Page 78 of Wrestling With Werewolves

I turn to find Richard waiting for me, hand outstretched. We leave a sullen Papá behind in his office, meeting Dirk outside the door.

“Yeh need accompaniment, wolves? Or can I go party? I imagine it won’t be long before the ole boss calls to ask what the fook I was doin’ using my clearance to break through a king’s portal lock.”

I lay a hand on Dirk’s muscular forearm, admiring the lightning streaks of pale blue that move across his skin. “I’ll call Evenia myself, if it helps. I can never thank you enough for bringing Richard to me.”

“Oh, it wasn’t entirely altruistic,” he says in his thick accent. “I told Richard that I’m a sucker for love, but I’m hoping a certain someone will notice how far I’m willing to go for it.”

I snort. “When we get back home, I’ll make sure to tell Lou all about your heroics here tonight.”

“Excellent,” he says with a feral smile. “Make sure to tell her all about how bravely I fought, and how I was nearly killed, but I managed to?—”

“We get it, Dirk,” Richard says with a laugh, pushing the big sylph up the hall. “Go enjoy yourself.”

Dirk winks at us and slaps the disk on his chest, disappearing into a gust of wind as he travels toward the party.

Richard presses me to the wall, reminding me how we fit in every way.

“I need alone time with you,” he murmurs into my ear. “As soon as possible.”

Sliding my hands around his neck, I rub my cheek against his. “I want to introduce you to someone first, and then I have to allow the pack to officially greet me. But I promise we can leave as soon as that’s done.”

Good, Big Daddy snarls into our bond. You made promises about ripping that dress, and I need to do it.

Shivering, I unlace my arms from around Richard’s neck. After threading my fingers through his hands, I pull him toward the back hallways that lead to the courtyard and the rest of Santa Alaya.

Half an hour later, Richard and I walk quietly through empty, familiar streets, past La Iglesia Santa Alaya, and hook a left along the oceanfront boardwalk. When I move through the coffee shop and up a set of stairs, he follows, a quiet, steady presence at my back. I open the door to the elderly wolves’ home to find that even the front desk wolf has abandoned her post.

When I stalk the halls to the common room, Lupe is exactly where I thought she’d be. She’s half asleep in her chair, staring out at the bay with a coffee cup perched precariously in her lap. I cross the room and take it, setting it on the open windowsill like always.

She blinks her eyes fully open, looking from me to Richard as she sputters and pulls me close for a hug. “Lola, my darling. You disappeared, and then Leo came to tell me you’d been taken to Ever. What is going on?”

I squeeze her tightly, then encourage her back into her chair. “Everything is fine now, Lupe. But I want you to meet someone.” I reach for Richard, who joins us and sinks into the chair across from her, pulling me onto his lap.

Giggling, I wrap my arms around his neck. “Lupe, this is my mate, Richard. Richard, Lupe is one of my dearest friends in the entire world, and I have missed her greatly.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Lupe,” Richard says in that deep baritone I adore.

Lupe’s eyes go wide, and she leans close to me. “Older male and a pack alpha to boot? Bien hecho, corazón!” Well done, my heart.

“Oh, there are more surprises to share,” I say with a laugh. For the next half hour, we tell Lupe about how we fell in love, how Papá stole me away, and how I’m now the queen.

She listens in utter silence, and then she tells us what she’s been doing in my absence. Drinking coffee. Listening to music. Staring at the blue waters of La Bahía de Santa Alaya.

We sit with her for a long time, staring at my beautiful home haven. I could no sooner leave Santa Alaya than I could my mate. No matter what comes next, I’m resolved to be a good ruler. Perhaps a different sort of ruler than my father, but hopefully the queen my people need.

CHAPTER THIRTY

CHAPTER - RICHARD

Santa Alaya hasn’t changed a bit. But seeing it with my mate, my queen, by my side makes everything seem a little different. Big Daddy fled my mind the moment he could, sprinting into Lola’s consciousness. He’s fascinated by her wolf’s ability to turn into anything. Even now as we head back toward the castle, he’s poking her wolf to turn into something else in our shared consciousness.

I can’t keep my hands off Lola, though, and every step we get closer to the castle reminds me of how we have hours of people greeting ahead of us before we can sink into bed and fuck. I need to worship her before we go back there.

And I’m in total awe of what she did tonight.

“Lola, stop,” I murmur, pulling her to face me.

When she obeys, I drop to both knees in the middle of the street and bury my nose between her thighs. Her hands come to my head, a happy sigh ringing off the colorful buildings around us. The cobblestones beneath my knees aren’t comfortable, but I can’t find it in me to care too much as I pull the sheer fabric of her dress aside.

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