That was said on a hiss, but I felt the shift in the diner at her words and sighed. “Did you have to say that out loud?”

“They can’t hear,” she retorted dismissively.

“Yes, they can,” I corrected. I’d chosen the corner booth so that I could look over the diner, make sure there’d be no out-of-the-blue attacks on a wolf whose scent belonged to another pack, and I called out, “His father killed mine. His father destroyed my family. I asked only for what pack law declared my right. But, after speaking with my mate, she persuaded me that the punishment wasn’t Daniel’s to pay.”

Interest stirred at my words, but I ignored it, knowing I’d pacified them with gossip about my finding my mate. Lara, on the other hand, was pissed.

“You had no right to tell them that.”

“They’ll know soon enough. The more time you spend with me, the more you’ll scent of me.” And not goddamn hyenas.

Their stench was peculiar to their race, and it was strong, enough to make my nose curl again.

I’d been surprised by it the first night of our meeting, especially when she’d approached me in wolf skin, but for it to be unchanged was a clear sign that she’d been hurt by the hyena who’d attacked her. Maybe a bite? Definitely more than a ‘couple of good licks’.

I wanted to kill the bastard for daring to hurt her, because if he had, I’d never have met her, and I’d have lost my chance at being with this beautiful woman before I even had a moment in her company.

Two dishes were plunked down on our table by a scowling Maggie May, and I told her, “Your table service, as always, is stunning, Maggie.”

“I certainly try my best, Todd. Now, what’s this about forcing that boy back to your pack so you can toss him out like he’s trash?”

“You can’t be surprised by it,” I retorted with a scowl. “I’m surprised his presence hasn’t caused issues.”

“It did. At first,” she admitted. “Especially with the old council. But those stuck-up dicks would have argued with themselves in the mirror if they could have.”

“Maybe they did,” I half-teased.

“Wouldn’t be surprised.” She squinted at me. “He’s a good boy. He deserves a second chance—”

“Why a second chance? Far as I can tell, he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Lara interjected.

“He’ll bear his father’s shame for the rest of his life,” Maggie told her, calmly but sadly. “The least we can do is help the boy. He’s shifted already. Sending that out into the human world is a recipe for disaster.”

“As I said, my mate helped clarify the situation. I’ll leave him alone,” I informed her, well aware that I was informing the diner as a whole too.

Maggie eyed Lara with a mite more respect than she’d shown earlier. Not that she’d been disrespectful, just distrusting. “Good to hear you’ll have a strong and sensible woman at your back, Todd. Behind every great man, there’s a great woman.”

My lips twitched. “I’m well aware of that.”

“Good. Now, enjoy your food.”

I stared down at my burger and not at my mate as Maggie retreated, but when I dosed my dish with ketchup, I felt her attention on me.

My skin prickled, and everything inside me stood up with awareness as I acknowledged the power she had over me.

Grandfather had warned me of this, and while I was prepared, I wasn’t truly. We did things differently in my world, more differently than I could even share with her until she was mine in earnest. I hated the subterfuge, but she couldn’t understand because she didn’t understand how things worked on a normal basis—so the uniqueness of my situation would be further lost on her.

“Do hyenas force their mates to be with them?”

“Yes and no,” I replied, gaze still on my food. I picked up a fry, munched on it, and told her, “The term mate is different with them. When they sense genetic compatibility, a bite during sex is all it takes to impregnate a woman. But that’s only a physical connection. They’re just baby mamas.”

“Not mates?”

“No. Their mates are chosen, just like in the human world. The term is interchangeable though.”

“That’s pretty disrespectful, isn’t it?”

I shrugged. “They’re disrespectful people. Especially where women and the kids they beget are concerned. A lot of times, the women they’ve bitten don’t even know they’re carrying hyena spawn.”

Though her eyes flared wide with disgust, she just mused, “Interesting.”

There was that word again.

I figured if she was interested, then the date was going well.

Deciding to keep that up, I informed her, “Hyena males can shift from birth. Their females need to be bitten during sex to trigger the shift—even those who are born. That’s why, during a claiming like with a wolf shifter, there’s no biting.”

“To represent a lack of force?”

“Exactly.” I looked at her then, imbued that look with meaning. “There’ll never be any force.” She took my promise with a stony glare, but I could see she was pensive. Could sense her concern, and because I wanted to help her, I asked, “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can I help?”

She gulped, but picked up her burger and took a large bite. Deciding she wanted to be left to her thoughts, I gave her the freedom to just eat without expecting a conversation, and by the time she’d finished her fries, I was rewarded with another question.

“What’s the covenant? I heard Ethan and Daniel talking about it earlier.”

Of course, her question couldn’t be a simple one to answer, could it?

“Have you heard anything about a totem?”

“Like a Native American one?”

“Yes.”

She shook her head.

“Makes sense because you’re not pack, I guess. But all packs, clans, tribes…whatever, they all have a totem. It’s where we gather as a unit. A safe space for meeting as a collective. It’s overseen by our…” I shrugged. “Some might say it’s the Mother herself, others might say it’s someone who speaks on her behalf.”

“Okay,” she voiced slowly. “What about it?”

“Well, whoever it is, on the covenant, we’re taken to the totem and we speak with whoever it may be, and we’re informed of our destiny.”

“That’s pretty cool,” she whispered, eyes round.

“It is. In my pack, it’s not been that way for a long time, because the Rainfords stopped letting us meet there. The Mother’s will interfered with their own desires.”

“They sound like jerks.”

“They were. Trust me.” My smile was tight. “So, at the covenant, we’re informed what rank we’ll be, what the Mother sees in our future, and if we’re granted a mate.”

“So, you never had a covenant?”

“No. Never. But even if I had, because you’re human, I’d never have been warned about you by the Mother.” Her cheeks turned pink at my cavalier mention of what she was to me. “Mates who are wolf children, that’s people who are turned into wolves like your sister, aren’t recognized by the Mother.”