A Mate's Sacrifice: (Hot Paranormal Romance) (Ozark Mountain Shifters Book 2) by P. Jameson Page B

to understand is, as alpha, I can’t show any vulnerability. If I had backed down from Vesh, my wolves would have perceived it as a weakness. I would have lost their respect and it would have caused a chink in my authority. By all rights I should have laid him out, possibly even killed him. But all I did was throw him against a wall to get him to back down.”
    They walked in silence while she let his words sink in.
    “What’s worse,” he said, “is Vesh won’t respect an alpha who would let a visiting wolf publicly speak against him. He forced my hand. Was probably even testing me. After all, his former alpha is one of the cruelest wolves I know. That’s what he’s used to. If I’d backed down, Vesh would’ve had zero faith in me.”
    “Why do you care if he has faith in you?”
    He didn’t answer.
    When Braeh’s cabin was in sight, Cael said. “Your job assignment has changed. I hear your talents could be better put to use elsewhere.”
    Braeh turned to look at him.
    “Report to the kitchen at 11:00 am. You’ll be on lunch and dinner duty.”
    A smile lit Braeh’s face before she could temper it. “Yeah, okay.”
    He turned back down the path. “’Night,” he called over his shoulder.
    ***
    Vesh scrubbed the grime from his body with a wash rag, but still didn’t feel right. They had him shoveling shit from the stalls in the barn. It was about the lowest job they could give a person. It ranked just above cleaning out the septic tanks. But that wasn’t what bothered him now.
    It was Braeh. She wasn’t back yet, and every minute she stayed gone, he became more agitated.
    He’d wondered about her all day. He knew she’d been given a job working the garden, and he’d even snuck over on break to check on her—though he stayed back so she wouldn’t see him. But it wasn’t where she belonged. She needed to be in the kitchen. He knew how much cooking meant to her. In the time they’d known each other, he’d noticed it was her crutch. She used it to relax. To communicate. To think. And now, here she was with no outlet.
    After work, he’d gone straight to Cael and asked that she be placed in the cafeteria tomorrow.
    The front door to the cabin banged and Vesh heard footsteps. Quickly, he stood under the spray of the shower to rinse the soap from his body. But he didn’t finish fast enough. The bathroom door creaked open and he heard his mate’s uncertain voice.
    “Vesh?”
    Her name on his lips reinforced the erection that had been bothering him all day. But it was more than that. It was just being in her vicinity after so many hours apart. It was pure relief. He really had to fight to remember why he shouldn’t want her, why they would never work.
    “I brought you food. How was your day?”
    God, she was so damn adorable. And she’d brought him food. She was caring for him. It was enough to make him burst at the seams.
    Hold it together . Keep your cool .
    “Er, you know what, we can talk when you’re done showering. I didn’t mean to just burst in on you. I’ll wait in the—”
    Vesh’s control snapped. He flung the shower curtain open, not caring about the spray of water that hit the floor. He had to see her. It was all that mattered in that moment.
    Braeh gasped, her face frozen in surprise. Three seconds passed while he catalogued the streak of mud on her forehead, the leaves stuck in her hair, the grime on her hands. Even still, she looked like a dream come true.
    Before he could think too much about it, he reached out and grabbed her by the hand, yanking her into the shower, fully clothed, shoes and all. The water soaked her t-shirt and he thanked everything holy that it was baby blue. That color was so very, very close to white and he could see the imprint of her dark lacy bra.
    Vesh pushed her against the tile wall, and lowered his head to her neck to imprint her scent. Damn, his woman smelled divine. He’d never get enough. And the way her breath came so fast, making her chest