Tyler’s entire body shook. He paced over to the porch railing and turned to face the front yard. He’d never had such a confrontation in his life. Not even with his parents. Hell, his parents were both so docile he’d barely even raised his voice growing up. They might have fainted.
In just a few short days, Tyler Evans had gotten more education than his previous twenty-four years. He needed to think. Clear his head. He looked over his shoulder and muttered in the direction of Michael, “I need to walk. Hell, I need to run.” Wolf form would be even better, but that was too much to ask for right now, and besides, he didn’t want to stray too far. “How far does this”—he motioned between his head and Michael’s—“telepathy thing extend? If I wander a ways, can I get … rid of you in my head?”
“Nope.”
Great, Mister Talkative was back.
“Fuck.”
“Yep.”
Asshole. Tyler had more questions than answers. What if Alyssa didn’t choose to accept him? At this point he wasn’t even sure he wanted to be with her if it meant having to take on Michael too. But, if he left, would he be somehow connected to Michael for eternity? The question made him shiver, and he stomped off the porch toward his car. At least next to his Civic he could pace and feel like he had some sort of connection to the life he’d known until a week ago.
Chapter 7
Oh, this is rich. Michael knew damn good and well he’d misled this Tyler guy, but hell, it wasn’t entirely his fault. And furthermore, he had at least as many questions without answers as Tyler did.
Unfortunately, Alyssa was going to be home any minute, and there wasn’t a damn thing Michael could do to keep her from Tyler. She’d never forgive him if he sent the guy away. Hell, she couldn’t even stop thinking about him for one minute, and that was without ever meeting him. Well, maybe one minute … or perhaps two yesterday when he’d made her scream in pleasure. He was fairly certain she wasn’t thinking about mystery man Tyler when she came all over Michael’s hand.
The truth was, there was no way Michael was going to escape this ménage. And he hated that more than anything in the world. He had never wanted this to happen, and he still had no intention whatsoever of sharing his bed with another man. The idea made his blood boil. The thought of another man touching his mate practically made his blood squirt out his ears.
Michael pulled himself up and shuffled over to the stairs leading down from the porch. Taking a stance he knew was cocky and extremely over-confident, he leaned against the pillar, crossed his arms over his chest, and stared pointedly at the frustrated man pacing around on the driveway.
He knew he was being a childish bastard, but he couldn’t help it. The longer Tyler went thinking he was way behind in the game, the better.
Unfortunately, his arrogance was short lived. After only five minutes of glaring at Tyler, trying to appear to be the man with all the cards, Alyssa pulled up.
The shit was about to fling around the pasture.
* * * *
Alyssa pulled her car up the driveway and over to her usual spot on the gravel as she noticed the strange silver Honda sitting next to the house. Fleeting thoughts of a surprise visitor went through her mind as she turned off the engine. With only a few yards separating her vehicle from the unknown car, Alyssa couldn’t miss the man standing stock-still, staring at her from beside the Honda.
A chill went down her spine. She knew him from somewhere. She tried to place his face. Damn. He was a member of her pack in Oklahoma. She hadn’t seen him for two years. And even then, she’d not seen him often. He was older than her. He’d been away at college for a long time. But he looked just like his father. Evans—that was their last name.
Had her worst nightmare just come to life? Fredrick had sent someone else to drag her back? Two years. She’d spent every single day of her new life worrying about exactly this scene, and here it was, right in front of her.
Alyssa’s hands shook against the steering wheel, and she considered turning the engine back on and making a run for it. Don’t be ridiculous. The Masters made it abundantly clear they would protect her from anyone. Hell, Michael would never let anything happen to her. One lone man wasn’t going to be a significant enough threat to her. It wasn’t as though the guy was going to shove her in his trunk and take off right here in broad daylight in front of the house.
Just in case, Alyssa glanced around before she opened the door and was surprised to see Michael standing on the porch. Weird.
Suddenly more tired than she’d been in months, Alyssa decided to face fate head on, opened the car door, and stepped out onto the gravel.