Free Reina's Mate by Dawn Wilder Page B

she
asked, putting her hand lightly on my chest.
    Which made me realize I was completely naked
under this sheet. And that I had no idea where I was.
    “ Like I got pounded on by
a psychopath. Where are we?”
    “ Dr. Ingram's clinic.
She's their pack doctor.” She paused for a moment. “I guess she's
your pack doctor.”
    “ Shit. I did not think
this through.”
    She grinned.
    “ Come on. It's great.
People never leave you alone. You're ultimately responsible for
every problem no matter how big or small. Some people will always
hate you, no matter how hard you try. Oh, and don't forget the
threat of death every time someone thinks they can take you and
want your job.”
    “ Ha ha. I could just
forfeit it and let someone else have the headache.”
    Sounded good to me.
    She sobered a little.
    “ Real deal? This is the
best scenario in terms of logistics. We can have an alliance, we
don't need the buffer zone, and we can more than double resources.
It's kind of a win win.”
    “ Doesn't feel like it to
me,” I grumbled.
    “ Plus, if you forfeit,
what if one of those maniacs ends up in power? We might be worse
off than when Manny was in charge.”
    Fuck.
    She had a point.
    But how was I supposed to be an Alpha? Hell,
I hadn't even been part of a pack for years.
    The only reason I had joined again was for
Reina. And I'd taken the position as Second for that same
reason.
    I could handle cracking some skulls and
getting shit done for her.
    But being in charge of everything?
    “ I think I'm breaking out
in hives.”
    “ Don't wimp out now. You
just took out the boogeyman. You can do this. I'll help
you.”
    I had a thought.
    “ Why don't we just merge
the packs? You can take charge.”
    Ha! Brilliant plan.
    “ But you're the one who
got rid of Manny. Even if some don't like you, you have a
legitimate claim. Even those who aren't thrilled about an outsider
taking over have to admit that. And no, I'm not fighting you and
letting you throw it. It would be too obvious.”
    I closed my mouth.
    How did she do that?
    “ Trust me.” She leaned in
and kissed me gently. “You're going to be great. We'll help each
other.”
    “ What about where we live?
I am not giving up living with you.”
    That was non-negotiable.
    “ Well...we can live in the
buffer. Or ex-buffer. Between our two territories.”
    I mulled that over.
    “ Fine. But who's going to
be your Second?”
    “ I'm not completely sure
yet. But I was thinking about Bar. She's more than proved herself.
She's quick, smart, a good fighter. And people underestimate
her.”
    Not a bad choice.
    “ I'm taking Terrence then.
He's intimidating and I know I can trust him. I'm going to need
that while I clean house here.”
    There was a rot in this pack that had to be
burned out thoroughly.
    Reina thought it over, her thumb rubbing my
hand absently.
    “ Fine. If he wants to go,
fine.” She sighed. “I'm going to have to figure out who to replace
him with.”
    I let my head drop down on the pillow again
with a heavy sigh.
    “ What?”
    “ I just realized that
vacation I was dreaming about isn't going to happen. Not for a
good, long while.”
    Damn it.
    “ True. A vacation isn't
really a good idea right now.” She kissed me lightly, skimming her
hand up my arm. “But I bet we could think of something to do at
home.” Her smile was wicked, her eyes hot.
    I felt my cock stir in interest.
    “ Come here.”
    She laughed, shaking her head.
    “ No shenanigans. Doctor's
orders.”
    “ Really? Can't an invalid
get some sympathy here?”
    She rolled his eyes.
    “ This invalid needs some
rest before he does anything else.”
    Fine. Probably for the best anyway.
    Everything hurt.
    I wanted to be more mobile when I got my
hands on her again.
    She leaned over and kissed me again, this
time slower, her tongue sleek and soft as it entered my mouth.
    When she broke the kiss and pulled back a
little, we were both breathing noticeably harder.
    “ Rest up. I have plans for
your