~

 

Dane wasn’t accustomed to having his orders disregarded. Not that he’d ordered Roland to remove the human from their land, but he thought he’d made it clear what he wanted, and he didn’t think he’d have to paint a picture for his beta.

He stalked towards Roland’s cabin across the wide open space with a curse for every step that he took and stopped in a heartbeat the moment that he caught sight of something not completely right with his world. The fine hairs stood to attention all over his body, and his beast was on full alert just under the surface of his skin.

“I told you to stay off my land,” Dane growled.

With the kind of speed that could only be credited to a vampire, Giles stood not more ten feet in front of him. Dane knew exactly how far it was because his mind was already calculating the distance to speed for how long it would take him to get to the bloodsucker should the need arise.

“I don’t think either of us thought that was going to happen,” Giles said.

“You’ve been stalking Rayner…”

“I’ve been stalking all of you, so tell her not to take it personally.”

“Asshole.”

“And then some.”

“What do you want?” Dane didn’t like having the vampire that close. It made his beast antsy, and his mind work overtime. He needed to be on his game, just in case the bloodsucker tried anything.

Rayner was doing better than he’d expected her to do at coping with her beast. He figured it was her strength of character and kickass personality that had seen her through the traumatic experience, but she still didn’t have a handle on her bear – hell, none of them did, but for a human, he was damn proud of her.

The vampire could suck it, in more ways than one if he wanted to find fault with her.

“Just checking in, reminding you I’m still around…”

“Like I need reminding,” he growled.

“Your brother does…”

“Bowie…”

“And – as your other brother seems to have adopted a puppy…”

“That human female isn’t staying; she’s a friend of Rayner’s…”

“Still…”

“Get off my damn land,” Dane growled, and dismissed him with a wave of his hand, but still, neither man moved an inch.

“No more biting humans,” Giles warned him. “The first time was careless, the second time there won’t be another warning or the chance for a third.”

When Giles disappeared just as fast as he’d appeared in front of him, Dane took a long, deep breath into his lungs as his chest expanded and his shoulders rose, he rolled his eyes skywards, and let out that breath.

It was obvious that his brothers were going to be the death of him … somehow, but he wasn’t about to let Rayner go down with him. Giles was still a threat to her, albeit, a muted one. But he still didn’t trust the vampire to protect anyone but himself.

 

~

~

~

 

Roland had heard the mutterings from outside his cabin, and he’d recognized the tone of the melodic vampire’s voice. He was walking towards the cabin door when Maggie spoke and stopped him in his tracks.

“Is it Rayner?” He could hear a certain amount of hope in her voice, and he frowned at the thought of disappointing her, and then there was the little green-eyed monster of jealousy that rose up inside him for his new clan sister and her friend.

Of course, Maggie would want to see Rayner and spend time with her, but that didn’t mean that Roland didn’t resent the fact. If anything, that jealousy only threw more fuel on the fire of Roland’s suspicion that she might be his.

His mate.

His woman.

His everything. That wasn’t just a scary thought; it was a damned heady one too.

He had to wonder what the hell he was going to do with a full-human mate. His first thought was keeping her the hell away from Bowie.

“No,” Roland tossed back over his shoulder as he reached for the door handle. “Stay there,” he added as an afterthought. He didn’t want the little human female anywhere near the big bad vampire.

“Yes, sir, I’ll stay right here, sir,” Maggie bit out, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Roland tossed a look back over his shoulder that made her press her lips together, but the corners of her mouth turned up with a smile that she couldn’t suppress. Her big baby blue eyes were alight with amusement, and she could have hit him in the stomach to have achieved the same effect.

“Funny,” Roland said.

He still cursed himself for using that same attitude with her that he’d told himself not to. Easier said than done. Luckily, there would be time to make amends.

“I thought so,” she said, just as he pulled the door closed behind him.

Roland’s gaze swept over the area and he immediately noted the fact that the vampire was no longer around, but Dane was stalking toward him, and the alpha did not look happy. Roland’s eyes practically rolled back in his head, and he wished the vampire would come back again to give him something else to concentrate on and to keep his brother occupied; because he knew what was coming, the look on the alpha’s face said it all.

“Why is she still here?” Dane growled with more than a little anger at the continual annoyances in his life. All men, the only saving grace to his days was Rayner.

“There’s a problem.” Roland winced. He really didn’t want to have to explain things to Dane, not then, maybe not ever.

“Problem?” Dane wasn’t one for fancy words. He wanted to get to the meat and potatoes of any situation and not dance around the frills.

“She’s — well — there might — it’s like…”

With every attempt at a sentence, Roland squirmed, and Dane lost another nerve – Roland needed to tread carefully because he was fast approaching that very last nerve.

“Spit it out, I’m not getting any younger,” Dane growled.

“Damn it.” Suddenly Roland felt the need to go and head-butt a tree trunk. It would have been easier, more humane than having to tell his brother what was going on.

“Roland…” Dane growled again. He wanted to get back to his mate. He still didn’t trust Bowie with her.

“She might be mine!” Roland snapped out when he brought his gaze to Dane’s, and he saw that information hit the alpha’s brain like a sledgehammer, the man was reeling from the news.

Dane took a moment to shake it off. He cocked his head to one side and questioned the man with a hard stare. Roland grunted.

“How the hell can you not know?” Dane demanded, unsure if his brother was just pulling his damn leg. If he was, he’d better run.

“I haven’t…” Roland waved an absent hand in front of him as he grimaced at just how pathetic he was about to sound.

“Scented her?” Dane’s eyebrows shot upwards.

“Yeah — that,” Roland grumbled as he looked anywhere but at his brother.

The alpha was smirking, and the beta had a new need bubbling within him, the need to plant his fist in his alpha’s face. That would go down like a ton of bricks.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

“The hell if I know,” he snapped back.

Roland knew alright. Once he’d taken that scent, once his bear was certain that the human was his — there was no going back.

Dane immediately turned on his heels and started away from Roland’s cabin, leaving the man standing there somewhat dazed. “Well, damn it, man. Suck it up and do what your bear is telling you.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Roland mumbled to himself, not intending to be overhead, but Dane picked up on it anyway.

“Hey, when your bear knows — your bear knows. Just damn well sniff her already, and then you’ll both know,” Dane tossed back over his shoulder.

Roland would be fine, that human female would be fine, he hoped, now he needed to get back to Rayner, who might not be so fine.

“Damn, smug, asshole,” Roland grumbled to himself, as he turned back toward the door and groaned inwardly at what was to come. “Just do it — doesn’t seem right somehow.”