Page 45 of Alpha Claimed

She winced, lifting her arm, but refused to let Apollo see her pain as he helped slide it through the armhole. He blamed himself enough.

"Sorry, Kitten."

"You need to stop apologizing."

"I can't. Your pain is my fault."

"No. My pain is the fault of the rogues who thought they could grab me for Titan."

Apollo growled, and his eyes grew black.

She tried to remember what happened the night before. She'd been in the woods, and two rogues had shown up. What had they said?

Her wolf growled.

"How did he know I was out here?" she mused.

"He had rogues watching the two. They saw you and waited until you were alone."

"They said Titan had them on blockers like my mom used to make me."

He nodded. "Titan is getting desperate and also smarter. Using the blockers masked their scents from me as well."

"When I first heard and tried to smell them, they smelled like… nothing."

"That's what blockers do. In crowds or packs, it isn't noticeable because the other shifters mask the nothingness. But it's more noticeable one-on-one or in a group of two or three."

She nodded and then remembered something. "The one that saw me in town looked like he had a broken nose; that was you, wasn't it?"

"If I'd known then that he was more than a human, I'd have ended him instead." Apollo growled. "I'm-"

She pressed her finger to his lips. "Stop. They are gone, and I am healing, so stop apologizing. As far as Titan knows, they are still waiting, right? So it's fine."

His eyes began to clear. "How can you be so forgiving?"

"I place blame where blame is due. You didn't hurt me anymore than Ares did when we were attacked in New York. Honestly, I thought Titan would still be in New York. If I'd thought he was in Canada, I'd have been much more cautious."

"So would I."

She touched his chest. "I know you would have. Neither of us could have guessed he'd find us out here."

He touched her cheek. "Maybe we should go back to the estate. You're safer there."

"No. I don't want him to ruin our time together. We can just stay in the cabin until it's time to leave. Order in. Watch movies. Play games."

"If that's what you wish."

"It is."

He handed her the shorts, and she pulled them on while he turned away.

"Lachlan went to get food. He should be back shortly. What would you like to do in the meantime?"

She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror again. "Uh… you don't happen to have a hairbrush?"

"In the bathroom." He walked out and returned with a hairbrush.

She took a moment to section off her hair and try to brush it, but without using both hands, she couldn't make much headway.