Page 43 of The Kill

I don’t believe this. “You’re my mate!”

“Not yet. But I will be.” His expression softens. “If it makes you feel safer, you can put up that stupid barricade in your room and hunker down until I get back.”

Rolling my eyes, I sigh in exasperation. “That was to keep me in. Not to keep you out. I won’t be wandering the halls in search of orgasms if you’re not here.”

Tyson blinks, once, twice, and then he’s on me, his lips pressed to mine, his hands roaming every inch of my body. “Fuck! Fuck, Mandy. I thought you were scared.”

Laughing at the absurdity of this conversation right before he leaves for what could be the last time, I grip his face in my hands. “Scared, yes. Of you, no. Only what I’d do to you if my wolf had control while I was sleepwalking.”

“I’m coming back,” he whispers against my ear, and I nod, trying my hardest not to cry. My former alpha must be getting on in years now, he’ll be no match for Tyson. But, of course, he won’t be alone.

“Wait for Blake to get here. He’ll help you; I know he will,” I plead.

Tyson ignores my request and sadly shakes his head as he pulls back, stroking my cheek once with his thumb. When he steps away, that small distance is already making my heart hurt.

“I can’t. Blake will want to do things the proper way. Go to the rest of the council. Bring in head of your old region. Ask for a meeting with Lee’s father to get him to promise that you won’t be harmed if you come out of hiding, and that Noah will be left alone. Blah blah blah. None of that will work.”

Tyson’s fist comes down hard on the table beside us as he gets more and more worked up. The veins in his neck bulge as he swells in size right before my eyes, on the verge of shifting.

“Weston will deny he helped Jenna; Lee’s father will lie and say he has no ill will toward you, welcoming you back into the family, convincing everyone that he’s relieved to hear that you’re alive and well. Right before he murders you and steals Noah away. No, I’m going to end this now.”

I see the mixture of fear and anger in his eyes, but above all else, steely determination. He wants this over with, and Tyson is not a man who gets other people to do his dirty work. Unlike the men he’s going up against.

“You are conveniently forgetting that Alpha Weston has a history of not playing fair. What if it’s just him, and he kills you so you don’t tell anyone he was trying to kill Blake?”

Throwing my hands up in the air, I stare at him, waiting for him to tell me something that makes sense. He doesn’t. Instead, Tyson just stares right back, a stubborn set to his jaw and anger radiating from his body. The man is not for moving.

“Well?’ I ask, but Tyson merely shrugs, like he couldn’t give a shit, but now that our connection is stronger, he can’t lie to me. I feel his inner turmoil. Though his expression is calm, his emotions are all over the place. He cares. Of course he does, otherwise he wouldn’t be doing this for me and Noah, and he wouldn’t have a wolf and vampire he’s picked up along the way living here in his home.

“Then I’ll be doing Blake a favour and getting rid of his problem for him. Because there’s no way he’s the one who leaves that fight alive.”

Tyson's casual dismissal of my concern irks me. Weston is dangerous. Very dangerous. He was close to securing the head alpha job after all. Maybe they’ll join forces to get rid of Tyson and come for me then. I’ll be a sitting duck, even with Blake here.

I bury my hands in my hair, pleading with my eyes for him to stop this madness.

“What if something happens to you? What am I supposed to do if you don’t come back?” My voice cracks at the thought of him getting hurt trying to rid me of my past.

“That won’t happen.” Staying at arm’s length, he brushes my messy hair from my face.

“Just promise you won’t go outside. It’s hard enough leaving as it is.”

Cupping his face in my hands, I sigh. “I won’t go outside, unless I have to.”

Tyson growls, low and even, displeased at my refusal to go along with whatever he says. We have no idea what’s going to happen tonight. I’m sure Tyson has a more elaborate plan than he’s letting on, he just doesn’t want me to know so I can’t get involved. Even still, I’m not promising to stay indoors if going outside could help.

He cups my face in his hands and kisses me tenderly. Despite my annoyance, it’s hard to resist him. I feel myself leaning into him, my body moulding to his, and he grips my ass as he deepens the kiss, pulling away to drag his lips over my mark. I moan, loud and unrestrained as my clit tingles, and my nipples harden from that tiny caress.

“I’m so sorry I’m not going to be here today to tend to you, but I’ll make up for it.”

Tyson pulls back, and I nod at him, bleary eyed and slightly dazed. When he glances at the clock, and his eyes flit to the windows, I baulk. The sky is dull, the sunlight starting to disappear.

“You’re going now? Already?” I sound needy and pathetic but I don’t care.

Nodding, he wraps his arms around me once more and kisses the top of my head. “I am, or I’ll never leave. Thank you, Mandy. This, letting me mark you, is the greatest gift.”

That sounds like a goodbye. I frown and move to follow him as he heads for the front door.

“Wait! I can’t… you can’t just go…” As I step into the hallway, ready to follow him outside for one last kiss, once last chance to get him to stay, Seth and Lucian step from the shadows, moving to block my way. “Tyson? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

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