I smelled Roger the moment I walked through the door. My wolf was immediately alert, and I approached the first guard. "Was my brother here?"

"Yes, Alpha," the man replied. "He requested a meeting with Ella, and she granted it."

I didn't like the sound of that. "How long was he here? Is she alright?"

"They spoke for close to an hour," the guard replied. "She didn't seem upset afterward, but she went to bed early and without supper."

Worry simmered in my belly. If Roger was here, it was undoubtedly to make trouble, and while Ella might have simply been exhausted, I didn't believe these events were unrelated. I hadn't eaten either, but I headed straight upstairs to check on the mother of my pup. However, when I reached my rooms, Ella wasn't there.

Instead, I made my way downstairs to her suite, concern twisting my insides. I pushed open the bedroom door, following Ella's luscious aroma, and stalked silently inside. She was curled up beneath the covers, sleeping soundly. I smiled despite my inner turmoil, moving to sit beside her as she slept.

Ella was lying on her stomach, her arms folded beneath her pillow, her rose-gold hair spilling over her bare shoulders in a silky cascade. I brushed a few locks away from her face, content to simply watch her sleep. She looked so angelic, and I felt a fresh wave of worry about what Roger might have said to her. Did she go to bed in her own room because I wasn't home, or because Roger upset her?

I'd kill him if he'd said or done anything to harm her. The thought circled ominously for a long moment, and I was taken aback by the force of my conviction. I felt so protective of this little human—was it really only because she was carrying my baby?

After a minute, Ella's brow furrowed, and she whimpered in her sleep. I worried she might be having another nightmare, which brought on another flood of possessive energy. What had happened in her life that haunted her dreams this way? Was she reliving past horrors, or simply imagining terrors that hadn't actually come to pass? Something about her refusal to talk about her last nightmare made me suspect the former.

I pushed the covers down just far enough to expose the curve of her spine, needing to feel her shape beneath my fingers. When I stroked her with one large hand, she stirred and stretched, turning toward me and unconsciously cuddling closer. She blinked her brilliant eyes open a moment later, offering a bleary-eyed yawn. "You're back."

"I am," I agreed. "And you're in the wrong bed," I teased, petting her slender waist and marveling at how small she was compared to me. My hand easily encircled her ribs, and I wondered if my fingers would touch if I tried to wrap my other hand around her middle.

"Mmm," she moaned, the sound a sultry torment to my oversensitized ears. "You weren't here."

"As if that's any excuse," I mockingly scolded.

"Are you going to make me move?" she murmured, though her eyes had already closed again, and she sighed contentedly as I continued to caress her.

"I should," I mused. "I should make you get up and eat the dinner you skipped."

Ella peeked one eye open, pouting in a way that did nothing to garner my sympathy and everything to make me contemplate claiming her plump, pink lips. "Your servants are tattletales."

"Uh-huh," I chuckled, trying to keep my tone light. "They also told me about your visit with Roger."

Ella hummed with indignation but said no more.

"Would you like to tell me what he wanted?" I asked after a moment.

"He was warning me," she yawned.

"About what?" I rumbled, fearing I already knew the answer.

"Nothing I didn't already know," Ella shrugged sleepily. "That your mate will come along one day, and you'll no longer need me to be Luna."

Only the sight of Ella contentedly stretching into my touch like a sleepy kitten kept me from jumping to my feet and growling. "He has no business saying such things to you."

"Why not?" she purred. "It's true."

I didn't know why it bothered me so much to hear her speak that way—but it did. "You know that and I know that—but he thinks you're my second-chance mate like everyone else. He thinks you're a she-wolf, and he has no right to interfere." The truth was, he'd completely crossed a line. Ella wasn't familiar enough with our ways to understand how egregious his behavior truly was. If she were truly my mate and another man came along and told her I didn't actually care for her, I would be well within my rights to challenge him.

Still, Ella wasn't my mate, and though I genuinely hated hearing her talk about a future where we weren't together, I knew she was being pragmatic. That was the arrangement we'd agreed upon. She would be equally justified in dissolving our agreement if she met a man.

Before I'd even finished the thought, my wolf was roaring in my head, driven over the edge by the idea of Ella being with anyone else. It took all my willpower to keep him reined in, and I was glad Ella was only half awake. I'm sure it was just the pup growing in her belly—I wouldn't care otherwise, but as long as she was carrying my child, the idea of another man—even a human—coming near her made me absolutely furious. I breathed a deep sigh, trying to get my wolf back under control. Of course, this only amplified her delicious scent, and my wolf became distracted once more.

"You washed off my scent again," I observed, thankful that my voice sounded much calmer than I felt.

Ella flushed despite her foggy state. "I had to—I was covered in chocolate and whipped cream and who knows what else."

Oh, how quickly things can change, I thought sadly. This afternoon I wanted nothing more than to lick every inch of her body clean, and now I was glad the temptation was gone. If I'd gone down that road, there would have been no turning back, and this afternoon was a cautionary tale I wouldn't soon forget. Ella and I had to find a way to move forward in our agreement without all the pent-up sexual tension—maybe she realized the same thing after Roger's visit. Maybe that was the real reason she chose to sleep in her own bed.

I saw the logic of it, and yet I couldn't seem to stop myself from flirting. "Hmm, and whose fault was that?"

"Yours," Ella replied easily, still not opening her eyes.

"Oh really? I seem to remember you throwing the first handful," I reminded her amusedly.

Again, that sumptuous pout, more tempting than she could possibly realize. "You provoked me."

"Such a temper," I teased, running my fingers through her long hair. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a wolf."

"I think I'd like to be one," she confessed wistfully. "Just to shift and experience what it would be like to be that free."

I could hear the emotion in her voice clearly, even though she wasn't truly awake. Her words made me wonder what Ella would be like as a wolf, and I had to admit I found the idea more plausible than I would for most humans. She was so strong-willed and spirited, clever, intuitive, both deeply independent and pack-oriented—she was even skittish, like she was wrangling a wild inner animal. Suddenly I found myself wishing that she were a wolf too, so we could be together without all these complications. "What am I going to do with you, Ella?"

I couldn't afford these distractions, and I needed to be caring for my family and the pack, not rutting Ella senseless. I wasn't even sure if she could withstand the affections of a wolf. She was so small, so delicate. I couldn't risk her or the pup. I had to simply be grateful she was safe and give up hoping for more—for both our sakes.

She rolled onto her back, looking up at me curiously. "Earlier you said 'we'll finish this later'," she reminded me. "What did you mean?"

Damn. I'd meant I was going to kiss her until she forgot her own name and take her to bed, but I'd seen the error of my ways only too well today. "I meant we'd finish talking about security and setting boundaries," I lied. "But we can talk about that tomorrow."