Mark of the Wolf (27 page)

There was a long pause. “She's out of the
pack,” he said carefully.

Her eyes darted to his face and then she
looked down again, not daring to hope. Her anger still seethed
inside of her, but at least she had let out some of it. And at
least this time he was listening, not trying to seduce her. “Out of
the... as in, she took a vacation or something?”

“
As in she's gone,” he replied softly.
“I kicked her out myself. She's a lone wolf now, Maddy... what she
did before you left was unforgivable. I think she was the one that
arranged your abduction, too.”

Maddy looked up now, staring at him, her eyes
wide. She hated his words, even as she loved them, because it
caused some of her pain to fade and her anger with it. She felt
herself breathing easier past the lump in her chest.

“
That doesn't mean I forgive you,” she
said steadily. “That doesn't make up for what you did. What about
that stunt you pulled after the fight? You didn't tell me anything
about that.”

He didn't try to reach for her, though she
could tell he wanted to. “You're in the pack now, Maddy. It's an
age-old ritual, binding you to us. If I had told you, you never
would have agreed to it, and it really was necessary.... Don't you
understand? You're the Alpha female now. They will obey you as they
obey me, and you don't even have to be a werewolf... because of
what we did.”

Maddy was surprised. She blinked, unsure that
she unstood. “Alpha... female? Of a werewolf pack?”

“
Well of course. You're my lifemate.
What do you think would happen if I became Alpha?”

Honestly, she hadn't thought of that. She was momentarily
speechless, then recovered. “You didn't have to hide it from me!”
she insisted. “You could have told me, you could have
trusted
me!”

He sighed, suddenly looking tired. “Would you
gone along with me peacefully? Or would I have had to chase you
down and drag you there?” His lips quirked. “I figured you'd turn
tail and run... because it seems you like it when I chase you. Not
that I'm complaining.”

Maddy raised her eyebrows and couldn't help
but feel a little ashamed. He had a point... but she didn't let it
change her mind. She glared even harder. “Nothing is going to make
up for that,” she said quietly. “Nothing.”

“
I'm sorry.”

“
You think sorry means
anything
now?”

“
No... but I'll do anything for
you.”

She crossed her arms, bitter and skeptical.
“Ha! Like what?”

“
I'll buy you a house.”

She blinked, not expecting that response.
“What?”

“
How about a car? College? A
puppy?”

She was having difficulty believing her ears.
What was he saying? “I don't think I understand....”

“
How about a family, Maddy?” he said
softly. She felt her breath catch, her throat closing in pain. He
continued, “I can give you a family. I can give you mine. I'm sorry
for what I did, but now I can give you my whole pack.”

She
stood still, speechless. She was still mad, but damn, that was a
lot... and his words were starting to penetrate through her fog of
outrage. A family, a life... she hadn't considered that before. He
had misled her, yes, but she had to be honest with herself. If he
had told her about the mating, she really would have ran back to
Black River faster than he could blink, and then he would have had
to drag her back to Davenport, and things would probably play out
in exactly the same way....

And... hadn't she enjoyed it?

And in exchange, she was getting everything
she had always wanted. Not just a man who loved her, who would do
anything for her, but a whole wolf pack. A house. A home. A
life.

“
No more lies,” she said quietly. “No
more secrets.”

“
I promise,” he murmured.

She thought for a moment. “Why is it that I
can see and hear better?”

He seemed surprised. “It must have happened
during the claiming.”

“
Then I'm not a werewolf or
anything?”

“
If you were, then you would know it
by now.”

“
Ah.” That made sense, at least as
much as everything else made sense. Everything returned to an
awkward silence, and she stood there in the middle of the forest,
shuffling her sandals, letting her anger slowly drain out of her.
She was so tired of running, and he had just saved her life again.
She couldn't believe what her father had done this time. Sold her?
Really? “Sick bastard,” she muttered. She tried to make herself
tough, tell herself that she didn't care, but her father's words
returned to her and she felt tears building. Her mother might have
committed suicide, but it was because she had been unstable, Maddy
knew that much from the doctors. Bipolar. Her mother had been on
antidepressants for years; her depression had finally caught up
with her, that was all. Only after the death had her stepfather
started with the beatings.

Still, his words....

The tears were leaking silently down her
face, and Maddy collapsed forward; she didn't want to be strong
anymore. Gareth's arms went around her, and he gripped her tight,
slowly allowing them to sink to the ground, kissing her gently on
the forehead where her bruises were spreading.

“
That bastard,” she whispered. “I hate
him.”

“
Shh, it's your right,” Gareth
murmured against her, cradling her head and rocking her ever so
slightly. She clung to him, to his warmth and his scent, the
powerful muscles in his arms and chest. His heartbeat was
comforting and she could sense it stronger now than ever
before.

She couldn't stay mad at him. He was the only
person in her entire life who had ever been there for her, her rock
to hold onto, her solid wall of protection. There had been
misunderstandings, but that was over now, and she couldn't hold a
grudge. Not after everything he had done for her. Not after
everything they had been through together.

“
Gareth,” she whispered against his
neck, feeling his grip tighten on her small body. She wanted to
forget everything. She wanted to start anew. “Please, Gareth... I
want to forget everything. Could you... make love to
me?”

He tensed immediately, then pulled back to
look at her. “You're not feeling well, love....”

“
Please Gareth, now,” she whispered,
needing to feel him inside of her, needing to feel possessed and in
love and so full of pleasure that she could explode. She wanted to
forget about the past few hours and only think about his arms. “But
be gentle,” she added as an afterthought.

