“I said no,” Kate said, her voice more of a growl than she would have liked. Her wolf was pissed. She was dancing with the wrong man and Ryan was nowhere to be found. He should’ve sent Johnny packing. But he hadn’t. At least not yet.

She turned and scanned the bar. Where was he?

Johnny’s hand squeezed her ass and she tensed, turning back to the handsy cowboy.

“Remove your hand from my ass, or I’ll remove it from your body,” she hissed, feeling her wolf pace restlessly inside her. It was late. She wanted to be with Ryan. This plan should’ve worked.

“Hey, now. We’ve been having a good time. Don’t you think I could show you—” His face contorted with pain and his hand released her body immediately. Her knight in shining armor wasn’t Ryan though. Julian gave her a sad smile. He had a hand on the cowboy’s shoulder and his fingers were pinching down on a pressure point, something she’d thought only worked in movies.

“I believe the lady asked you nicely,” Julian snarled. It was the perfect pissed-off boyfriend voice, but Kate couldn’t help but be disappointed. Ryan hadn’t come for her. He hadn’t carried her off in a fit of jealous rage. He hadn’t done anything. She scanned the bar again and couldn’t stop the tears from trickling down her cheeks.

Ryan didn’t want her? She knew that wasn’t true, but he’d left. He didn’t want her enough.

Julian shoved Johnny aside and pulled her into his chest. “Hey now,” he cooed, walking her slowly back to their table.

“He left me, didn’t he?” she choked out. “How? We’re supposed to be mates. He should have…wanted me.” Her chest tightened and she wiped her cheeks dry. It didn’t make sense.

“Kate, he does want you. That isn’t it.”

She shook her head as Julian helped her sink down into a chair. “He lied to me about who you were. He told me he didn’t want this…me. I should’ve listened. I just…I can’t go home. He doesn’t understand what will happen to me if I do.” She looked up into Julian’s kind eyes. Gods, the VonBrandts were all so sexy and caring and genuine—at least the ones she’d met so far. Why the hell couldn’t she have had a mate bond with the man sitting right in front of her? Why did Fate have to choose the one man who was determined to make her hate him…except she didn’t hate him. Not even after he’d lied and run like a dog with his tail between his legs.

“I need him,” she whimpered.

“He doesn’t think he deserves you,” Julian said. “There’s something going on with him. He wanted you to like me. To be distracted and find someone else.”

“He’s my mate. How could I ever be distracted by someone else?”

Julian shook his head and sighed, sitting across from her, still holding one of her hands. “He’s holding something inside, I think. It’s like he thinks he owes his pack. I don’t know. It’s strange.”

“Bracken said I’d get the job, no questions asked, if I got the horse. Adam said he’ll sell the horse to me. So, I can at least pledge to Bracken and break my bond with my grandfather. That should be enough for now.” She shuddered through a breath and tried to get a handle on her chaotic emotions. Now she just needed Bracken to live up to his end of the deal. She could work on Ryan later. As long as she got the job and broke free, she would be safe. Even if Ryan never came around. At least she’d be free to make her own choices about her future. At least she wouldn’t have to marry Christian.

“Kate.” Julian’s voice had dropped to a dark, don’t-ignore-me tone. “What has you so terrified of your pack? Of your grandfather?”

Nope. Nope. Nope. As much as she wanted to scream out her grandfather’s plans for everyone to hear, she couldn’t afford to have anyone going off half-cocked and confronting her grandfather. The second Phillip Quade realized what Kate was planning…she was screwed.

Her grandfather was a ticking time bomb. He’d often threatened them all with the consequences of what would happen if other packs got involved in their business. Let alone the Rangers. This was dangerous ground if she wanted her family to stay intact. Even though she hated what he did, she didn’t want her family to pay the price.

“Let me help you.”

“I…I don’t know how,” she whispered.

“Well, obviously you need time alone with Ryan. What else do you need?”

“I need to never be alone with my grandfather.”

His eyebrows popped up in surprise. “Wow. That bad?”

Kate nodded. “As long as I’m here, in Somewhere, I’m safe. But the second I go back home, they’re going to…” She bit her lip and sniffed in a deep breath. Julian just waited. He didn’t push.

Maybe it was okay to share with him. Maybe it would feel better to let someone else in. “They’re going to bond me to this guy from New Mexico. Some douche nozzle rodeo champion who drinks his way through life and will make me...” She stopped. She just couldn’t say the words.

A good breeder.

That’s what Grandfather wanted. The next generation of rodeo champions. Kate slid a hand onto her stomach. The mere thought made her half-sick.

She took a deep breath and said, “What my grandfather really wants from me is…Christian Kyle’s babies.”

“Fuck that.” Julian’s tone was still surprisingly dark; it sounded pissed-as-hell and dangerous all at once. Coming from him, it was even scarier than from a guy like Adam or Ryan. Julian seemed more elegant or put together…more cultured…not like the guys who were prey to their wolves’ instincts. “That will not happen. You hear me?”

“There’s nothing you can do.”

“The hell there isn’t. You need to tell Ryan what’s going on. Whatever’s going on with him, he’s still your mate. Give him a chance to save you. If he won’t, my family will find a way. We won’t let that happen, okay?”

Kate muffled another sob and nodded her head.

“I’m going to talk to a couple of people tonight. You meet me in the barn after breakfast, okay? Let’s keep this on the down-low. There will be no reason for anyone to suspect anything. You hear me?” Julian grabbed her hand again and squeezed, waiting for her response.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Thank you. You and Adam, you’re—”

“Don’t mention it. I’m just glad you trusted us…trusted me to help you. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

She wiped her face again with the back of her free hand and tried to paste on a smile. He knew everything. All of it. And the world hadn’t ended. In fact, he’d taken it upon himself to help her personally. “I want to be in Oklahoma. I want Ryan…but I need him to choose me. I don’t want to force him into anything. Or I wouldn’t be any better than my alpha.”

“Ryan just needs to realize what he’s losing by letting you go. You might have to get creative to get through to him. It must have taken everything he had to leave the bar.”

“But he did. He left me.”

“He wants you, Kate. Just know that. He said as much to my face.” Julian stood and held out a hand. “Let me take you back to the ranch. Get some rest. You’ll feel better.”

Kate shook her head. “I have a car here. I need to dance more…clear my head. Dancing helps me.”

“I’ll stay, then,” he said, his voice resigned and his mind made up. Kate was too tired to argue. His hands and arms were better than some stranger’s. At least she wouldn’t have to fight off more handsy, self-entitled jerks like Johnny. She put her hand in Julian’s one more time and let him lead her back to the dance floor. After everything that had happened today, Ryan’s deception had ended up being her salvation after all. Fate seemed to be working for her, even though it was playing a slow game. Now she had Adam and Julian in her corner.

Kate laid her cheek against Julian’s chest as a slow song started to pulse through the bar. More tears trickled down her cheeks. She ached for Ryan. Physically. Emotionally. Her chest heaved with a sob and she buried her face in Julian’s shirt.

But Julian didn’t say anything.

He just held her. Danced with her.

And let her cry.