Page 27 of The Wolf's Mate

“Thank you. He was a good alpha. Worked in Alpha Rip’s guard team.”

“He was one of the best alphas on my team. His service will be remembered,” Rip assures. Unlike other people in powerful positions, he doesn’t sound like he's rehearsed these lines a hundred times. They feel genuine. True.

Rip cares for the pack he leads. And damn if that doesn’t make me warm all over.

“Did you need something, King Alpha?” Lucielle asks after a moment, snapping me back to the present. We are here for a reason. And it’s not for me to develop a damn crush on my mate.

“I want you to show your Luna the cure.” Rip gestures to the messy desks. “Or what we have of it.”

“Not much, unfortunately. Please come, Luna.” Lucielle gestures me forward, and I follow. I try to drop my hand away from Rip, but he holds tight and squeezes gently until I lace our fingers back together.

So, I guess we hold hands now. Cute.

Lucielle brings me to the only clean part of the desk. There’s a rack of small vials off to one side and purple petals scattered in the center. “These are wolfsbane petals. Are you familiar with wolfsbane, Luna?” When I shake my head, she continues, “It’s both death and life. Too much will kill even the strongest of alphas. But the perfect amount? That can wake the dormant wolf.”

“Has this been tested? Is the sickness contagious?” As soon as the question is out, I immediately blush. What a fucking stupid thing to ask. Of course it has been tested, or else they wouldn’t know it could cure their sickness.

“Only once,” Rip speaks up. “From what we’ve gathered, you can’t contract the sickness. It’s random and strikes deadly. But, typically, it strikes adults. So far, most of the alphas in our pack have been hit with it.

“But,” he continues, blowing out a deep breath, “a couple of weeks ago, a child fell ill. The first one. Our stash of wolfsbane is limited. You’re looking at what’s left.”

“But these are only a few petals.” Horror seizes me at the thought of all the sick bodies back in the infirmary. I’m looking at the flower that could save them, but isn’t enough to save them all.

“We had more, but we used most of our stash on the pup. Within a few days, she was completely healed, but it took up almost everything we had,” Lucielle explains. “Michael and his rogues have cut off our access to wolfsbane.”

“We can only assume they are working with the Nephilim,” Rip interjects. “I don’t understand his angle. Michael isn’t stupid. He should know that whatever the Nephilim promised him, they don’t intend to keep it.”

Michael hadn’t seemed completely sane when he ambushed me in the forest, but from our brief interaction, I know the man is smart. Smarter than he lets others believe. And he said he wanted me, but for what reason?

“King Alpha, we have been unsuccessful at growing wolfsbane. Our last few batches have died before they’ve bloomed. We were going to discard the remains?—”

“No, keep them,” Rip interrupts.

“Keep them?” Lucielle pursed her lips. “But they are useless.”

“Perhaps. But I want nothing thrown out. We keep everything. I won’t risk the chance of accidentally tossing a key ingredient away.”

Lucielle doesn’t look convinced that anything they save will be beneficial, but I see Rip’s logic. There’s no harm in keeping something that may be deemed useless. It would be devastating to realize that the ingredient you threw away was needed in the end.

“Of course, King Alpha.” Lucielle nods. “Is there anything else we can help you with?”

Rip shakes his head. “No, but please note your Luna has access to this room. If she wishes, she will come for updates when I can’t.”

I snap my head in his direction, unsure if I heard him correctly. “Really?” I can’t keep the skepticism out of my voice. “You’d let me come here without you?” I don’t know why the words shock me as much as they do. Maybe a part of me thought I would be little more than a decorative piece in this relationship. I never believed I would actually be a partner in this pack. Only an outsider.

Rip narrows his eyes at me, sending a mixture of fear and arousal through me. How can this man elicit two vastly different emotions? I want to simultaneously run away from him, but also feel his hard body against mine. These are not the thoughts I should have right now.

Rip pulls me out of the makeshift lab. Our hands are still firmly clasped together when he shuts the door behind me. I still know very little about shifters and their world, but I know they have superior hearing, judging from my few interactions. This is only an illusion of privacy. The four people inside can probably hear us if they care enough to pay attention.

“I want to make one thing very clear, Hettie,” Rip says, voice low. In the early afternoon glow, he looks like a ravenous god, beautiful and strong, with his eyes set on me.

“You are my Luna. Not my employee or a mere human. You’re my mate, and with that comes certain privileges. You’re to help me take care of our pack. You are smart, charismatic, and kind, when you want to be.” He smirks.

“You were doing great until the last part.” I glare, though I sound slightly breathless. His words hit me. Rip has known me a grand total of a couple of days and is already placing trust in me. He sees me as capable and not less than.

The breeze picks up around us, and goosebumps form on my arms. My nipples harden, easily noticeable through my thin top. I’m not sure who thought this outfit would be warm, but it’s definitely not. My hair, which I attempted to tie back in a bun, comes loose, and a strand of it blows into my eyes. Rip reaches out and gently tucks it behind my ear.

The gesture is far more intimate than it should be.

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