10. Wyatt
TEN
WYATT
The headlights of the SUV flashed on the wrought iron gate as we arrived home. Denny, one of the security guards, activated the entrance and nodded as we passed.
I hadn’t decided what to tell Harper about the man we’d accidentally snared. He was seatbelted in the backseat and had murmured a couple of times on the drive back to the city, but hadn’t fully regained consciousness.
Tank strode out the front door as we arrived.
“What the fuck?” he muttered as Atticus unbuckled our passenger and slung him over his shoulder.
“It’s a long story,” I replied, shutting off the engine. “How were things here?”
“Quiet,” Tank grunted. “Although the girl tried to leave.”
I nodded and tried not to smile. Telling Harper to do something pretty much meant that she would do the opposite. I loved that she was fiercely independent, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me that she didn’t obey me like the others. Was that what having a wife was like? I shook my head. Wife.
Don’t get ahead of yourself , I thought. Harper was special and there was a reason we were drawn to each other, but we had many obstacles to overcome before I could put a ring on her finger.
Sasquatches don’t do marriage. We don’t have to. Fated mates are just that, fated. And nothing can tear a pair of us apart once we’ve found each other. But Harper and I were going to have to live in Seattle, and put forward a somewhat normal fa?ade, and that meant all the things that were important to humans. Things like weddings and rings. I didn’t care about any of it, but I would do it all, even throw a goddamn garter belt, for Harper.
“Did you stop her?” I followed Atticus into the house and Tank locked the door behind us.
“Of course I stopped her.” Tank had been a grouch all his life, but in the last year, he’d taken his irritability to the next level. “I follow orders.” It was a knock at Harper, but I let it slide. “She spent the afternoon in the greenhouse with Tim. I hope that’s approved.”
I nodded. “She used to work at a plant nursery. Maybe I’ll ask Tim if he needs some help out there.” I didn’t know why I hadn’t thought of it sooner. Until The Seattle Sun had laid off all its reporters, Harper had been paid pennies. Before her promotion to the nature column, she’d had to supplement her income with a part time job at the nursery, and I got the feeling that she’d liked the nursery job better than writing for that paper.
“She’s going to work for us?” His words dripped with sarcasm.
“Enough, Tank. This is all new territory for everyone. You need to start treating Harper like one of the family.”
“Fine. Then the greenhouse is the perfect place to stick her, far away from the rest of us. Tim seems to like her.”
That wasn’t a huge feat. Tim liked everyone. But it helped to know that Harper had at least one person on the property that didn’t want to serve her a giant steaming cup of forgetting serum tea.
As long as I was in charge, Harper was safe from my own kind, at least the North American contingent. I made a mental note to tell Harper never to eat or drink anything given to her by one of Valentina’s crew. Hopefully, she knew that already. But Harper was as equally na?ve as she was brilliant.
“Speaking of Harper, where is she now?”
“She’s camped out in your office. I hope that you locked up anything sensitive.”
“Tank,” I growled.
“Sorry.” He held up his hands. “Family. Right. Now are you going to tell me what’s going on with that sack of bones Atticus just took to the basement?”
Being home meant being near Harper, and all I wanted to do was rush up to the office and bend her over the desk. I sniffed the air, the vanilla of her shampoo now a part of the house. I loved smelling her when I came home, but it also made me horny as hell.
I cleared my throat, wiping the image of my cock spreading Harper’s creamy thighs wide. “We set traps for Joe Davis and caught that guy instead.”
Tank’s brow furrowed. “Why did you bring him here?”
Rolling up my sleeves, Tank and I descended the curved staircase into the basement into the room we’d set up as a theater. A projection screen took up one wall, and overstuffed sofas and recliners with cup holders were arranged for family movie nights. But we’d never used it. Not once.
Atticus dropped the man onto a recliner. His head lolled and his eyelids flickered a couple of times before opening wide. He scanned the room and then struggled against his restraints. Atticus rested his hand on the man’s shoulders. “Relax.”
“Wyatt?” Harper’s voice called from the top of the stairs. “Are you down there?”
