He forced himself to take a bite, closing his eyes for a moment as the spicy beef filling hit his tongue. Maybe he wasn’t too tired to eat after all. Next to him, Mackenzie bit into her own burrito.
Gage had been surprised to find her waiting for him when he’d climbed into the operations vehicle. He thought she’d left hours ago. But she told him she’d wanted to wait. It might be selfish, but he was glad she had. Seeing her beautiful face after the long-ass day he’d had made him feel a little less exhausted.
The two incidents he’d gone on weren’t the only reason he was dragging. The other was the argument he’d gotten into with his pack that morning after PT. He’d thought that after yesterday, his guys wouldn’t mind sitting down with Mackenzie for a one-on-one interview, but they’d been flat-out pissed off at the idea.
“That’s too damn bad because you’re doing it anyway,” he’d told them. “If it’s any consolation, you won’t have to put up with Ms. Stone snooping around much longer.”
“How do you know that?” McCall asked.
“Yeah.” Kendrick’s eyes narrowed. “Just how involved with this reporter are you? Is there something going on that you haven’t told us?”
Gage bit back a snarl. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Cooper looked up from the graphic novel he was thumbing through. “He means, are you sleeping with her?”
Gage had been so shocked he’d just stood there staring at his explosives expert like a damn pig with a Rolex.
“Well, are you?” Cooper demanded.
Gage had to clench his hands into fists to keep from slugging the man. Getting into a brawl with Cooper might be satisfying as hell, but it would only confirm what he and the rest of the men feared—that he was letting his attraction to Mackenzie cloud his judgment and it was putting the Pack at risk. He understood where their concern was coming from, even if it was misplaced.
“No,” he said as evenly as he could manage. “We’re not sleeping together.”
“Bullshit,” Xander snarled. “We can smell her all over you.”
Gage didn’t even realize he’d moved toward his senior squad leader until Mike stepped in front of him and put a hand on his chest.
Brooks moved to stand next to Xander. “Sergeant, how do we know she isn’t playing you?”
“She’s not playing me,” he growled.
“How can you be sure?” Mike asked.
“I just know, damn it!” he snapped.
That probably wouldn’t be good enough for them, but he didn’t know how to put it into words. Mackenzie might have come here looking for a story that first day, but something in his gut told him that wasn’t the reason she kept coming back.
Xander swore under his breath. “It’s not just about her finding out about us, Gage. Having her around is dangerous.”
Gage frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“For one thing, you’re not thinking clearly,” Xander said. “Hardy sent his goons to rough you up and you don’t seem to give a damn.”
“Like hell I don’t.”
“Yeah? Well, you haven’t mentioned what you’re going to do about it.” Xander shook his head. “Anyway, it’s not just that. She’s putting off pheromones all of us are picking up, and it’s affecting some of the younger wolves. To say it’s a distraction is an understatement. It’s going to get someone killed.”
That’s when things had gotten really ugly. Not everyone in the Pack agreed with Xander, and the guys had taken sides. And the ones who went against Gage weren’t only pissed about Mackenzie, they were calling him out as Pack leader. There’d been a few stare downs over the years, but it’d never gone further than that, and certainly never with any of the more senior werewolves. But this fight was going to make the scuffle in the weight room the other day look like child’s play. Blood would definitely be shed.
Or it would have been if Cooper hadn’t defused the situation with one simple question.
“Mac’s The One, isn’t she?”
Gage didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The rest of the Pack retracted their claws, suddenly more interested in debating whether the myth was real—and what that meant for the Pack. If Mackenzie Stone was really The One for him, would it keep her from spilling their secret if and when she discovered it? Did the intense attraction have the same effect on her, too?
Gage hoped to God it did, but he didn’t know much about it. Unfortunately, neither did Cooper. But before Gage could say anything, dispatch had called about the hostage situation at the mall.