Ryker's POV
This was a mistake.
Not coming to town—not the plan. This. I stood there, watching her move through the shop as if she were only allowed to look and never touch, feeling uncertain about how to respond to the situation.
I'd handled difficult situations before. Plenty of them. I'd never had a problem knowing what was needed and doing it. But with this—her—I had absolutely nothing.
Duke paced hard at the back of my mind, tail lashing. "Do something."
"Helpful," I muttered, jaw tight.
"She's our mate," he snapped. "Just go to her."
I watched her instead.
She wasn't browsing the way everyone else in the shop was—picking things up, holding them against herself, putting them back with the casual authority of someone who had every right to be there. She just looked. Moved her e
