bit you, by the way,” Petra said, wriggling her dark eyebrows. “Bit you when you were on four legs. I witnessed the event. Ask him if you stink to him.”
“ Petra ,” Arnold said in a scolding voice.
“I already asked him that!” Leo exclaimed.
“What’d he tell you?” Petra asked.
“Said I didn’t stink.”
“Well, there you go. Now, you stink of him . I can’t say if that’s an improvement, though. He’s my twin, and I can’t smell his hormones one way or another. He smells neutral to me. But, anyway.” She gave Arnold a little finger wave. “I’ll be either at the hospital or at Paul’s for the next couple of days. I figured I’d do you the courtesy you didn’t do for me, and keep you informed of where I was.”
“You bit me?” Leo asked Arnold.
Arnold didn’t respond. He was too busy giving his sister a death glare and pinching the bridge of his nose.
Petra’s grin widened and she waved once more. “See ya later.”
Alpha put his head in his hands atop the dining room table. His palms covering his mouth may have muffled the sound of his ensuing chuckle almost completely, but he couldn’t hide the shaking of his shoulders from his barely-restrained laughter.
The last time Leo’d had an alpha laugh at her had been the day she’d recklessly suggested to her old one that perhaps he should pick another blonde to be Samuel’s next mate, seeing as how they were all pretty much interchangeable.
Her alpha hadn’t been laughing because what she’d said was so funny, but because she’d dared to think she had a say in where she went—that she’d dared to think that she had ownership over herself.
She didn’t think Adam was laughing for the same reason, though. She didn’t get that megalomaniacal energy off of him. He was just amused by his pack members, and she wasn’t used to that.
She turned slowly toward Arnold. “You bit me.”
He shrugged and set down the knife. “Apparently, I did. I don’t have memory of the event, however. I was too tired when I got here last night. Just like you, I don’t remember my run, but I don’t believe anyone here would lie that I bit you if I hadn’t.” He ground his teeth for a few beats, and then added in a mumble, “There were supposedly several witnesses beyond Petra.”
“And I have your scent.”
“Apparently.”
“I let you bite me?”
He shrugged again.
Leo pulled out a chair beside him and flopped onto the seat. “Gods! This is like one of those books where people wake up married in Las Vegas, but instead of getting plastered last night, we got wolfy.”
“The question now is what do you want to do about it?” Alpha asked.
“She stays with me,” Arnold said.
At the exact same time, Leo declared, “Let me think about that.”
Arnold leaned his elbows onto the table and pinned an unforgiving stare on her.
She gave her head a hard shake. “Nuh-uh. No, sir , don’t make me think I have an option and then yank it right away. Don’t joke with me like that. I can’t take that mess. And I don’t like you squinting at me like that.” She reached over and gave his shoulder a hard poke. “You were nicer yesterday. Go back to being that way.”
“I hadn’t bitten you yesterday.”
“Isn’t that weird? One would think you’d be nicer now that you have, but I guess wolves don’t make a hell of a lot of sense in general. Samuel was nicer before he bit me, too, but I guess that isn’t saying much.”
“Do not compare me to him.”
“Why not? You’re doing the exact same thing he did—asserting your will on me and taking away my ability to make choices.”
“Woman, I’m not taking away your ability to choose. I told you in the truck that if you got here and decided that you want to go, no one would keep you in Norseton. That hasn’t changed. I just think giving this thing a shot for a while is a reasonable request.”
“What thing?”
“I bit you. You’re my mate.”
“I’m Samuel ’s
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