Shifters of Silver Peak: Mate For A Month by Georgette St. Clair Page B

tall. He was taller. By several inches. He was broader.
    And his eyes now had a crazed, furious light in them that sent a chill through Eileen. Both of the bodyguards hesitated. She knew what they saw in his eyes.
    They saw their own death, if they pushed their luck any further.
    They both hung their heads in submission and took a step back again. Eileen’s father spluttered in fury as he looked from one to the other in disbelief.
    “Eileen,” Marisol said quickly. “Come on. You know you can’t take care of yourself. This man can’t hire you a cook or a maid. You’re out in the country; you’d need a gardener and groundskeeper to manage your estate.” Eileen choked on a laugh at the idea of Marcus’ cabin and small plot of property being called an estate. “Come home to us. Your every need is taken care of. You don’t have to lift a finger.”
    “Maybe I want to lift a finger,” Eileen said rebelliously.
    Marisol let out a martyred sigh. “This again?”
    “Father,” Eileen said, ignoring her, “I have the paperwork from the pack, agreeing to the new road. Signed, bitten and pawprinted.” She pulled it out of her purse. “You said that the reason you need to marry me off was because I could never support myself. Of course, you never even let me try. But the first time I tried to negotiate a business deal, I succeeded.”
    Her father looked at it in disgust. “I suppose you think this is some big whoop-te-doo. Just because you succeeded at something once, by accident, doesn’t mean you ever will again.”
    “By accident?” Eileen was genuinely hurt. “You think the Alpha accidentally dropped a signed contract into my hand? You tried to get that deal and failed. Because you are rude to people, and you don’t know how to negotiate.”
    His face flushed with anger. “I close deals all the time!”
    “In New York, and nowhere else. Ever wonder why? Because outside of the city, you have no clout and you can’t intimidate people.”
    His eyes blazed yellow and fur sprouted on his face. She must have really gotten to him if he was losing control like that. The Pennyroyals did not show their animal side in public.
    He snarled and shook himself, and the fur sank back underneath his skin.
    “I don’t care about the deal – you’re still marrying Beacham. Now you can come with me right now, or…” He glanced at the two bodyguards and hesitated. They hunched their shoulders up and stared at the floor.
    They’d be looking for new jobs soon, Eileen was sure.
    He turned to Verity. “Clearly this is fake!” he said angrily. “You can’t just let them flout the law like that!”
    He glanced at her bare finger. “He didn’t even buy her a wedding ring!”
    Oops, Eileen thought.
    “Human tradition,” Marcus rumbled. “We don’t do wedding rings.”
    Eileen’s father looked at Verity expectantly, as if she would whip out a pair of handcuffs or a giant butterfly net on the spot.
    “Mr. Pennyroyal, we’ve been over this,” she said, with a faint hint of impatience creeping into her tone. Now that she’d been forced to deal with the man, she was clearly less dazzled than she’d been when she’d only known him by reputation. “She is an adult. I can’t legally force her to do anything, and neither can you. As for your complaint that the mating is fake, I said that I will be keeping an eye on them, and I’ve already stopped by the property several times to do so. But even if the mating was not valid, I couldn’t force her to return to New York with you.”
    Her father made a last attempt, turning to glare at her and drawing himself up to his full height.
    “Eileen. You will do as I say,” her father blustered.
    “She stays with me. If you try to take her, I’ll challenge you here on the spot. And you’re the one who has to fight, not your bodyguards. Shifter law,” Marcus growled. “But after I kill you, I’m happy to take on both your bodyguards. At the same time. More fun that