His grin was slow, sexy, and with a tint of
wickedness. “You can have me any way, any time, love,” he murmured.
Then his lips traveled to her throat and he kissed her, gently
drawing on her skin, so tender that she almost cried. How such a
large man could be so soft, she would never know.

She pulled back just as his hands started
removing her shirt, and held up a finger to his lips. “Can you make
this my first time?” she whispered. “Whatever that was last
night... I want to erase it.”

His only answer was to kiss her, taking her
mouth so completely that she thought she would melt. Then his hands
were undressing her, and he helped her to undress himself, pulling
off his shirt and kicking free from his pants. They found a soft,
mossy patch of ground, and he touched her everywhere, licking her
body to life, stroking all the sensitive spots that turned her on.
His kiss was deep, long, possessive – everything that she needed it
to be.

And then he entered her, slowly and gently,
making sure she was good and wet before parting her folds and
sinking into her heat. She gasped, holding him tightly as he moved,
stroking her from the inside. He reached down between them and
played with her clit, his mouth on her breast, and then he sat up,
taking her with him. He sat with her in his lap, still impaled on
his cock, gently moving her up and down until she learned to move
herself. She liked this position – he was able to reach parts of
her that hadn't been touched before, and she gasped in pleasure,
moaning and crying out. Then she moved faster, rubbing her clit
against him, feeling his erection inside of her... his hands on her
nipples... his slow, alluring kiss....

She orgasmed in a sweet, shuddering way,
crying out softly into his mouth as the waves of pleasure broke
over her, causing her to clench around him. He tried to keep her
moving, to keep pushing into her at a mind-bending pace, but she
shook her head.

“
Please, I want you to come,” she
whispered against his shoulder.

“
As you wish, love,” he murmured back,
playfully biting at her chin. Then he was stroking her again, his
hands replacing hers, pushing her back to orgasm so fast that she
barely had time to breathe. Her body was enveloped by pleasure
again, and this time he came too, pumping inside of her, grunting
and groaning into her hair. His body tensed and she felt his seed,
wet and hot, against her womb. It spurred her orgasm higher, and
she let out a cry of surprise, rubbing against him wildly, no
longer caring about noise or privacy or the chance of nearby
hikers.

When she finally collapsed against his chest,
wet and sweaty, she could hear him laughing. It was low and
breathy, deep in his throat. “I told you, you can't run away from
me,” he murmured to her hair, kissing along the side of her
ear.

She jerked in surprise, then let out an
exhausted giggle. “Oh I can run away,” she said, smiling. “You just
have to come after me – every time, promise?”

“
I've been promising a lot
lately.”

“
Oh really?”

He glanced down at her, and the possessiveness in his gaze
made her heart flutter. He ran a hand over her bruises, down her
throat and over her collar bone. “I'll
always
come after you,” he said into her eyes.
“Promise.”

He gathered her up into his arms and took
them back to their clothes, where they quickly dressed. Then he
lifted her up again and started down the mountain, traveling at a
slow pace – she could have walked by herself, but she didn't make
the offer. She wanted to be held just as badly as he wanted to hold
her.

Once they were back in the Camaro, he pointed
them in the direction of his house. She smiled, catching sight of
his green eyes, wanting to kiss him all over again.

“
I can't believe all of that's over,”
she said, sighing. “I mean, you're Alpha now, we can finally be
together — a week ago I thought this was impossible.”

He smiled slowly. “I didn't doubt us for a
second,” he grinned.

He continued to look at her, grinning, until
finally her smile widened and she laughed, rolling down the window
so she could feel the breeze against her face. His hand rested on
her knee in its usual position. She loved it. She loved him. Thank
god she was still alive.

And thank god it was just the beginning.

Epilogue

Ron hung up the phone, a grin on his narrow
face. He loved dealing with amateurs, they were so easy to
intimidate. This one was a young woman who owed him a few thousand,
small-time stuff but still worth hunting down and collecting. He'd
send the boys after her tomorrow.

With a sigh, he finished tallying and put his
books away under the counter, glancing around his pawn shop – old
junk and disposable valuables littered the shelves, most of it
tagged for sale. Business was getting slow this time of year, as it
usually did. There would be a big rush before Christmas, though –
in the pawn and loan business, there always was.

He opened a magazine and started flipping through it, but
it seemed like no sooner had he found a picture of a hot babe that
he heard the soft
ding-ding
of the front door.

“
We're closed!” he called, waiting for
the customer to leave. He flipped to another page, and there was no
other sign of life until a shadow abruptly fell over him. “What,
are you fucking stupid?” he bit out. “I said we're-” He glanced up
and the words died in his throat.

Before him stood one of the most intimidating
men he had ever seen. Six feet tall, wild black hair, dark
sunglasses and a mean set to his lips. The man was well-built and
obviously cut with muscle. He didn't miss the tattoos on his
arms.

“
If you're here for a pick-up, you'll
have to come back in the morning,” he squeaked, unable to look
away.

The stranger's lips twitched, and a moment
later he reached over the counter and grabbed Ron's shirt, hauling
him out of his chair and into the air. Ron let out a yelp of terror
and reached for the pistol he kept hidden under his desk, but the
man abruptly slammed a knife down into the counter's wood
surface.

“
I wouldn't do that if I were you,” he
hissed.

Ron went still, though he couldn't stop his
body from shaking. “W-what do you want?” he asked. He didn't
recognize the man, and he knew most of the local gangs. This fellow
wasn't familiar.

“
I want you to forget the name of
Madeline Baker,” the man growled, and for a moment Ron fancied that
he saw fangs. Fear raced down his spine and he thought he might
just piss his pants. “Whatever her stepfather owes you, she is none
of your concern. Is that clear?”