“Do I smell donuts?” Ruby asks, breaking my moment of yearning.

“I swear you smell better than I do now, sweets.” Dominic grabs Ruby, pulling her closer and tucking her under his arm in a possessive gesture. I thought that after their mating, his possessiveness might cool a little, but it seems to be as strong as ever. Every male who passes us on the street in the middle of the fair makes sure to stay about eight feet back from Ruby.

“Well, don’t just stand there. Donuts!” she says after taking the last bite of her caramel apple. Ruby hands Dom the now-bare stick with a huge smile. Dominic swoops down, taking her lips and licking the caramel from the corners of her mouth before dragging her away.

“Doesn’t that count as public indecency?” Winnie asks from beside me.

“He’s not going to arrest himself.” We both giggle while making our way further down the street. It’s hard to get far in a town like Gray Ridge without running into someone you know. Everyone knows everyone unless you’re a tourist here visiting the National Forest. The town's fair seems to have pulled them off the camp grounds and into our streets to join in the festivities.

“He’s cute.” I nod to a boy who looks to be about Winnie’s age, maybe a few years older. He’s standing a few feet from us as we watch some of the street performers. He’s tall and lean with short brown hair, but everyone is tall compared to Winnie. “Why don’t you go talk to him?” I nudge her, but I know she won’t do it. She’s so freaking shy. I’ve spent the last few months trying to pull her out of her shell, but it doesn’t seem to be working.

Winnie looks over at the same time the boy’s eyes land on us, and he takes it as an invitation to talk to us. He zeroes right in on Winnie, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. She goes to take a step back, but I lock my arm with one of hers, halting her in a friendly movement.

“You ladies from around here?” His long drawl lets me know that he’s not, and so does his very human scent.

When Winnie doesn’t answer him even though his eyes are on her, I do it for her. “Born and raised.” I nudge Winnie again. “Winnie has lived here a few years now.”

“Winnie. I like that name. It’s cute.” He gives her a wink, but I feel her stiffen at his words, and my shifter hearing picks up her mumbling, “Cute.” She doesn’t like the word. Reading too much into it, I’m sure. From our conversation earlier, I’m thinking she wants to be called something more along the lines of ‘pretty’ or maybe ‘beautiful.’

“Thanks,” she finally says. This might not be her mate, but maybe she can push some of her shyness back. He’s clearly interested. Maybe a few stolen kisses will do Winnie some good. Boost the confidence she shouldn’t be lacking in.

“Winnie could show you around. Tell you which vendors have the best food and make sure you stay away from Old Man Gibbs.”

“Old Man Gibbs?”

“Yeah, he spits and likes to whack tourists with his cane,” I confirm. I used to think it was gross, but now it seems like a staple of the town.

“He’s not very fast so he’s easy to avoid,” Winnie finally chimes in.

“I’m sure you’ll keep me safe.” He reaches out to take her hand in his, but a low growl from behind us makes the boy jump. I turn to see my brother, Stone, with a look of rage on his face. He’s our alpha, and this isn’t good.

“What’s your problem?” I glare back at him, wondering what crawled up his ass. When I glance back behind me, the boy is long gone.

“Winnie is too young to be wandering off with random boys.”

“She’s almost eighteen,” I say in her defense. “You need to cool it with that shit. You did that crap to me, and you’re not going to do it with Winnie, too.”

Winnie takes a step back, probably not liking being the center of our conversation and not liking attention on her. Also because it’s not often people talk back to Stone, but he’s my brother and I’ve been doing it since I could talk. He can be overbearing at times, and I’m not even sure that word is strong enough to describe him.

“She’s not like the rest of us, Gwen.” His words piss me off further because I know they hurt Winnie without even having to hear the gasp she releases.

“And what the fuck does that mean?” I let a growl come through in my words.

His eyes move to hers and soften a little. He reaches his hand up to touch her cheek, but she steps back from his touch. It makes Stone’s extended hand clench into a fist before he drops it back down to his side. “Your freckles are gone.”

I pull my eyes from him to look over at Winnie. Her cheeks are turning red and the freckles that normally cover her cheeks are indeed gone. Probably from a little make-up.

“I’m serious, Stone. What’s your deal?” I step in front of him, blocking his view of Winnie. “You’re acting like an alpha a-hole.”

He growls at me, drawing more attention to us. If he wasn’t my brother, I probably would’ve pissed myself. The urge to bare my neck to him is strong, but the urge to protect a fellow female of my pack is stronger. Alpha blood runs through my veins, too, and I feel it coursing strong in this moment.

Then suddenly, Stone is gone.

He hits the unforgiving concrete with a loud thud, rolling into one of the vendor tents beside us. He brings it, and whatever was on top of him, down around him. Instantly, Dominic is there, ripping the tent covering off Stone and an unknown male.