NocC 013 - Katie Reus - Protector's Mate - Harlequin 2012-04 by Nocturne Page A

started limiting their contact.
    How had he known I’d be at the airport? She wanted to ask but keeping her cool around this wolf was important. Bigger, stronger wolves pounced on any perceived weakness. She’d learned that lesson long ago. Even if Alaric seemed different, she wouldn’t forget the lessons she’d learned as a cub. Some memories went bone deep.
    “Knox recently expanded and took over all of northern Alabama. That includes your old pack’s territory—now my Alpha’s territory.” There he went with that voice again.
    How did he expect her to think when he talked like that? Wait, what did he just say? His Alpha had taken over? “What happened to Lamont?” Wilson Lamont. Her old Alpha. Even saying that wolf’s name left a bitter taste in her mouth.
    “Dead. From vampires.”
    He didn’t sound too torn up about it either. Interesting.
    Despite the acute relief that splintered through her at the news, she held back her frustration at his fairly vague answer. “When?”
    He shrugged in a maddeningly pure male way. “A while ago.”
    She resisted the urge to growl. That was most definitely something he should have told her in their email correspondence. At the moment, she was so tired even her eyelids ached. All she wanted was a straight answer. “So your Alpha took over his territory? What about the old members of the pack? And I still don’t understand why you’re here to pick me up.”
    His dark gaze narrowed for a second. “Most shifters would say ‘my’ pack, not ‘the’ pack.”
    She looked away under his intense scrutiny. When Lamont had demanded she submit to him, in addition to his first mate—as if she were some whore—no one had stepped up to defend her. Screw them. They weren’t her pack. They weren’t her anything. “You didn’t answer my question.”
    “No, I didn’t.”
    Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a yellow cab pulling up to the curb. It didn’t look like anyone had claimed it and she didn’t want to miss her chance. She didn’t know why Alaric was here but she wasn’t going to put herself in a position to be at his mercy. “Thanks for coming to the airport, but I’m afraid you wasted your time.”
    She turned away from him, but before she’d taken a step he plucked her suitcase and her carry-on from her hands and shoved them in the backseat of the SUV. She blinked once. The man moved lightning fast. Faster than any shifter she’d ever seen.
    “What are you doing?” Panic laced her voice and she was unable to mask it.
    “You’re coming with me, little wolf.” His voice softened slightly.
    Why had his voice gone all husky like that? And why do I like it? Maybe she really was more tired than she realized. She mentally shook herself. It didn’t matter. “Why didn’t you tell me your Alpha had taken over this territory, Alaric? You’ve had plenty of opportunities.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving Afghanistan?” Now there was no softness in his voice. Just anger and something that sounded a lot like…hurt.
    She swallowed hard at the surge of guilt that erupted inside her. The thought of telling him had crossed her mind, but he’d have likely wanted to see her. And after those last few emails… She couldn’t deal with that now. Didn’t want to deal with anything . All she wanted to do was sleep in a soft bed. She shifted from foot to foot as she ran over her options. He had her bags and she certainly couldn’t overpower him. Not to mention, making a scene at the airport was stupid. His reputation was fearsome, but she’d never heard that he hurt females. Not much to go on, but her inner wolf didn’t fear him and that said a lot. She ignored his question and asked another one of her own. “Where are you taking me?”
    “Where you belong,” he growled softly. Possessively.
    She frowned at the tone of his voice, then raked a hand through her hair. She’d been traveling for nearly thirty-six hours and didn’t have the energy