Page 43 of Primal

“You mated a human, you’ve got to understand.” I hoped he did.

His mate was Charlie, a vet who’d brought a horse from Colorado to Wolf Ranch for breeding. One whiff of her scent, and Levi and his wolf claimed her. Then he claimed her officially, biting her and giving her his mark. She was also now his wife. It seemed a claiminganda marriage sealed the deal for both shifter and human.

Since Kyle didn’t know I was a shifter, that wasn’t his beef with me. But it was pretty obvious he didn’t want me to marry Riley.

“Oh, I do. But her dad’s on my payroll. That makes this my problem. I can’t fire him for what he did because it technically is within the confines of the law. But I won’t have him use his job as a tool to fuck with you. I’ll give him this one, though, especially with the shit show of the murder trial he just had. We had death threats called into the station office every day last week–we assume from the perp’s family.” He sethis hand on the butt of his service pistol at his hip. “Regardless, you’ve earned what he dished out. He could’ve punched you in the face and been done with it.”

That would have annoyed me, but not much else. This bar thing, that pissed me off. “Yeah, sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be because I understand now what’s going on. But you’re going to have to make this right. When I showed up, he was carding everyone. Even Mr. Seymour, and he’s gotta be eighty-five.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. I could only imagine.

“I’ve got four more days to claim her, or Rob’s taking her to get her mind wiped. You’re forcing me to deal with an overprotective father… right away. I’ve got shit stacked against me.”

“Didn’t know about the alpha’s orders, but it makes sense.” He slapped me on the shoulder then grabbed his cowboy hat from the bar, set it on his head. “Sucks to be you, my friend. But she’s worth it.”

He left, and I took over tending bar, considering his final words. Yeah, Rileywasworth it, no matter what her father or my alpha tossed in our way.

20

RILEY

“Are youout of your mind?”I stormed into my dad’s house and threw my purse and keys down on the end table. His patrol car was out front, so I knew he was home.

After Cody left me and Nana, I’d stayed to have dinner with her while we both grumbled about how much of an asshat Dad was.Asshatwas her word. Where she learned it, I had no idea.

“You were over at Cody’s Saloon, hassling his customers?”

He came out of the kitchen, beer in hand, and folded his arms across his chest. “It was perfectlywithin my rights,” he said evenly. “I heard my nineteen-year-old daughter was frequenting the place.”

“Sippingginger ale, dad–and that’s beside the point! I’m not the one–”

A vein in his temple pulsed. “No, it isexactlythe point. You are twenty years younger than Cody McIntire and completely out of your depth.” He uncrossed his arms and came toward me, his face softening. “Honey, I’m sure it feels exciting to have an older man interested in you, but–”

“But, nothing.” Two could play at the interruption game. And it was my turn to cross my arms. “You don’t get a say in this. I’m a grown woman. I make my own decisions.”

He shook his head. “Not when I’m paying your college tuition. Plus, I’ll find a renter for Nana’s place. One who actually paysrent.”

My mouth fell open. He hated the idea of me and Codythatmuch?

“Then I’ll drop out of college!” I threw it back in his face. “And I’ll move in with Cody.”

Yep, I was just pouring gasoline on the fire now. But this situation had been going on for far too long. I was still a virgin for several reasons. One was how he’d harassed every guy who ever tried to date me, and now that he was up against one he couldn’tintimidate with his sheriff’s badge, he was taking things way too far.

He put his hand out in a placating gesture. “Riley, just settle down.”

“Settle down?Settle down?”

He forged on even though I wasn’t settling down at all. I was like a kettle ready to boil. “You don’t know Cody like I do,” he said. “Do you realize I went tohigh schoolwith the guy?”

I was shaking all over from the confrontation, and I didn’t like the sensation of misgiving my dad’s words were giving me. Still, I lifted my chin. “So?”

“So, first of all, the guy is a player. He’s been with more women than there are wildflowers in Montana.”

I felt my eyebrow start to tic. I ignored it and gave a jerky shrug of my shoulders. “You led with that this morning. And that was before me,” I said although I didn’t believe the words as much as I wanted to. I didn’t think he was a cheater, but we hadn’t been… together long enough for him to move on to tire of me. Plus, he hadn’t gotten what every guy wanted. Sex.

But Cody said he was serious about me. Showed up at Nana’s. Brought flowers. Said I was his mate. So I believed it–that he–was different with me.