“And why can’t I go out with your brothers? They’re very good looking.” It was really kind of fun to tease the bear. The possessiveness she heard in his voice had her stomach clenching. She’d never really been wanted. An orphan before she was ten, she’d been an only child. Her father and mother had also been only children. She’d spent six months in a group home while the state had tracked down a great aunt on her mother’s side who had finally agreed to take custody of her. She shuddered, thinking about that time in her life. It had been awful. Now, to have someone actually seem to care about her was wonderful. Her last two boyfriends—make that her only two boyfriends—had never expressed that much concern about her, much less jealousy if another man had looked at her. At times, she’d gotten the impression that both had wished someone else would come along and take her off their hands.
“Paige, let me make something very clear to you.” Again, that gravelly voice that did things to her insides she couldn’t explain. “You are mine.”
Paige’s heart stalled then galloped at full speed. A minute later it slowed down to a realistic rhythm. “Quinn, I’m not your mate. You don’t have to pretend.”
“What the fuck?” She heard noises in the background that sounded like large, angry males. “Damn it, I’ve got to go. The Council has reconvened and I need to be in there. We have to talk, Paige.”
“No, we don’t, Quinn. I know where I stand and I’m okay with it.”
“Paige—”
“Go to your meeting. I’ll see you Monday.” She hung up on him, a growl echoing in her ear.
Quinn couldn’t believe the woman had hung up on him. He heard his name being called again and glanced over his shoulder. The members of the Council were entering the chamber room. The evidence he’d presented hadn’t been the best. A human court of law would never have let the complaint go this far. As Marcum had pointed out to the Council, anyone could have sabotaged the concrete mix. While they believed Quinn when he said jackal shifters had been on his property, again, there was no way of knowing which jackals. The scent had certainly not belonged to Marcum. The man was too smart for that.
As everyone poured back into the meeting room, he wished he’d taken Ryker’s advice and let Ryland handle this. If he had, he could have already had Paige. Many, many times.
“Mr. Blackwood, we’re ready to begin.” The chairman of the Council, Larson Hart, called him to the front of the room. The man was a wolf shifter who ran a large pack in California.
“Mr. Marcum.”
Quinn tried not to sneer as the other man stepped forward.
“While this Council agrees that something is going on at your construction site, Mr. Blackwood, you have given us no hard evidence that Mr. Marcum is responsible.”
Quinn knew it had been a long shot to convince the Council to punish Marcum. That didn’t mean he had to like the Council’s ruling. “There were jackals on the site. The consequences of sabotaging the concrete mix could have resulted in harm or even death. To humans.” He wanted to hammer home that point. If a shifter owned construction company had caused the injury or death of a human, it would have given some humans another weapon to use in their prejudice campaign against shifters.
“We fully understand the implications. We suggest that you obtain better security on your site.” This from the hyena representative. Hyenas were just a step above jackals on the shifter food chain.
Quinn’s chuff of warning was acknowledged by Hart. He’d met the man before and liked him. He was fair and dealt out justice swiftly. Right now, however, he wasn’t Quinn’s favorite man.
“Mr. Blackwood this Council does not find sufficient evidence to support your claim of sabotage by Mr. Marcum.”
The jackal shifter smiled at Quinn and he had a difficult time holding back his bear. He’d gain nothing by shifting and tearing out the man’s throat. He’d be put down and Marcum would have won. Besides, he now had the safety and well-being of Paige to consider.
“However, Mr. Marcum,” the chairman continued, “this Council rules that since you, in the past, have boasted that all jackals in Atlanta are part of your pack, you will make restitution to Blackwood Brothers Construction for the cost of replacing the concrete. And the cost for any delays that may have caused Mr. Blackwood.”
“Now wait just a damn minute.”
The wolf didn’t allow Marcum to talk. “The judgment of this Council if final. If there are rogues in your territory, I suggest you take care of them.” The wolf smiled letting everyone in the room know he was a true predator. “If not, the Council will have no choice except to back the Blackwoods and allow them to deal with any jackals they find on their property. Anyway, they deem fit.”