Mate (Bride, #2)

by Ali Hazelwood

Anneke and Amanda take a step back, and Saul feels my upper arm for the GPS tracker embedded in my flesh. “Still doesn’t hurt?” I shake my head. “Good. It’s a little bit reddened, but that’s for the best, since it’ll make it easier to notice for Irene. If it hurts—” “Shut it, Saul,” Koen grumbles. “She’s an adult Were and doesn’t need you fussing over her.” Saul’s eyebrow perks up. “Excuse me, Alpha. I must have misheard when you threatened to chain her to the radiator to prevent her from stubbing her toe.” “She is my mate,” Koen snarls. “I get to treat her like she’s made of mother-of-pearl. You do not.” Saul hugs me, wishes me good luck, and disappears from Koen’s sight at record speed. Then it’s just us. Across the sky, a bird of prey calls in a loud, descending pitch. “I should have,” Koen mutters. In the sunlight, his eyes look darker than usual. “What?” “Chained you to my fucking radiator. I still could. I will.” I laugh. “No, you won’t. But I’ll be all right. They don’t know I can shift again. If things get dangerous, I can always run.” He clenches his teeth. “If anything happens to you, I’m going to—” “Kill me, yes. I know the drill by now.” I would love to hug him, but Anneke is right behind me, and she’s part of the Assembly. I don’t want to make things harder for him. “I think it’s gonna work, Koen. We’ll get rid of this threat, and we’ll…move on.” I smile. More or less. “Consider it my parting gift to the Northwest.” “You already gave the Northwest enough.” I s...