“An hour,” Anton warned. “One. Make it a quickie and send her home, damn it. Don’t bring her back. I mean it about not wanting them endangered if shit hits the fan. Those women are alpha-blooded and their packs would take serious offense if we allowed her to stay in a war zone.”

“Got it.” Rave sailed out the front door.

Brand turned and motioned to Braden that it was time to leave. He wanted to get back to Charma. He missed her and hated leaving her alone.

Chapter Seven

The phone rang and Charma rolled over on the bed to reach for the receiver on the nightstand. “Hello?”

There was a pause. “I’m sorry. I must have dialed the wrong number.”

The other woman sounded perky and young. “Were you looking for Brand? He’s not home right now.”

“Who is this?” The tone changed from friendly to downright hostile.

A stab of jealousy pierced her heart for a second and suspicion flared that the person on the other end of the line was someone Brand had been seeing before her arrival. She was torn between the satisfaction of being able to claim Brand as her mate and knowing the right thing to do would be to allow him to be the one to share that news.

“I’m Charma. Would you like to leave a message?”

“Did he hook up with you during the heat? Goddamn it!” The woman snarled. “That bastard. He was supposed to meet up with me in the woods yesterday but never showed. I just heard the runnings were called off so I assumed he wasn’t able to make it because of the trouble they said is heading our way.”

Charma winced, her suspicion confirmed. She wasn’t sure what to say so remained silent.

“I don’t recognize your voice.” The woman was worked up, her voice angry. “But let me tell you something about Brand Harris. He’s a cold son of a bitch without a heart. He’ll use you and toss you away as soon as some fresh meat hits town. Ask any woman in the pack and they’ll tell you how sorry you’ll be if you think he’s a keeper.”

That pissed Charma off. “Brand is a wonderful, loving man.”

The woman snorted loudly. “Right. You keep saying that until you realize it’s just sex to him. You think you’re the first bitch he’s fooled into thinking he’d be a great mate? I could give you a list of people to call who’d tell you the truth. Don’t get too comfortable, bitch. Your ass will be booted out of the territory as soon as the heat is over. He’s a user.”

That was it. No one insulted her mate. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Peggy. Did I mention he hates kids? What kind of jerk does that? He is nothing like Alpha Elroy. Now that’s a real man who values taking care of his pack and has a sense of honor. He should banish his nephew and do this entire pack a favor.”

“I wanted to give Brand the chance to break this to you gently but you don’t seem the nice type who deserves that respect since you show none for him. Brand is my mate. He loves me. How dare you try to spread that garbage you just spewed? I know him better than you ever did if you believe that bullshit. He’s very loving, very kind, and he reeks of honor. He also loves children. He’s always wanted to have them with me. Did you ever consider, if he’s cold to you, it might be because you’re a nasty, spiteful bitch? I’ll tell him you called.” She slammed the phone down.

Charma closed her eyes and cursed. She hadn’t handled that well. The phone rang again and she gritted her teeth. She lifted the receiver. “Hello?” She had a sinking feeling it would be Peggy calling back. She wasn’t wrong.

“He mated you?”

“Yes.” Charma took a deep breath and opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. “We go way back. I just arrived in town last night.”

“And he mated you?” Peggy gasped.

“We’re as mated as a couple can be.”

“Son of a bitch! That bastard! That rat! That—”

“I’ve heard enough. I’ll tell Brand you called. Please don’t call back. I don’t want to hear any more.” Charma hung up.

The phone didn’t ring a third time. She rolled out of bed and entered Brand’s bathroom, grabbing his robe off the hook. It smelled of him. She decided to go search the kitchen for some chocolate. Brand loved the stuff so she felt certain she’d find a hidden stash somewhere.

The front door opened as she crossed the living room and Brand walked in. He grinned, his gaze raking her from head to foot. “I thought you were going to wait for me in bed?” He closed and locked the door behind him. He moved purposefully, his intent to take her to bed obvious.

She held up a hand. “Give me a few minutes.” She fled into the kitchen.

Brand followed. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she lied, opening his pantry. “Where’s your candy bar stash?”

“Top right, behind the cereal boxes. Hon, what’s wrong? You’re tense.”

He knew her well but she knew him too. She found the box. It was nearly full. Her wolf had always loved his chocolate. She removed two candy bars and spun, holding one out to him.

“You had a phone call while you were gone. Peggy is very upset. I’m sorry but she said some bad things about you that set me off. I told her we were mated and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t real kind about it.”

His expression twisted into a grimace. “Shit. It’s not what you think. I’ve never slept with her.”

That surprised Charma. “She’s angry that you didn’t meet her yesterday.”

“She set that up but I never agreed.” He tossed the candy bar on the counter and stalked closer, boxed her into the corner with his open arms and snagged hers to send it flying across the room. “Don’t let her upset you. She lost her mate last year and was trying to talk me in to taking on her and her nine pups.”

“Nine?” That stunned Charma. “She sounded so young.”

“She mated at eighteen and now she’s thirty. Her mate pretty much kept her pregnant because she wanted a ton of kids. He was a good guy but I never agreed with his taste in women. She’s kind of annoying with her hyper personality.”

Guilt struck. “Her mate died? That’s awful.”

“Yeah. It was. She’d asked my cousin to stop serving him drinks at his place so he went to a bar out of our territory and ended up taking on some rogues in a fight. He lost his life. We tracked them down and dealt with the ones responsible.” He flattened his palms on the wall to keep her in place but didn’t touch her. “I’m sorry she upset you.”