Chapter 12
TORIN
Leaving Sophie the next morning to come down to the field was one of the hardest things he’d done. He spent far too long watching her sleep, soft rays of the sunrise caressing her delicate, freckled skin, her lashes casting shadows over her round cheeks.
One night with her wasn’t enough. In fact, he wasn’t sure an entire lifetime with her by his side would ever be enough for him.
Was this what being mated felt like? She’d broken through his barriers as if they were cheap tissue paper and, between one heartbeat and the next, she became as important to him as his blood kin.
All he wanted to do was lock the door and spend the day, the week, the month in here, just him and Sophie. But the Wolfcraig Highland Games were important to inter-pack relations and dynamics and, as much as he wanted to den up with his mate and ignore the world, he couldn’t.
“Alpha,” Jamie said, giving Torin a chin-tip as he approached the main tent. “I was beginning to think you forgot about us.”
Torin raised an eyebrow. “Got something to say?”
“Merely curious as to the status of the human you moved into the castle last night.” Jamie handed a tablet off to a black-haired runner with orders to check on the judges for the individual competitions. “I smell her all over you.”
“A little respect,” he growled. “She’s my mate.”
Jamie’s jaw dropped before a grin split his face.
“You found your mate? That’s amazing, man.
Congratulations!” He pulled Torin close and smacked him on the back with a loud clap.
“No wonder you’ve been running patrols by her place all week.
I’m just surprised it took you so long to install her in your suite. ”
Their footsteps thumped over the wooden stage at the center of the tent as they approached the bar set up along the back to check in with Nina.
A short, curvy blonde with a ready smile and a sharp mind, Nina ranked in the middle of the pack and was mated to Jamie’s youngest son.
She kept the pack’s finances ticking along and investments growing with her financial wizardry.
Today, however, she was in charge of the beer tent and running point on the entertainment.
“Hiya, Alpha,” Nina said, giving them a frazzled smile as she pulled her hair up into a high ponytail.
“Oy, you two! Those go over there, not in front of the stage,” she barked at the teenagers who’d just set four beer kegs down.
They half-heartedly protested before hefting the kegs back up on their shoulders.
“Sorry, Alpha. Gotta stay on top of them or they’d leave ‘em all willy-nilly before disappearing.”
Torin huffed out a laugh. “Don’t I know it.” One of the joys of being in charge meant corralling all the knuckleheads and keeping them on track so they didn’t get themselves in trouble. “Hey, Nina. You scented any unknown humans hanging around?”
“Well, there are a handful of humans who came with visiting packs, but I’m pretty sure Jamie’s vetted all of them.” She scrunched her nose. “And then there’s that woman who’s been staying at the cottage.”
Leaning an arm on the bar, Jamie lowered his voice like he was imparting a great secret to her. “That woman in the cottage is our beloved Alpha’s mate.”
Nina gasped, her hands covering her mouth. “Torin, you have a mate?” She vaulted over the bar and wrapped her arms around him. “Congratulations, Alpha! Oh my god, I can’t wait to tell everybody.” And with that, she ran off, eager to spread the news.
Torin sighed. “Thanks for that, man.”
“Easiest and fastest way to get the word out about your change in status,” Jamie said with an unrepentant shrug. “I love the woman, but you know as well as I that my daughter-in-law is an inveterate gossip.”
“True.”
“Why were you asking Nina about strange humans? As your beta and head of security, is there something I need to know?”
“Sophie has a stalker. According to her, he’s why she jetted across the pond for her holiday.” Torin scrubbed at his scalp, hating that his mate was in danger from a human he hadn’t yet tracked down and eliminated. “I scented a stranger around the cottage the other day.”
“And you’re sure it wasn’t any of our invited guests who wandered off-course?”
“He left her a note, Jamie. You should have seen her face when she read it.” His nails shifted into claws, a sheen of fur sprouting over his arms. He rolled his shoulders and willed himself to calm down.
Shifting into his wolf right now wouldn’t do a damn bit of good.
Not until that cockwomble of a human was in front of him.
Jamie squeezed his shoulder. “I’m on it, Alpha. Don’t worry. We’ll protect your mate. After all, she’s pack.”
Something loosened in his chest when Jamie said that.
Mates were rare and precious, but the Highland packs had a long and troubled history with humans.
Torin supposed, somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d been worried that they wouldn’t accept her, but he shouldn’t have been concerned.
His pack was filled with good people who trusted him.
Speaking of… He raised his nose and breathed in, catching the faintest whiff of cherries.
She was somewhere close by. And he wasn’t even going to growl too much about her ignoring his demand that she stay in the castle where it was safe.
Here, surrounded by people who shifted into deadly creatures with sharp teeth and deadly claws, she couldn’t be safer.
Now that Jamie knew of the unwelcome human, he’d put the word out to be on the lookout.
If Sophie’s stalker came anywhere near her or the games, he would be taken care of.
Jamie noted his lack of attention. “Your mate?” he asked.
Scanning the crowd for a certain stunning redhead, he nodded absently.
“Go.”
“I’m fine. There’s too much to do here. I’ve got to…”
Jamie cut him off. “Look, you’re new to this mating thing, but I’ve had plenty of experience. Right now, your mind is not on anything but her, and quite honestly, having you hanging around looking like a lost puppy dog is more of a distraction than a help right now.”
“Calling your Alpha a ‘lost puppy dog’ is not winning you any favors, Beta,” Torin growled, still surveying the crowd for Sophie.
“I can handle you growling at me, but I can’t deal with this.” Jamie waved a hand at Torin. “So, please. Put me out of my misery and go find your mate.”