Page 42 of The Beta's Heart

“I’d love that.”

They got out of the truck and she sat and watched him as he lifted the truck and inspected it. As he’d suspected, there was a small tracking device underneath.

He pulled it off and stepped out from under the truck. “You know, I was kind of hoping it was a fluke that she was where we were, but clearly it wasn’t.”

Kismet frowned. “When did she have a chance to put it on the truck?”

“I don’t have a clue. I don’t want to think about her coming to the house, but she could have at any point. The protectors can only be in so many places at once.”

“What are you going to do with it?” she asked, joining him and looking down at the small device.

He squeezed it between his thumb and finger until it cracked and the red light died. “That.”

She stared at his fingers for a long moment and then looked at him. “I know you’re irresistible, but seriously…why would she put a tracker on your truck? You’re mated. Wouldn’t any reasonable wolf know you’re not on the market for a mate?”

He tossed the broken tracker in the trash. He wanted to crack a joke about being irresistible, but he wasn’t much in the mood. The night had been marred and somehow, he felt like it was entirely his fault, even though he’d not set any of the events leading up to the confrontation into motion. He looked at his gorgeous mate and vowed to do whatever necessary to keep her safe.

“I think that’s the point,” he said. “Areasonablewolf would know that a mated male isn’t available to take another mate. Stef isn’t being reasonable, and she’s got a pack backing her up.”

“I hope we don’t see her again. It’s creepy as hell that she had a tracker on the truck.” Kismet shivered and rubbed her arms.

He pulled her close and enveloped her in his arms. His beast was still rankled from the meeting, but he felt better just touching her. “I’ll keep you safe, sweetheart.”

“I know you will,” she said.

She relaxed against him with an inaudible sigh and he kissed the top of her head. He wanted to turn back the clock and be more vigilant in the first place so that Stef wouldn’t have gotten to his truck. Clearly, she was trying to intimidate him and Kismet, but all she’d done was make him more determined to protect his mate.

Hell might have no fury like a scorned woman, but it didn’t have anything on a male whose truemate was threatened. Stef could fantasize all she wanted that he was the perfect male for her, but he was only for Kismet, and nothing on earth would change that.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Kismet hadn’t ever been to a wedding outside of the fae realm, and she was excited to see what the differences were between weddings in her realm and this one. Ren looked amazing in a tailored suit, and he’d even picked up a tie the same shade of blue as her dress so they’d match.

“Gorgeous.” He said the word so sweetly and softly, with a hint of his wolf. When he looked at her like that, as if he could eat her up and she’d never get enough, she wanted to strip and race him back to the bedroom.

She stopped in front of him and ran her fingers down the silk tie. “You’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen, and you’re all mine. I think the stars aligned for us.”

“I think they did too,” he said, sliding a hand around her waist and drawing her close. “Want to stay in?”

She laughed. “I just spent an hour on my hair. Wehaveto go to the wedding.”

“Well, I will enjoy showing you off.”

The wedding was at the park in town, which had a small pond with a gazebo right at the edge. When they arrived at the park and had quite a ways to walk because of all the vehicles, she wished she hadn’t picked such high heels, even though she loved them. When her ankle wobbled on a stone in the unpaved parking lot, Ren swooped her up into his arms and carried her to the grass where the ceremony would be held.

“You’re not allowed to out-romance your alpha,” Acksel said as he and Brynn joined them.

“You pulled up to the edge of the grass so I didn’t have far to walk,” Brynn said. “Pretty romantic.”

Acksel smiled. “Well, I do pride myself on being romantic.”

Brynn snorted. “Oh, okay. Pump the brakes. I said you wereprettyromantic, nothing to get all macho over.”

“Can’t help it,” Acksel said, flexing exaggeratedly.

Brynn giggled and gave Acksel a peck on the cheek, then smiled at Kismet. “You look lovely.”

“Thanks, so do you.”