Page 28 of His Rejected Fated Mate

He nodded, shivering. “Yeah, the question was, why am I here as well? You couldn’t freeze your ass off by yourself? And we couldn’t have done this on a nicer day? Tomorrow is supposed to be almost eight degrees outside.”

I rolled my eyes as I marked the spot down on my map. “I’m having you here as an extra set of eyes.”

“Troy, it’s freezing out here. Why couldn’t we do this tomorrow?”

“Because we have a full-packed day tomorrow.”

He walked closer, looking at the map. “What are you exactly doing?”

“We’re going to put up a couple of security cameras, and we talked about setting up some tripped-wire alarms as a precaution. It’s so they all become aware if anyone is getting too close to them. I’m actually a little surprised that I didn’t have something like this set up before.”

“And you don’t think the memo you sent out to the entire pack was good enough? Do you anticipate them going against your direct word to leave them alone?”

“It’s not just our pack but the surrounding packs that we need to keep them safe from. I hope my members will listen to my warning and take it seriously. But I can’t stop a rogue shifter from coming into this place.”

He huffed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Okay, let’s say someone gets here. It seems to me that the witches can handle themselves just fine. You said that they were the ones who stopped the others from hurting you before.”

Just because they stopped the others doesn’t mean that’s how it was going to go every time. I saw how worried Elize was about the convent. A lot of the members were old, and they had young kids here as well. The buildings were in need of repair, but Elize was adamant that they didn’t need anything. The least I could do was make sure no one came in and made things worse for them.

“The witches can, but that doesn’t mean they always have the manpower to do so. You see how small this place is.”

“If they want protection, why don’t they move into the pack?”

I gave him a look because we both knew the answer. The pack hadn’t always been welcoming to witches. Even still, years later, some people are set in their ways. We were just starting to open people’s eyes to the fact that witches could help us, but it was going to take a while.

“How about you stop bitching and help me get the camera out of the car. The quicker you help me, the quicker we get home.”

He waved a hand and moved back toward the car. I walked over, figuring out which tree I wanted to attach the camera to. We’d already hung up three others. When we weredone with this, we were going to get motion sensors closer to the buildings.

“Don’t forget the ladder.”

Ivan and I hung up the cameras and checked the feed to make sure they were working properly. I had to admit it was peaceful out here. There was little noise besides chatter from people outside. I could see why Elize enjoyed being here.

We hung up the final camera, and I was still on the ladder, checking the video feed, when we could hear someone coming down the road. I figured it had to be a member, so I didn’t pay attention to who was arriving. I was hidden in the tree, trying to make sure everything was secure, when I heard a door open and slam.

“What the hell are you doing!” Elize’s voice came out in an angry snap, and Ivan looked up at the ladder at me.

“Elize?” I moved down a few steps and found her walking toward us. I felt my heart skip a beat as I realized she was wearing skinny jeans and a leather jacket. She had a knitted cap on and her arms were crossed.

I couldn’t stop my eyes from soaking every inch of her in. My chest ached to get closer to her, so I tightened my hold on the ladder, forcing myself to stay where I was.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop.”

“I’m just setting up cameras.”

Her eyes widened. “Cameras! No, you are not putting up cameras. Take them down. Are you insane? That’s an invasion of everyone’s privacy!”

I scuffed. “I’m not taking them down. I just put them up, and they aren’t aimed at the convent. They are aimed out into the woods.”

She moved close, her lips forming a tight line as she glared at me. “Troy, take them down. You can’t just decide to put cameras up! You don’t have permission to put those up.”

I sighed, knowing she would have been against the idea. “I actually do. I spoke with Victoria and Charlie, who both agreed with the idea. They like the idea of extra security, and I figured you would sleep better at night knowing they were protected.”

She stammered for a second, and I knew she hadn’t realized I spoke with them.

She shook her head and crossed her arms. “What exactly are you trying to do here, Troy?”

“Well, for starters, I was setting up cameras for security and trying to find ways to make the convent safer.”