He intended to speak with Ian privately as soon as he could. He needed to know how Ian wished to handle this. Once she was speaking with a broker in private, he would call Ian. Guthrie would have done so while she was getting her coat and purse, but because of the distressed state she was in, he didn’t want to leave her alone for even a minute. He wanted to show her that he was her mate and would stand behind her, no matter what.

Money. Blackmail. Whatever Baird was threatening her with, Guthrie would protect her. More than anything, Guthrie had wanted to mate with her and resolve that issue before all else. Together, they could handle anything.

Later that morning, when they arrived at the building where Calla’s broker was, they waited for a bit in the lobby. Duncan and Cearnach stood near the door, watching out for trouble, while Guthrie and Calla remained in the waiting area outside the broker’s office. She was so anxious that she couldn’t sit. He suspected she would have been wringing her hands if he hadn’t been holding one of them and telling her she wasn’t alone in this.

As soon as the broker asked her into his office, Guthrie pulled out his phone, his brothers joining him.

“What’s up?” Cearnach asked.

As second in charge of the pack, Cearnach had every right to know. But Guthrie wasn’t leaving Duncan out of this, either. He suspected they were going to have a wolf fight with the McKinley pack over this.

“Calla’s in some kind of financial trouble. I suspect it has to do with Baird,” Guthrie said.

“Bloody hell,” Cearnach said. “I told her not to trust the slimy bastard.”

“Aye.” Guthrie called Ian and told him what he had overheard, and his brothers stood close, listening and watching the building for any signs of trouble. “She said she talked with her parents and had to take care of some banking business for them. I can’t call them at the moment. Can you? See if they can shed some light on this?”

“Aye, will do, Guthrie. Just don’t let her out of your sight. We don’t want her martyring herself over this. If she needs money, we’ll take care of it.”

Guthrie loved his brother. The MacNeill wolves couldn’t have had a better pack leader. “Aye, I told her I would do so, but she wasn’t willing to accept my offer at first.”

Ian didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Ian, are you still there?”

“So…you’re mated?”

Guthrie hesitated. He didn’t want to betray Calla’s trust, but he didn’t want to lie to Ian, either.

“Julia told me she had the impression that you were,” Ian offered comfortingly, sensing where Guthrie was coming from and trying to let him off the hook a little.

Guthrie took a deep breath and let it out. “Calla didn’t want anyone to know yet. She was afraid the pack would think she mated me so we would bail her parents out of whatever financial woes they’re having.”

“Congratulations,” Ian said, sounding proud of him, and Guthrie was glad he wasn’t upset over not having been told before this.

He glanced at his brothers, having forgotten they were listening in on the conversation. They were both grinning from ear to ear and giving him a thumbs-up.

“Well, I’m glad for the two of you. I couldn’t be more pleased. But you know how our mother is. So you’d better let her in on the secret sooner than later. How much money is involved in this deal with Calla and her parents?” Ian asked.

“A half million.” Guthrie hated to say it.

Ian digested that. Then swore.

Guthrie saw Duncan and Cearnach snap their gaping jaws shut.

“All right. Let me…let me call her parents and see what they know about this. I’ll get back to you. Just don’t let her out of your sight,” Ian said.

“Got it.” As if Guthrie had any notion of leaving her alone for a second. He ended the call with his brother and slipped the phone into the pouch on his belt. “Ian’s calling her parents.”

“Hell, Brother, we all were fairly certain you and Calla would be mating soon, but…did you ask her properly?” Cearnach asked.

Guthrie shook his head. He watched the doorway to the broker’s office, wanting to pace but forcing himself to stand in place and keep an eye out for her.

“We’ll take care of it,” Cearnach said. “You know Ian will want to do everything for her that we can.”

Being more pragmatic, Duncan said, “I want to congratulate you and your lovely mate, but I’m in agreement with Cearnach. Couldn’t you have told me at breakfast?” Before Guthrie could respond, Duncan asked, “Well, you’re our financial manager, Guthrie. Can we do it?”

“It’ll take a hell of a lot of finagling. We’ll have to sell some of our stock. We’ll have to see what her parents say and what Calla has in her piggy bank. Maybe among all of us we can come up with the funds.”

Guthrie’s phone jingled and he saw it was Ian. “Aye, what did you learn?”

Ian explained all about the loan.

“Bastard,” Guthrie said.

“Aye. Guthrie, her mother and father both want you to marry her. They told me they believe you’ll be good for her, and they know the MacNeill pack is the kind of wolf family she needs. So looks like you’re not in any hot water there.”

Despite the severity of the situation, Guthrie smiled. They’d marry when her parents returned. Nothing lavish, just the pack and her parents, most likely. The pack would be poorer again. But the pack members always had each other and pulled together when needed. They would manage somehow.