Chapter 31

Thorne’s POV

That Gamma better take his hand off Aurora before he loses it. Does everyone think they can touch her whenever and however they want?

It’s like she’s a magnet, pulling all the men to her while also driving me crazy.

I dig my extending claws into my thigh, biting back a feral growl as the man’s hand trails up her hand to her wrist then back down again. Then, he smiles at my woman.

No. I shake my head. She’s not my woman. I need to get that thought out of my head and focus on why I’m here today.

“Get him away from our mate,” my wolf growls.

I want to do exactly that, but I can’t. Alpha Rainer rearranged his schedule to meet with me today, and I can’t disrespect him by being distracted. I drag my attention away from Aurora and pin it on Alpha Rainer.

“The weekend after next would be an ideal time if you’re free then. I’ll gather a group of my best men, and you can bring any you deem necessary for the joint patrol,” Rainer says. Every now and then, packs have joint border patrols to make sure borders are intact and to keep any lurking rogues out.

“That weekend will work for me. Who is on patrol this weekend?” I ask, my eyes flicking to Aurora when movement catches my eye.

The man she’s with, Ethan, reaches out and brushes a stray lock of her beautiful silver hair back. Aurora’s eyes widen and she pulls away from the man’s touch, a hint of panic lacing her features. I’m not the only one to take notice. My wolf throws himself against the restraints keeping him within my body.

“I believe it’s two packs from up North,” Rainer says, glancing at his phone. I don’t respond because my full attention is on Aurora as she continues to talk with Ethan.

While they talk, I calm my wolf, telling him that she’s fine, that we’re here if she needs us, and that she’s not in danger. He listens, barely, and calms after a few minutes.

“I’ll have to look at the schedule again and contact the Alphas to make sure the rotations are still working well,” I finally say, splitting my attention between my meeting and Aurora.

From what I can hear, Ethan talks about nothing of importance. Aurora doesn’t say much, but I notice she keeps her hands in her lap now. She’s putting space between herself and Ethan, and I can’t stop wanting to go to her. I don’t like that she’s clearly feeling uncomfortable around one of my pack members.

I decide to leave them until she gives a distress signal, but I don’t even get five minutes more with Alpha Rainer when the sour scent of anxiety reaches my senses. Turning, I catch the moment Aurora’s body tenses, going rigid when Ethan leans in and whispers something in her ear.

She jumps up from her chair, stumbling when she nearly trips over it and stuttering, “I-I should get bac to work.”

Before she can get two steps, Ethan grabs her by the waist, pulling her back to the table to stand in front of him.

“Excuse me, Rainer. I have something to deal with.”

Rainer’s eyes follow my gaze, and he chuckles, “We were finished anyway. Go ahead.”

Not that I needed his permission, but I move faster than I mean to, keeping my eyes only on Aurora as she tries to pull free from Ethan’s hold. Neither of my targets see me coming, and the look of shock, then fear that crosses Ethan’s face is worth it. I pull Aurora back, tucking her into my side protectively as Ethan gapes at me.

Aurora doesn’t look up, but I feel her body relax the moment I have her against me. She knows she’s safe with me.

Something dark and possessive fills my chest, something primal, like when my wolf comes out, except, he’s still locked away in my mind. This is all me. This sudden spike of heat that swells in my chest is new, and it’s all for Aurora.

“She has work to do,” I growl, trying to keep from beating the man right here and now. Ethan immediately backs down, and I don’t wait for a reply. I lead Aurora out to my car, help her in, and reach across her body, pulling the buckle to and securing it.

I can feel her eyes on me as I move silently, but I don’t speak. I want nothing more than to get her out of here, away from the handsy bastard, and take her somewhere I can have her all to myself.

Third Person POV

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Beta Jace growls at his sister as he grips the steering wheel. She is playing with fire that’s going to burn her if she does something like this again. “Playing games with the Alpha will only bring you trouble.”

Emma looks at her brother and scoffs, wondering what could be so bad about setting Aurora up on a date. It’s not like Ethan is a creep or lying. He told Emma that he genuinely thinks Aurora is pretty.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

“I just set her up on a da—”

“It doesn’t matter. The human is not to be tricked or hurt,” Beta Jace says sternly, glaring at his sister before looking back at the road. “She may not be part of the pack, as a human, but she does work for the Alpha.”

“Is there something going on? I thought…” She trails off, thinking that Jackson could be right if even her brother is defending the human. Could Aurora be Thorne’s mate?

Humans and werewolves don’t usually mate; it’s happened before and happens more often than some would like to admit, but it feels wrong to some people. They see it as tainting the werewolf bloodlines. It’s usually lower ranked wolves that mate with humans, if it happens, but for someone of Thorne’s high rank… it’s almost unheard of.

Emma wonders what’s so good about Aurora. She can’t offer any power, money, or family connections. Mating her would be pointless.

“They work together, and you know how Alpha Thorne feels about people spreading rumors in the workplace,” Beta Jace says.

Emma knows he hates it. Thorne always says that rumors are usually based on lies and jealousy. Usually they are, from what Emma experienced.

“Fine,” she huffs, annoyed and too curious for her own good. “I’ll drop it. I was just trying to be nice.” Neither of them believed her lies, but Emma hoped it would cover her butt.

Beta Jace scoffs, almost laughing as he says, “You forget I know you, sister. Leave the human alone, and you won’t get in any trouble.”

Emma crosses her arms over her chest and looks out the window with a sigh. She’s not afraid of trouble, but maybe she should dial her snooping back. Thorne surely wouldn’t appreciate her being too nosy, and if he gets angry at her, that will give her less of a chance to act on her crush.

Emma doesn’t want to be kicked out of the game before she can reach the finish line.