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Fee’s whole body was shaking but when he went to pull her into his arms, to comfort her—to comfort himself, if he was being honest—she pulled away.

“What the fuck was that, Theo?” she asked, her voice trembling not with fear but with rage. She was angry with him? Seriously?

“I was protecting you.”

“I didn’t need you to.”

He scoffed. “Fee, you have got to be kidding me. That wolf was threatening you.”

“He hadn’t done a damn thing, and you just attacked him.”

Rage at that wolf and fear for Phoebe still raced through his blood, making it hard to hold onto his humanity, to have a clear thought.

He stepped closer until her back was flush with the towering pine behind her. “There are wolf attacks all over Maine right now and you thought what, Fee? That wolf just wanted to chat with you?”

“That’s not⁠—”

“You are mine.” He swallowed hard, biting back everything else he wanted to say. To confess. “That wolf was threatening you. I did what I had to do.”

Fee’s eyes widened at his words and then narrowed again in anger. “And this is how it would be? If we were together? You’d lose your shit over any creature that looked at me wrong?”

A test. A test he would sure as fuck fail. He would kill for her.

“Yes,” he snarled.

Fee pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge. He was hard, his cock pressed against Fee’s stomach. Her face flushed pink even though she was furious with him.

Like she wanted him, anyway.

And he was so tired of pretending he didn’t want her.

“I won’t let anyone touch you.” He leaned forward and whispered the words against her neck. She bit back a whimper, but she was already arching toward him. “Except me.”

He reached between them and ran his hand against the apex of her thighs, rubbing her through her pants. Even through her leggings he knew he’d found the right spot when she gasped. He caught her mouth with his, diving in with his tongue, pinning her body against the tree.

She kissed him back, furiously, her hands tugging at his curls.

“Mine,” he growled.

She pulled back and gave him a wicked smile before biting down on his bottom lip. Theo hissed, tasting blood.

“You are an asshole,” Fee said, pushing him away and storming toward the cabin. “And I am not yours, you goddamn caveman.”

Theo stood rooted to the spot, watching her storm off.

Test failed.

Of all the stupid things…

Was Theo insane? Was he trying to get himself killed or just trying to scare the shit out of her?

Phoebe wrenched open the door to the cabin and strode inside.

This was all just further evidence for why she needed to lie to him about Lena. She couldn’t trust him to react rationally to finding out Knox had her all along. This was what she thought he’d left behind. What she’d hoped he’d left behind. But Theo’s father had done more damage to him than she’d wanted to admit at the time. Ingrained in him the need to fight his entire life.

Or maybe it was just his natural werewolf-y-ness and the apparent innate assholery that came with it.

Or maybe it was because she was his⁠—