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in invitation. She wrestled with herself for all of five seconds before jogging over to the car and jumping inside. “Letting you give me a ride to work doesn’t mean anything.”
    Nick gave her a reassuring “of course not” look, but inside he was smiling. He wasn’t dumb enough to let it surface—he knew he was on shaky ground.
    When he started the engine, she turned to him. “The salon where I work is—”
    “It’s okay, I know where it is,” he told her as he began driving. His wolf let loose a growl of satisfaction—he liked having her in his space, liked having her scent surrounding him.
    “How?”
    “You’re my mate. I’m naturally going to want to know everything about you.” He shrugged; it was simple. “That includes your address, where you work, and your cell number—just thought you should know so you won’t be surprised if a text message from me arrives.”
    She gaped, both offended and shocked. “You can’t just pry into people’s lives like that and find out all their personal details. And how did you find them out anyway?”
    He shrugged again. “I have contacts in the right places.”
    “So, what, you’re a stalker now?”
    “I prefer the term ‘intense investigator.’” Before she could give him any more grief, he gestured to the vehicle. “Like it?”
    “It’s all right, I guess.”
    His mouth curved at the sound of her reluctant appreciation. “I’m more into all-terrain vehicles, but I couldn’t have fit one in the motor home.”
    She frowned. “Then why not just use an SUV or something instead of that big hulking thing?”
    “Because an SUV wouldn’t have been much good as somewhere to live over the past six months.”
    “You’ve been living in the Winne-thing?” she asked, shocked. He nodded. “So when you said you’d spent six months looking for me, you meant it literally?”
    He gave her an odd look. “Of course I meant it.” Realization quickly dawned on him. “You thought I meant I’d had other people tracking you for me.”
    She shrugged one shoulder. “You’re an Alpha; you have shit to do.”
    “Not anymore, remember. I gave it up the day I found out you’d left. I’ve been searching for you ever since.” Casting a glance at her, he saw her skeptical look. “You don’t believe I gave up the position?”
    “I believe you’ll go back.” She wasn’t sure about the rest, but she was pretty certain about that. “Living without your pack and your land is hard.”
    “Living without you is harder.”
    Instead of sounding soppy or pathetic, it had instead come out sounding cutely possessive and protective.
    “Besides, if you want the truth, I don’t much like company.”
    That had her double-blinking in surprise. “You don’t like company?” she echoed disbelievingly. “You’re a shifter.”
    “People annoy me. I like being alone.” Yeah, he knew that was odd for a shifter—they craved contact and thrived on it. But he’d never felt the same satisfaction from social contact that the rest of his kind did. Then, after spending five years of his life in juvie where there were no such things as space, privacy, or quiet, he’d eventually come to crave those things as opposed to social contact. And he wasn’t good at bonding anyway.
    Shaya was about to question how the hell someone who liked solitude could have acted as an Alpha when she caught sight of something in the side mirror. “Is that Derren in the SUV behind us?”
    Nick sighed tiredly. “Yes.” He’d noticed his “bodyguard” minutes earlier.
    Turning in her seat, she regarded him through accusatory eyes. “Aha. You said you’d left the pack.”
    “I have.”
    “If that was true, you wouldn’t still have a bodyguard,” she pointed out impatiently. “Which means you’ve only been telling me all this to fool me into mating with you.”
    “Sorry, Nancy Drew, but you’re wrong on that one. I’ve been trying to get rid of Derren for years.”
    “Why would he stick