relationship, knowing full well that they weren’t fated, was cruel and heartbreaking… for them both.

Rafe thought about all of the signs he’d ignored earlier in the day. Her scent had been strong in Michael’s home, as if she spent a lot of time there. And as soon as he’d scented her, Michael had known who she was but his brother refused to tell him, refused to help him find her, and so he’d raced out of the house alone, desperate to find her. Her scent had led him to her apartment and even there, in her tiny space, he’d still scented his brother.

They shared space. Their scents intertwined. He should have put it together before but he’d been so consumed with the need to find her that his brain hadn’t puzzled through the whole picture yet. Now, looking at them, the picture was still grainy and out of focus because it didn’t make sense.

Their scents were all over each other’s homes but they weren’t all over each other. It was there, a light undercurrent that spoke to familiarity, but they hadn’t been sleeping together. Michael’s scent would have marked her if that were the case. And though his brother’s scent lingered on her skin, that was as deep as it went, familiarity, ease, sporadic and random touches. It wasn’t soul deep and for that, at least, he would let his brother keep his life.

Michael was in love with the girl but he hadn’t taken her. He hadn’t crossed that line. It raised a question he hadn’t thought about earlier, one he didn’t want to think about, one with an answer he was in no way prepared to hear.

Was she in love with Michael too?

He growled when he remembered the way they’d been looking at each other when he finally tracked her here, to the lodge. He’d been following her scent all over town for hours. Michael must have known that and taken advantage to get to her first. She’d been in his brother’s arms when he arrived and if he hadn’t interrupted…

He hated to even think it but if he’d been even ten seconds later and he’d found Michael kissing her, knowing full-well that she belonged to him, not even her sweet voice would have stopped him from beating his brother into the ground.

“Damn it Zoey. He’s not stable. I’m trying to protect you.” Michael got in her way again but saved himself another brutal attack by not touching her.

“From your brother?”

“He’s not himself right now and neither are you. The mating heat… you don’t want to do this. You’ll regret it, when the magic wanes and the heat passes, you’ll regret it and I care about you too much to let that happen.”

Her chin jutted up, “You care about me?”

“You know I do.” Michael lowered his voice, “I love you Zo.”

Rafe snarled at the words. No. It was wrong. It was wrong in every way. Michael couldn’t love her. She didn’t belong to him. She was Rafe’s mate. His.

“Mine!”

She glanced at him, her brows furrowing, before she looked back to his brother, “Michael, you don’t get to say that now just because you think it will get you your way.”

“That’s not why I said it.” Michael moved closer to her again, “You know me better than that.”

Rafe growled. The Sherriff kept his hand on his weapon. The older man was getting jumpy. Even still, Rafe couldn’t look away from his mate when she spoke again.

“You’re right. I do know you and I know when you’re lying so tell me the truth. Am I really his?”

“I don’t know.” Michael hedged, shot him a glance and earned another scowl, “Yeah, yeah I think you are.”

“Jesus…” She sighed, ran a hand down her face, “This is a mess, just like you said.”

“Zo…”

She glanced back up quickly, pain clear in her every feature, “Did you know? All this time, did you know?”

“No. God no.”

“But you knew before you followed me out of the lodge didn’t you? You knew and that’s why you said all of those things about wanting to run away from your responsibilities and changing fate? You knew and you were keeping me from him? You’re still keeping me from him.”

Rafe could clearly hear the hurt in his mate’s voice and from the way Michael reacted, so could he. His brother winced, his head lowering in a universal sign of apology. It was more than that though. Michael was Pack Alpha, he lowered his head to no one. But he did it, willingly, for this woman.

“She’s mine. Let her go Michael.” He snapped, impatient to end the connection his mate had to his brother, wanting to stomp it out now, now, now. “I’m not letting you keep her from me much longer brother.”

“Don’t let him near her.” Michael didn’t even look at him, only nodded at the Sherriff, “If he gets close to her, you take him down.”

Rafe growled at the threat but before he could deliver another, or better yet, attack, his mate surprised him by laughing. It wasn’t an amused laugh. It sounded near hysterical. He started to move towards her, noticed the Sherriff reaching for his gun and stopped. Michael started to reach for her as well, thought better of it and dropped his arm back to his side.

“Zoey?” Michael frowned.

“It’s a little funny right?” She threw her hands up in the air, “I mean, for years you’ve told me that our connection was different. You told me that you loved me like a sister. A sister! And now it makes sense doesn’t it? Your need to protect me and look after me? It’s not because I’m yours. It’s because I’m his.”

Confusion circled him again as he tried to piece together the relationship his brother and his mate shared. Had Michael known she was fated to be with Rafe? She’d said their friendship was based on Michael’s need to protect her, that he thought of her as a sister. He loved her, but was it possible that love was platonic? He hadn’t touched her, not sexually, so Rafe had to hope so.

He might not like his little brother very much right now but he didn’t want to break his heart. He didn’t want to hurt him. Okay, maybe he did want to hurt him, badly, for daring to come between him and his mate, but he didn’t really want to kill him.

Michael looked just as confused by her words. He also looked annoyed and frustrated. Rafe knew the look. He’d seen it on the face of his little brother only a handful of times. Usually, it had appeared when he realized he had lost. Something that had been rare even when they were pups.

Michael finally sighed, “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Rafe’s little mate scoffed again. “Maybe I’m his. Maybe I’m not. But I’m definitely not yours so get out of my way Michael.”

His brother winced as if she’d slapped him but kept his head, “No.”

“You can’t stop this!” She raised her voice, “If this is really happening, if this isn’t some twisted nightmare, then there’s nothing you can do to stop it, no matter how much either of us might wish you could.”