“Tell her to wait for me upstairs.” I pointed at Tank.
He rolled his eyes and then took the stairs two at a time.
“Why can’t I go down there? You may have stopped me from leaving, but Wyatt told me to treat this house like my own. Now get out of the way.” Harper’s voice sounded from the hallway.
Atticus widened his eyes and jerked his head toward the action at the top of the stairs, indicating that I needed to step in.
“I’ll handle it,” I grumbled and headed upstairs.
Tank stood on the landing, each hand pressed against the wall, stopping Harper from passing. “It’s okay, Tank. Stand down.”
He stepped aside and I passed him, taking Harper’s hand in mine, leading her away from the basement. She resisted, and I had to tug her to get her into the kitchen.
“What’s going on down there?” she asked nervously.
I sighed. I didn’t want to lie to Harper. “We found—”
“My dad?” She tried to rush past me, but I grabbed her arm.
“No. We didn’t find him, but we figured out how he’s traveling through the county. He’s using the rivers.”
Harper’s eyes searched mine. “If it’s not my dad, then who did you find?”
“Let me get more information, and then I’ll fill you in on everything, okay?” I released her from my grip.
She rubbed her arm where I had grabbed her.
“I’m sorry.” I kissed her hand and then placed my hand on her forearm. “I forget how strong I am sometimes.”
“Why can’t you just tell me now?” She ignored my apology, and guilt churned in my guts. I needed to be careful with Harper. Her lifespan wasn’t hundreds of years, like ours, and even the smallest thing like a black widow spider could kill her.
“I have to go deal with this, but I promise I’ll explain everything. Just give me a few minutes.”
I kissed her and she wrapped her arms around my waist, squeezing me tightly. “Well, I’m glad you’re at least home safe.” My cock pulsed. I was tempted to let Atticus deal with the man in the basement so Harper and I could go upstairs and fuck.
Removing her hands from my body was like taking off a toasty wool coat in the winter. “How about you go upstairs and put that slippery little nightgown back on?”
“Can I just come with you? It will be easier to show me what you’ve got down there, rather than tell me about it later.”
Her persistence was usually endearing, but we had kidnapped a man and were holding him tied up in the basement. There were more important things than kissing and catching up after a day apart. “No.” I crossed my arms. “I told you. Go upstairs.”
“I thought that I was supposed to treat this house like my own?”
I felt like an asshole. “You are. And I’ll explain everything. I just need you to give me a few minutes.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I—”
“Tell me later.” I turned and walked away. I was mildly surprised when the pesky reporter side of her didn’t take over and follow me as I headed back down the stairs.
The security guard stepped into the foyer. “Miss Davis. Your guests have arrived.”
“Guests?” I turned and raised my eyebrows.
“Yeah.” Harper’s hands were on her hips. “That’s what I was trying to tell you. I invited Savannah and Connor over. If you’d have given me the chance, I would’ve told you. Instead, you brushed me off, and you’re keeping me in the dark, treating me like…” Her voice quivered and tears welled in her eyes.
“Sir. Should I let them in?” Denny looked from me to Harper.
My girlfriend had invited a werewolf into my home. I didn’t mind Connor, but the rest of the guys weren’t so forward-thinking. Of course I knew there would be some road bumps in the beginning, but I couldn’t believe that Harper would do something so foolish without checking in with me first.
“No, Denny. They won’t be coming inside.” It was hard to keep my voice even.
“What would you like me to say, Miss?” Denny looked to Harper. He took orders from me, not her, but was trying to be respectful
I interjected. “Harper. Get rid of them.”
“But…”
“We’ll talk about this later.”
“Wyatt.” Harper started to follow me. I turned and took a breath so I didn’t raise my voice.
“Later.” It came out as a growl.
I knew I was being a dick, but Harper had been foolish. I’d have to smooth it over later. Right now, we had more important things. Like figuring out what the hell was going on in Stirling County.
Maybe Harper wouldn’t see it that way, but I was doing all of it for her. To keep her safe, like I’d promised.