Page 33 of These Wicked Desires

We both look up to find Agatha standing over us. Despite her hunched form, she seems to stand taller than the others around her. She gives Sterling a small smile and a nod.

“You are the new alpha of the Iron Shadows pack.”

Cheers and howls rise from the people and wolves surrounding us. I don’t fail to notice a group of wolves skulking away, no doubt supporters of Noah. Cole sees them too, and his eyes narrow.

Fatigue suddenly floods me as all of my adrenaline leaves in a rush, and I lay my head on Sterling’s shoulder. “Can we go home now?”

He kisses my temple. “Yes, kitten. We can.”

“Can I get you anything else?” I ask Sterling, handing him a bottle of water.

“Lay with me?” His eyes are heavy, and I can see him fighting to stay awake. Cade’s healing always takes a lot out of a person.

“Will you eat the sandwich first?” I point to the untouched turkey sandwich on the nightstand.

“Will you lay with me while I eat it?” he counters.

I can’t help but smile. “Yes, but if you don’t eat I’m getting out of bed.”

He holds his arms open for me, and I climb in next to him and lean against the headboard. He immediately curls around me, laying his head on my belly. I nudge his shoulder and stick the plate in front of him. Grumbling, he sits up enough to eat. He somehow manages to eat the entire sandwich in two bites, and downs the bottle of water without coming up for air.

“Happy?” he asks, blinking blearily at me.

“Yes,” I whisper and pat my stomach.

He snuggles against me again, sighing in contentment. The way my stomach flutters because this big, alpha wolf is curled next to me like he can’t sleep without me makes me smile. His hair is like silk as I run my fingers through it, gently untangling the knots. It takes only seconds before his body relaxes and his breathing evens out.

A soft knock on the door draws my attention and Cade slips inside with a second sandwich. “He’s asleep?”

“Yeah. It didn’t take him long. I don’t think he was sleeping the past few days.” I know I hadn’t been. But I wasn’t just in a fight for my life and healed magically, so I’m able to fight sleep a little better than he was.

Cade nods and climbs onto the bed, sitting at the bottom. “You should eat, too.”

I take the plate and my stomach grumbles loud enough I’m surprised it doesn’t wake Sterling with his ear against it. I can’t remember the last time I ate and it actually stayed down. It’s been a few days. I finish the sandwich almost as quickly as Sterling ate his. And I only got a few crumbs in his hair. Cade laughs softly as I try to brush them out with a sheepish grin.

“Everything okay in here?” Kai asks, popping his head inside. Seeing us all settled on the bed, he joins us. After a quick kiss for me, and one for Cade, he lays down with his head in Cade’s lap, his feet propped on the pillow next to me.

“So what’s next?” I ask, watching Cade brush his fingers through Kai’s hair, the same way I am with Sterling.

“Well, we need to start planning how we’re going to save your sister,” Cade says. “I don’t think the same plan we used for Sterling will work. For one, we’ve done it once already. Two, Sam knew he could let you go because he knew you’d be back for Grace.”

I glance at Sterling sleeping on me. “What about getting the other magical races involved? The wolves and vampires?”

“My dad won’t be game for that,” Kai mumbles. He sounds like he’s half asleep, Cade’s fingers drawing him closer to the edge. “Even with all the evidence we have against Sam, the mages are too powerful. It would be too much of a risk of them retaliating against us. My dad has no desire to be involved in a war.”

“And Sterling would one hundred percent have the wolves help,” Cade says, glancing at the sleeping alpha. “But, Cole would step in and stop him. And rightfully so. Even if the vamps and wolves banded together to go after Sam, it would be an act of war. And the last thing Sterling needs to deal with so new in his role as alpha, is an inter-race war. He needs to build up the pack’s trust. Not to mention, they are incredibly weak after Noah. They need to rebuild their strength.”

“So we go in alone again?” I try to hide the way that makes anxiety writhe in my gut. More people would mean more chance of success and less risk of one of my Shields getting hurt.

“I wouldn’t say alone,” Cade says. “We have Connor and Drew. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Cole stepped in to help.”

“So, just mostly alone,” I mutter.

Kai huffs a small laugh and cracks open one eye. “Do you not have faith in us?”

I tilt my head to the side, studying him. “It’s not you I don’t have faith in. It’s the fact I know Sam will play dirty.”

“And we’ll be prepared for that,” Cade says. “We just need a solid plan before we go in.”

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