“Zo…”

“No.” She snapped when Michael said her name, “Don’t Zo me like I’m the one being crazy here! This entire situation is crazy but I’m the only one acting reasonably. I’m the only one that’s not fighting fate like I could possibly win.”

“You’re not fighting it because of the heat!” Michael yelled right back at her.

Rafe growled again. He didn’t like the idea of anyone raising their voice at his mate. His wolf was on a very short leash and he was about to gnaw through the last strands of it. He was trying to give them a second, to let them sort this out, mostly to keep from getting himself shot, but he wouldn’t tolerate Michael yelling at her.

“I’m not fighting it because there’s nothing to fight. This is fate. This is what we’ve been waiting for since the day I turned eighteen.” Her lips trembled and her eyes watered, “It just happened with the wrong wolf.”

Rafe really didn’t like that. He didn’t like that his mate looked close to tears. He didn’t like that she was hurting. He really didn’t like that she’d called him the wrong wolf. Did that make Michael the right one?

“Zoey?”

She sucked in a breath of air when he said her name for the first time and her eyes jerked back to his. Her eyes were the most beautiful mix of blue and green that he’d ever seen. He wanted to drown in them but not because there were tears there.

“Zoey, come here, come to me.”

Michael growled and broke the moment when he stepped between them again, “Zoey, stop. Don’t do this.”

“You’ll have to grab me again to stop me and I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She started to step around Michael again and Rafe thought, for just a second, that his smart, logical brother was going to do the right thing and let her go. He thought that Michael had realized he was fighting a losing battle. Whether he loved the girl or not, she wasn’t his and rules were rules. Rafe had been the one that hated the rules, had bent them until they almost broke, but Michael had always played by them. Knowing that, he was shocked when he watched his brother anchor a hand around her wrist and jerk her to a stop once again.

“Michael! No!” She yelped.

Rafe growled, his feet moving before he’d consciously decided that he was done waiting and watching. His fist connected with the Sherriff’s gut, doubling him over, and he moved easily around him. He had a momentary flash of his mate’s eyes going wide but he jerked his attention off of her and put the full brunt of his weight behind it when he swung at Michael this time. He connected with his brother’s jaw, snapping his head around, but he didn’t wait to see if Michael regained his balance for an attack.

He swept his mate into his arms in one easy move and headed up the hill. A sense of rightness immediately settled over him, calming the worst of his anger. She was his and she was here, in his arms. He could keep her safe now. He would claim her and then the terrible wave of jealousy he was feeling would ease and they could talk about all of this rationally tomorrow. After he’d mated her so that they were tied together forever.

“Rafe!”

He smiled when she yelled his name this time. Yes, that sounded better. That sounded right. It was his name that should always be on her lips. Only his.

“Rafe, wait!”

“Can’t. Done waiting.” He started to shift her into a more comfortable position to run when he felt the sting in his back. “Dammit no!”

The pain radiated out as if he’d been stung by a thousand bees all at once. He took one more step. Two. His legs felt weak and the world shifted on its axis. He had the forethought to understand his body was failing, that he was going to fall, and he held his fragile, breakable mate to his chest, trying to shield her and protect her.

His knees hit the ground first and he winced at the jarring collision, “They can’t take you from me. You. Are. Mine.”

His mate opened her mouth to respond but only a shriek came out because his back gave and he slumped forward. He tried to shield her from the enormity of his body weight but it was no use. He landed on top of her as gently as he could considering he could barely move his limbs. There was a strange sense of accomplishment having her pinned beneath him and his heart thumped at the closeness, at the fact that their skin was touching, that their scents were mixing, even as his body failed and his vision wavered.

“What’s wrong? Oh God, what’s happening?”

He used the last of his strength to brush her hair back off her face. Pretty. So pretty. She reminded him of the girl from that story, the one with the big, bad wolf. He smiled at the thought, tried to file it away to tell her later, certain she would laugh because he was exactly that.

“Why are you smiling?” She tried to wiggle beneath him but it was useless, she wasn’t getting free of him that easily, “Oh, hell, you’re as crazy as he said you were aren’t you?”

“Not crazy.” He dropped his head, his heavy head, against the curve of her neck and breathed in her sweet, distinctive scent, “Yours. I’m yours.”

“Lucky me.”

He thought he sensed sarcasm in her tone and smiled again. Feisty. His mate was feisty. She’d argued with her Pack Alpha, gone toe-to-toe, and she’d won. She would handle him too, he had no doubt. They were going to be a good pair.

“Mine.”

She snorted, ‘”Yeah, you mentioned that.”

Her soft hand brushed his hair back off his forehead and he closed his eyes and enjoyed the touch. He couldn’t open them again. Darkness closed in all around him. He was going under. He knew the feeling. It wasn’t the first time he’d been shot after all. Luckily, it wasn’t a bullet this time. His only regret was that he hadn’t been able to get her away, get her somewhere safe, because when he was unconscious, he wouldn’t be able to protect her.

“Rafe?” Her voice, sweet with concern for him again.

“I’ll find you.” He mumbled the promise, unsure if his words even made sense through the fog of the drugs in his system. “They can’t keep me from you. I’ll find you.”

The world shifted away and the warmth of the drugs lulled him into sleep. He hated sleep. He only ever dreamed in nightmares. Flashes of pain and agony, destruction and loneliness. But this time was different, because he had his mate in his arms, underneath him, her body pressed to his, her scent in his nose. And just before he went under completely he thought he heard her say something that would have made him smile again, if only he were coherent.

“You won’t have to. I’m not going anywhere.”