48. Tanner

We need to talk, I told Cole via the mind connection. I loved that the telepathy worked now Silas had mated our female. It didn't always when there was a human mate involved. But when it did, the ability to talk in a mate's head was incredibly useful.

OK? What's happened?

Someone's been watching the cabin.

From Eva's frown, she sensed I was talking to Cole and excluding her. The way she pouted was adorable. I couldn't resist pulling her in for a kiss, which made me hard almost immediately. I swear, this woman was my addiction.

A niggling voice in my head reminded me that falling for Eva was a repeat of my obsession with Jessie-Lynn, but I told that fucker to shut up. Eva was nothing like Jessie-Lynn. She was sweet, and unlike Jessie-Lynn, most definitely not a traitorous bitch.

Yes, I was slightly obsessed with her sweet body and the way she only had to look at me to get me hard, but this was a healthy obsession because, again, she was my mate.

It would have been easier for sure if our mate was a shifter female, as they were naturally strong and far better able to defend themselves, but something told me that being mated to a shifter would only have made me miserable. The last thing I needed was a female trying to get the upper hand all the time.

I was too dominant for that. My wolf liked how Eva was naturally submissive. He wanted to protect her. We both did.

It felt like fate had dropped her in our laps - literally. She needed protecting, and we were the best wolves for the job. There were very few wolves stronger than us in these parts, other than perhaps Rufus.

I smirked to myself. If protecting Eva gave me the opportunity to fuck up some people, I was on board for that. My wolf was too. He couldn't wait to disembowel that fucker who'd abused our sweet mate. We were both looking forward to tearing the cunt's throat out.

Not that we had any intention of allowing our female to witness his demise. She'd experienced enough trauma in her life; she didn't need the visual of me tearing a man apart. Bad optics, as Cole would say.

Eva moaned softly as I nibbled her neck and pulled her tighter against my erection. Fuck, I really needed to sink inside the wet heat of my mate.

Just as I was planning to steal her away, Cole coughed loudly and ruined the moment. Fucking cock blocker.

I bristled with annoyance. But he had a point. Fucking my - our - mate could wait. He and I needed a conversation. Silas too. The asshole was nearby, probably in his office, moving money around like fucking Warren Buffet.

I swear, the guy was obsessed with money. Not that I was complaining. While I earned a decent amount from the jobs I did for Rufus and Carlos, it was Silas who ensured we were financially secure.

He'd invested in crypto early on, and by his own account, we were fucking loaded. Which was sweet. Once the weather lifted, I planned to treat my beautiful mate to anything she wanted. I knew she dreamed of visiting places she'd not seen before. I'd watched as her eyes lit up when she found a book on the shelf about Europe, and vowed that one day, I would take her there.

Our girl deserved the world, and I planned to hand it to her on a fucking silver platter. Silas could pay for it. Shit like that made him happy.

"Dinner will be about an hour. Why don't you go soak in the tub, sweetheart?" Cole, our resident broody hen, was saying when my mind tuned back in.

"That sounds like a plan," Eva agreed. Her small hands were still cold, and I shivered when she pressed them against my abs. Not from the cold - I rarely noticed the cold - but from the fact her fingers were mere millimeters away from my cock.

She giggled, misinterpreting my reaction.

"Naughty girl," I growled as she skipped away. "I'll spank your backside pink later!" Her cheeks flushed bright red. The scent of her arousal told me she liked the idea of being spanked. Cole's eyes flared gold, and I knew he could also smell her scent.

Her arousal was the sweetest perfume, and I couldn't get enough of her.

"I'd run if I were you," I warned. "Otherwise, I'm bending you over the table and both of us will fuck you senseless."

With a squeak of outrage, she was gone.

Cole exhaled heavily and adjusted his dick in his pants. I did the same. I seemed to spend most of my time hard these days. Life was truly a trial.

"Go on, tell me what you found," he said.

I grabbed the bottle of bourbon from the counter and poured a generous measure.

"Something triggered one of my cameras early this morning, so I went for a run to see if whoever had been sniffing around was still there. They weren't, but I found footprints and the scent of two guys. It looked like they'd hiked up and explored some of the area south of the cabin. That was the only place where they got close to the cabin, but it highlights what we all think: this guy Brent isn't backing off. He is still searching for Eva and he believes she's in the area. I suspect someone has told him about us and he thinks we have her."

"I think you're right," Cole agreed. "So, what are we going to do?"

I drained the rest of the bourbon and poured another large measure.

"Do about what?" Silas interjected.

"Finished counting your coins, Midas?"

"Fuck off, Tanner. My money helps pay for your top-shelf bourbon," he sneered, not impressed by my shameless goading, as per usual.

"I can afford to buy booze, thanks very much. My services are always in demand."

Cole glared at the pair of us. "Can we get back to the topic at hand? Eva's safety is more important than you two scoring points off each other."

That made Silas sit up and take notice. "Is she in danger?"

"Tone it down," I hissed. "I don't want her hearing any of this. She's said nothing to me, but I know she's still low-key anxious about being found by her guardian."

Cole raised one eyebrow. "And how do you know this?"

"I sneaked a look at her journal while she was asleep." Both Silas and Cole looked furious. I shrugged, ignoring the twinge of discomfort in my chest. Needs must. If violating Eva's privacy meant I could protect her better, then I was down for that.

"I knew I should have bought a journal with a lock," Silas grumbled.

"I can pick locks, dickhead." His fist narrowly missed my face, and I smirked again. He was so easy to wind up. It was hilarious.

"For fuck's sake, will you two knock it off already? We don't have time for this bullshit. Our mate is in danger. We gotta come up with a plan."

Cole's words were like a bucket of ice water. He was right. The time for fucking around was gone. If the guy I'd scented was Brent - and I strongly suspected it was - he needed putting down.

"I say we wait for him to reappear and then kill him."

"Really, Tanner? We've had this discussion. He's a cop. We can't just murder him."

"Nobody would find him," I huffed defensively. "I have a spot I use. It's never been discovered."

"By the fucking moon, shut up. I don't want to know where you stash your dead bodies."

We postured at each other for a moment, then reason sank in. Arguing over how to dispose of an abusive cop was pointless; we needed to catch the fucker first. I, for one, couldn't wait.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out. Another camera had sent an alert.

"Looks like we have a visitor on their way," I commented.

"Who?"

"Tom."

"Who's Tom?" Eva had reappeared, damp hair hanging loosely down her back, dressed in some loose sweatpants and a thick plaid shirt. The pink tinge to her cheeks told me she'd turned the water up as hot as it could get, probably to soak the chill out of her bones after sitting outside for an hour.

Be still my beating heart. She was adorable, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in my arms and snuggle in bed. OK, so I wanted a lot more than that, but snuggles were good. With her, at least.

I wasn't down for snuggling anyone else, least of all these irritating fuckers. From the way Cole smirked at me, he'd read my mind.

"Tom's the head beta of the Lone Pine Pack."

"Wonder what he wants," Silas mused.

"Guess we're about to find out."