“Every she-wolf wants a mate.”
“Fine.I want a mate I can’t have.Happy now?”
Shadow glowered at her.“Respect me, young lady.Now tell me who the lucky wolf is.”
“He’s not a wolf,” she muttered.
Her father’s face darkened.“Steel Riders?”
“That’s where I met him.He saved me from Striker.If it weren’t for Spark, I’d have been force-mated.”
“I don’t remember seeing a Spark there when I picked you up.If he saved you, why wasn’t he guarding you when I arrived?”
She blushed and looked away.
“Mina.”
She recognized the warning tone in her father’s voice, but she stubbornly looked anywhere but at him.She knew she’d have to tell him sooner or later about the baby, and the fact she was already mated, but she had hoped the moment would be right, that he’d be in an excellent mood.
“Mina, you’re going to tell me what’s going on.There’s something more to the story than you having a crush on some shifter you met once.”
Shadow got a peculiar look on his face, and before she could react, he yanked her top to the side.Thankfully, it was the wrong side.He frowned, studied her a moment, then jerked her shirt the other direction.A low growl rumbled in his chest and his eyes flashed the golden color of his wolf.
“You’re mated?”He bared his fangs.“You fucking mated that rat without my permission?”
“Now, Daddy, you know you never would have agreed, and in Spark’s defense, he did try to push me away.But didn’t you tell me I should go after what I want?Well, I wanted Spark, so I went after him.He told me repeatedly that it was a bad idea, that even though we knew we were true-mates, we shouldn’t succumb to our instincts.Daddy, I want to be with Spark.”
“It’s not like I can undo a mating,” he said gruffly.“But I wish you’d asked first.You don’t know, I might like the boy.If he’s what makes you happy, I’m sure I wouldn’t have given him too hard a time.”
She smiled and hugged him, then stepped back and nibbled her bottom lip.“There’s just one more thing.”
“Christ, girl.You’ve thrown a mating at me before I’ve even had my morning coffee, and now you have another surprise for me?What?Is he hiding in your bedroom?”
She shook her head.
“You’re running away and moving in with him?”
“I don’t think he wants me anymore, Daddy.He ran away after he claimed me, and then you came and picked me up.He hasn’t tried to call me once.And…and it’s important that he’s in my life.Because we’re going to have a cub to raise pretty soon.”
Her father stared at her, dropped his gaze to her stomach, and then looked her in the eyes again.“So what are you waiting for?If the jackass won’t come to you, hadn’t you better go to him?I thought you had more backbone than that.”
“Does that mean I have your permission to live with my mate?”she asked.
“Would it do me any good to tell you no?”
She smiled broadly.“Not in the least.”
“Then go get your mate.”Shadow grunted.“But I’d better be invited to meet him sometime soon.A man ought to know his son-in-law.”
“I have a better idea.Why don’t you go with me to the Steel Riders?”
Shadow rubbed his jaw.“Well, I suppose the V.P.could handle things for a day or two.And I have to admit, it would be fun to see the stark look of terror on your mate’s face when he thinks I’m coming there to take him apart for marking you.”
“Daddy!”
“What?I have to get my fun somewhere.”
Mina folded her arms over her chest.“Everyone thinks you’re this hard ass biker when really you’re a sneaky little boy stuck in a grown man’s body.”
