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keep you from that, even if she is human.”
    “What of her pack?” Forrest asked. “Will they come looking for her?”
    “I have forbidden her from contacting anyone until we sort out this mess out with Satan’s Angels,” Rowan said. His voice never wavered: he was confident no matter who he was speaking to. Eva was realizing that not much bothered Rowan.
    “Good thinking,” Aster said. “Keep it that way; we don’t need any humans mucking this up. She may stay with you, but she is not to leave Bucklin or contact anyone in the outside world. If she does, she will be subject to our laws and penalties.”
    “Of course, alpha,” Rowan said, bowing politely. “I must return to my duties now, but perhaps someone else can help her understand wolf life? Maybe Eden or Rain?”
    “That will be fine,” Aster said, waving his hand. “You are dismissed.”
    Rowan flipped his hand at Eva as he turned to walk out of the chamber. She followed, her feet feeling like lead. She had hoped the council would decide they didn’t want a human around and tell her to take a hike, but here she was, still a captive.
     

Chapter 7
    As they settled into his truck Rowan looked over at his captive, who was very nearly crying. Her tears weren’t from sadness; they appeared to be from anger and frustration.
    “You seemed to be warming up to the idea of staying here,” he said, trying to be consoling. It was tough for him to deal with women sometimes, as he wasn’t the gentle type. “Why are you suddenly upset?”
    She looked up at him, her face beet red and tears welling up in her eyes. “My entire life I’ve had to live by everybody else’s rules. My entire life I haven’t been free to make my own decisions. Yeah, I was broke all the time, and yeah, I struggled to make ends meet, but at least I was free the last six months. Now I’m right back to being in a prison where I can’t make my own decisions.”
    Rowan tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth; he was at a complete loss. He wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, yelling at her and telling her this was for her own good. How could she not see that? She’d be in great danger going home by herself and she would put her family in danger if she went to them.
    “You’re not my hostage,” he said, calmly. “You’re under my protection.”
    “What’s the difference if I have no choice?” she asked.
    “Think of it as witness protection,” he said as they pulled away from City Hall.
    The trip back to his house was painfully silent. Every time he turned to say something to Eva, she would look away from him, staring out the window.
    Why do I care so much? he thought. Rowan had never experienced emotions like the ones he was feeling right now. This human was playing with his mind like nobody ever had. He actually felt sorry for her, a feeling he’d never never had for anyone else. Maybe there was more truth to his words than he’d thought in the council chamber. His human was trying to protect her and had lied about claiming her, but his wolf felt the connection. His wolf had claimed this woman and his wolf was a strong force in his mind.
    I wasn’t ready to settle down, he thought. I’m an enforcer, not the best job for raising a family.
    It was difficult to fight instinct, though, as many of the wolves had learned when they moved to Bucklin in the 1970s. Forrest was the only one still in any position of power from that time, and he often remarked how hard it was not to just peel off all his clothes and disappear into the woods forever.
    Duty and responsibility calls, though, Rowan thought. His duty and responsibility was to protect the town from danger and enforce the pack’s rules. Now he had a new duty, protecting his new mate, even if she didn’t want it. Eventually she would see what he had done for her, and eventually she would thank him.
    Eva was throwing the door to his pickup open before it even came to a stop behind his