Rille (Tribes, Book 2)

Chapter 5

Preston didn't expect the woman to obey his every word. Not yet, anyway. He was to blame for her current situation, after all. No one would take kindly to someone—especially a shifter—barging into their life and taking over. She must be furious, this one.

Still, Preston had failed to predict the blaze of molten lava in her eyes. "Let me get this straight. You expect me to just waltz into my apartment and tell my boyfriend of two years that I can't be with him anymore because a horny wolf bit me?"

"Let's set the record straight, shall we?" Preston leaned forward, pressing his hands to the bed on either side of her feet. Leaning in close until she could certainly feel the weight of his presence. "I didn't bite you like a rabid dog, nor was it because I was horny, as you say. If I hadn't given you that mating mark, you would have gone insane. I did what I did in order to save your life. Do you need a better explanation?"

"Yes, but it will suffice for now." she lifted her chin defiantly. "Didn't answer anything I asked about my boyfriend, though."

"As for the boyfriend of... what was it? Two years?" Preston inhaled, refraining from wrinkling his nose as that boyfriend's scent rolled off of her skin and into his nostrils. The low level of permeating scent said a lot about their two-year relationship. None of it good for the woman. "Yes. I am asking you to end it."

"What if I say no?"

A question that Preston hadn't anticipated. Most people bent to the aura of authority he carried, as an alpha. Her defiance said many things about her mental state, both good and bad.

In circumstances like this, Preston saw only one course of action. "Care to make a bet?"

One of the government agents coughed, wheezing on the end in discomfort. "We still need to address the issue of claiming papers and—"

"I'll come in tomorrow to sign whatever I need to sign," Preston interrupted.

"Ms. Lyons will have to sign some papers, too, so—"

Preston's glare turned to the government agent, staring him down until he shuffled on his feet, snapped his notebook closed and turned for the door.

"We'll see the two of you at the office tomorrow, then." The second man hastened after his friend, clearly uncomfortable remaining in Preston's presence.

Preston waited for the door to click shut, then turned back to the woman who would be his mate. "So, what do you say?"

"What kind of bet are we talking?" Her defiance didn't falter or sway. Instead, she stared Preston straight in the eye like she could take anything that he threw at her.

As if.

"I'll wager that the boyfriend you're so desperate to keep will toss you aside the minute he sees a mating mark on your neck." Preston lifted his eyes to the mark he had made, precariously healing atop the mark that would have killed her. If only she understood what he had done for her, it might make his job a little easier.

"Look, I know you're friends with my bestie's husband and all, but you can't just say whatever you want." The woman pouted, her lips pursed enticingly.

Preston sighed, as he had hoped that she had forgotten their first meeting. It had been a ride to and from the Crescent Reservation, nothing more. But Preston had remembered for months. He would rather not mention that he knew all kinds of things about her. Including her beautiful name.

"Why? You scared?" He threw it out to goad her, and it worked.

"Just scared that you'll be a sore loser. What are we betting?"

Preston had been prepared for that response. "If I win, you come to the Res as per the mating laws."

"And if you lose?"

"I'll let you go, no strings attached." Which, of course, wouldn't happen. Preston knew things that Brielle didn't.

"It's a deal," Brielle agreed without asking any further questions.

A mistake that made Preston breathe a sigh of relief. With the way she had responded, he thought she would be harder to handle when it came to pulling the wool over her eyes. Turned out that her anger got the better of her this time. All for the best. Preston would have less trouble if she went along with his plan, but allowing the boyfriend to call things off would make a clean break for Brielle.

A clean break would allow her to accept her new life without regrets.

Admittedly, a clean break would make things easier for Preston, as well. If Brielle relied on him, leaned on him, he would have an easier time protecting her. With her obstinate nature, he was remiss to bring her into the res. There were too many variables in the Rille tribe, none of them favorable toward Brielle. If she joined him on the res, it would be his responsibility to ensure her safety. Brielle clearly wouldn't be helping on that front.

Preston pushed off the foot of the bed, rising to his full height and crossing his arms as defiantly as Brielle had been acting. "They should discharge you in the morning. We'll go see your boyfriend first, then we'll stop by WDA."

"We won't be stopping at Wolf Domestic Affairs," Brielle threw back confidently.

Preston merely offered a wry smile. Brielle didn't know half as much as he did, and he hadn't even done all his research yet. If she knew the extent of his influence and connections, Brielle might have played things safer. She might have thought twice about accepting the bet. It had been loaded from the start, anyway.

"Get some rest." Preston retreated to the sofa on the other side of the room.

It had little cushioning left, but that wouldn't matter in the long haul. Preston didn't expect to do a lot of sleeping if he could help it. He had affairs to handle and he had half a suspicion that Brielle would try to run away if left unattended. Therefore, he would make the most of his time while he waited for the day that would prove him right.

Only after that would Preston consider the other things that Brielle would have to face.

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