TEN PART 3

"Where are we headed?" I queried, my curiosity piqued.

"Into the woods, where we can find some seclusion. But don't be foolish enough to believe that we will be entirely alone. I managed to instruct Malik and Chase to stay behind, but they will remain within proximity," she cautioned.

"You prefer not to indulge in the comfort of a bed?" I probed, hoping for a glimmer of insight.

She paid no heed to my remark, brushing it off with silence.

Eager to catch up with her stride, I quickened my pace, closing the distance between us. "So, what's the rationale behind the double bodyguards? Is being the alpha of a pack situated in the heart of nowhere truly that treacherous?"

"They're not exactly my bodyguards. Well, Chase plays that role to some extent, but Malik is my newfound mate, and he's far from pleased that you disrupted our mating ritual," she revealed, her words piercing through me like scorching flames, igniting a blaze of jealousy within my core.

He's mine.

"What the fuck? You have