Marked by Aline Hunter

know
what your intentions are. Are you going to do the right thing? Or do you plan
to amuse yourself by using her until someone else comes along and tickles your
fancy?”
    He moved before he was aware, hands slamming on the desk as
he leaned toward Fletcher. “Careful, old man.”
    “You don’t scare me.” Fletcher didn’t break eye contact and
no fear accompanied the statement. “That young woman out there means more to me
than anything. If you honestly believe I’m going to back down from the likes of
you, you have another think coming. Answer my question. Why are you here? What
do you want with my granddaughter?”
    “Chloe is my mate,” Jackson stated, putting the fact out in
the open. “I intend to claim her as such before my pack.”
    “So you’re going to marry her?” Fletcher asked quietly. “Is
that what you’re telling me?”
    “That’s exactly what I’m telling you. What’s mine, I keep,”
he answered and stood. “And make no mistake, she’s mine.”
    “You say that likes she’s—” Fletcher caught himself,
realizing his mistake.
    “What? An animal?” He couldn’t help but snort. Leave it to a
human to put things into simple categories—man or beast.
    “She’s not a belonging. You don’t own her.”
    “No more than she owns me.” When Fletcher frowned, Jackson
smiled. “It’s safe to say your grandchild has me wrapped around her little
finger. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”
    “You’re too old for her, you know,” Fletcher grumbled,
scrubbing his hand across the back of his neck. “Hell, you’re probably older
than me.”
    He decided not to clarify or share his age. Yes, he was a
helluva lot older than the man but providing that information wouldn’t do
either of them any favors. Right now they were on common ground.
    “Relationships aren’t always perfect.”
    “She’s going to live forever, isn’t she?” The strength in
the aging human faded, leaving him a worn out old human who had more years
behind him than ahead. “She’s like you now.”
    “Not yet, but she will be.”
    Fletcher mulled over his words. “And you’re going to care
for her? You’re going to do everything in your power to make her happy?”
    “You have my word.”
    Jackson heard Chloe in the other room talking softly to her
grandmother. The floor creaked, indicating she was rising from the couch. He
knew he had to hurry. There was one positive thing coming from all of this, one
thing Gavin Worthington couldn’t have anticipated.
    “Did the male who got your daughter pregnant know she was
expecting? Did he leave her in your care knowing she was carrying his child?”
    “Of course he did,” Fletcher huffed, cheeks flushing red in
anger, back to his former fighting self. “I don’t think he would have come here
if Sylvie hadn’t pushed the issue. Apparently he didn’t want her coming to see
him anymore. He came here to tell her to stop.”
    Just like that, everything changed.
    Gavin had given his child over to another male to raise and
protect. If Fletcher accepted Jackson’s union with Chloe, no one could stand in
the way of their mating.
    “One more question,” Jackson said, grinning as he heard
Chloe’s approaching footsteps. “If you came face-to-face with him again, what
would you do?”
    “The same thing I did the first time.” Fletcher graced
Jackson with a grin of his own, one that promised retribution. “Shoot his
worthless ass.”

Chapter Six
     
    Everything was so freaking surreal.
    Chloe released a soft sigh, shoving the last of her clothing
into her bag.
    First she’d woken from a weird stupor on the couch. She
didn’t know how she’d gotten there, although she remembered bits and pieces of
being carried inside. When she’d gone in search of Jackson she’d gotten another
surprise.
    He and Gramps were actually being civil to each
other.
    She’d stepped inside the office braced for war and found two
men talking amicably, without a gun in