“Not to mention that stalker of yours,” Egon added. “I looked into...”
“What?” Isa roared so loud, she wouldn’t have been surprised if a tiger had burst out of her mouth. She pushed out of Valens’s arms and looked at his face.
His guilt was clear as day. He winced and reached out for her, but she pushed away from him. Isa turned toward Egon.
“What do you mean? What do you know about my stalker?”
The Alpha brother shared a tense and apologetic look with Valens. “My brother mentioned you had a stalker. He had me check into your phone records to see who could be responsible. Unfortunately, the person only uses social media platforms to message you. There’s a firewall that makes his message seem like they’re coming from everywhere in the world.”
“Probably because he is everywhere in the world. He follows me wherever I go. But that’s not why I’m asking. May I have a moment alone with Valens?”
Noreen pointed to the back of the house, and Isa made her way over. Valens followed because the man knew what was good for him. If he hadn’t, she would have been even madder. Once they were alone on the back deck, she crossed her arms.
“Explain yourself.”
He shrugged, crossing his own arms. “I think it’s pretty damn obvious what happened. My mate has a stalker she isn’t taking seriously, so I asked my Sheriff brother to use his connection to see how much danger could be coming our way.”
“I told you to leave it. I told you I could handle it.”
“But don’t you see? That’s the point. You don’t have to handle it by yourself. Not anymore. We’re together, and I have resources you don’t. We can end this once and for all.”
“Against my wishes, Valens. The stalker is just some overeager fan who thinks he loves me.”
“That’s how it starts. Those situations always turn bad.”
She scoffed. “No. They don’t. You’re being paranoid and overly protective. You need to understand something about me, Valens. I am an independent woman. I need to know that I am in control of my own life. Of my own choices and decisions. Is this how it’s gonna be between us? I ask you not to do anything, and you’ll do something anyway because you feel you know better? Are you gonna try to take over the summer camp, too?”
“No,” he roared. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“Excuse me?” she shouted. “Did you just insult me because I don’t want you to take over every aspect of my life?”
He deflated. “No. Of course not.”
“I told you what kind of childhood I had. I told you I can’t stand being controlled, and what do you do? You do the one thing I can’t forgive.”
“To be fair, you were never supposed to find out. I don’t know why Egon opened his big, fat mouth.”
If Isa was mad before, it was nothing compared to how she felt at that moment. Her hands balled into fists at her side. “Wasn’t supposed to find out?”
Valens flinched. “I don’t seem to be able to say anything right.”
“I’m going back to my cabin. I can’t be around you right now. We’ve known each other just over a week, and this is too much for me. You can’t behave like this and expect me to lie down and comply with whatever you want. I have thoughts and feelings too, jackass.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Yeah? Fucking stop me, Valens Thatcher. I dare you.”
She ripped her arm from his grasp and went back into the house, and asked Bree to drive her back to her place. There was a short discussion, but Egon agreed. He better.
“And Egon?” Isa spoke directly to the Alpha before leaving the house. “If I so much as spot a tiger Enforcer or whatever it is you call them around my cabin, you and I will have some words. I might just sell the mountain to the lions yet.”
With that, she slammed the door behind her.
She didn’t mean it, obviously. She would never put the streak in danger, but they didn’t need to know that. They had pissed her off, and she wanted to return the sentiment.
They might be mighty tigers, but she was Daredev-Isa, and she didn’t back down from a challenge.
18
VALENS
Valens heard the door slam, and only when he heard Bree’s car making its way down the street did he make his way back into the house. He immediately grabbed one of the stress balls his mother kept on hand for him. Egon was pacing the living room floor, sucking on one of his lollipops like the candy had the answer to stubborn mates.
Mom was in the kitchen getting snacks ready to calm down the boys. It might work for a few seconds, but it wouldn’t make things better.
Valens and Isa had a big fight.
And his family, shifters that they were, had heard every word of the exchange.
“I don’t know why fate decided to give you Isa for a mate, but you sure know how to fuck up a good thing,” Oz said to him.
Valens flipped him the bird. “I’m excited to see how you deal with having a mate one day, Oz. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows just because fate decided you need to be together.”
His brother shrugged. “I don’t think you should have kept the whole stalker thing from Isa. That was just asking for trouble, bro.”
Egon raised his hands. “Enough of the in-fighting, please. We have bigger things to worry about.”
“What did you find out about the stalker?” Valens asked.
“Not much beyond what I told Isa. Whoever it is used firewalls. I’ve asked Elija to look into it. He’s busy keeping his own mate safe, but he’s on it. As soon as he gets some information, I’ll tell you.”
“And the lions?” Dad asked.
“I’ve got a few ideas. I'll go out to the mountain and follow the trail until I find one of them. I'll ask for a meeting with their leader.”
“You need to take one of us with you,” Oz said.
“I second that,” Dad added.
“You’re the Mayor,” Valens pointed out. “You should stay in town in case something goes wrong, and we need to do damage control with the tourists and the rest of the streak. I’ll go with Egon.”
Oz seemed surprised. “You think you can be away from your mate that long? Even in a fight?”
Valens shook his head. “It’ll be painful as fuck, but I know she’s safe with people from the streak keeping an eye on her. Elija is in the cabin with his mate Tarrah. She’s as safe as she can be without me by her side.”
“Let’s not forget that Isa isn’t some delicate little human flower. She’s strong,” Mom pointed out. She placed a tray of snacks on the dining room table before throwing a stress ball in his direction, nudging her chin to the one he had ruined.
Fuck. Apparently, having a mate meant he was going to destroy all of his balls.
Valens caught it and gave her a small grateful smile as he started flattening the thing in his left hand. At the very least, it helped clear his thoughts.
His family was right. He definitely should have told Isa he was looking into her stalker. The way she learned had broken her trust and was less than ideal. What was he supposed to do? How did one apologize to a mate for doing something that felt natural?