Free Hunter's Moon by Loribelle Hunt Page B

She rolled her eyes. Joked. “You’re as alpha as they come. You don’t ever back down. I don’t always have that luxury.” Realizing she’d handed him ammunition to lock her up to keep her safe, she rushed to add, “Which doesn’t make me weak. Or incapable of doing the job.”
    He heaved a sigh. “Yeah, I was wondering if there was a way to keep you from the hunt. It isn’t because I can’t trust you to watch your back and mine.”
    She believed him. Before. But now he was acting under the protective impulses of a mated wolf. “What then?” she asked softly, challenging his assertion.
    “I can’t lose you.” Baldly said. Raw fear in his voice. “You saw your father. Whether he killed her or not, your mother’s death destroyed him. Badly enough he never even tried to contact his only child.”
    “Which is a damned good reason never to have kids.” The possibility scared the hell out of her. God, more than possible. They hadn’t used protection once. She hadn’t even thought of it, and she was always extra careful. He gave her his best wanna bet grin and she slapped his arm. “Not funny.”
    He sobered. “No. And I was trying to think of a way to protect you that, yes, you wouldn’t have liked. But I knew I’d never follow through. See? I’m dealing with the fear.”
    She glared at him, trying to hide the tenderness welling in her throat. “The baby thing is not negotiable.”
    He stepped back and looked her up and down, gaze lingering over her stomach. “It could be too late for that kind of negotiation.” Something in his expression made her think he knew more than he was saying, and she refused to ask. It just didn’t seem right that he could smell changes in her body before she felt them.
    A commotion in the hall interrupted the conversation. The office door flew open, banged against the wall, and Julian stalked in. He was just as angry, dangerous, and alpha as Anthony had been moments ago. Carlos and Sunny followed him in.
    “What’s going on?” Anthony asked, cocking his head to one side. She understood why. It was rare to see Julian on the edge of control. Gia doubted Anthony ever had.
    “You let him escape?” His voice shook with fury.
    “Not on purpose,” Anthony answered dryly. He took her hand in his, thumb soothing over her knuckles. “We were just going after him.”
    “Gia is not. I’ll go.”
    “Gia is my mate and a grown woman. She’s made her choice. Neither one of us has to like it, but we do have to live with it.”
    Sunny smiled and gave her a thumbs up. The other predator in the room, Carlos, scowled fiercely, but kept his protest to himself. Good. She’d hate to get blood all over her carpet. She wasn’t fighting it anymore. Anthony was hers, and this was her home. She stepped in front of him and glared at Julian.
    “He’s right. This is my choice.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Declan slip in. Great. She could deal with both uncles at once.
    “Why didn’t you kill him last night?” he demanded of Anthony.
    “There were unanswered questions.”
    “Dad claims he didn’t kill Mom.” She realized with the slip of the honorific she’d decided she did believe him. Julian looked stunned. Whether at the revelation or her belief in his innocence she couldn’t say.
    “That’s crazy. He’s just trying to save his own skin.”
    “And you’re just trying to avenge your sister’s death,” Declan said quietly.
    Julian spun around to confront him. “You, of course, bought every word of it, didn’t you?”
    The werewolf shrugged. “I never believed he did it. You know that.”
    “Then why did he escape? Tonight and sixteen years ago. He abandoned his daughter. His brother. His pack.”
    Every were in the room was uncomfortable with the question. The tension level shot through the room.
    Carlos was the one who answered, and she wondered at the pain she heard in his voice. “It’s a kind of madness to lose your mate. Your mind is never right