Page 54 of Oath of Revenge

He blinked at the flash in his mind. A long-lost brown-haired little baby, squalling and wiggling shortly after being born. Pressure increased on his chest with the flood of emotions. Pride, awe… love.

Pain. So much pain and loss. He reached for Scarlet’s hand, linking their fingers and swallowing hard to force the suddenly dry meat down his throat.

She handed him the canteen, and he drank. When he could finally talk, he handed it back to her.

“When your brother landed yesterday, I thought it was an earthquake. Then when I saw the dragon, my first instinct was to protect you and kill him. I didn’t realize he was your brother.”

He was glad he had hesitated. He didn’t want to take a father away from his kid, much less hurt Scarlet. She clearly saw Knox as her brother, biological or not.

It reminded him of his Growler family. They weren’t related by blood, but he would protect his pack with everything in him.

It was how he felt about Scarlet too.

The play of emotions at his words fascinated him, and he paused mid-bite to stare at her. The softening at the corners of her eyes encouraged him, but then she scoffed and scowled, hand hovering over the dagger on the ground beside her. “Don’t even try attacking Knox. I’ll kill you right now and won’t bat an eye, if that’s your plan.”

He tossed the scavenged bones of the squirrel into the fire. “Don’t be absurd. He’s your brother. I’m not going to attack him.”

She pointed her finger under his nose and glared. “And you’re a Growler. You can’t change your nature.”

He grabbed her finger and jerked her sideways, making her stumble onto his lap. He wrapped his other arm behind her, holding her like a bride across his lap, legs dangling to the side. When she gasped and looked up with those big green eyes, surprise warred with self-righteousness.

She was irresistible. He swept his mouth down to hers.

Wulfric kept his lips tender, coaxing her to open with patience that was wearing thin. He wanted to roar into the night and claim her in the primal way he’d dreamed of for years, but she needed to know he wasn’t only a Growler. He could be tender, gentle, and loving. With her, he would be for she was precious.

She trembled in his arms, reminding him that patience was worth it. It gave him hope to hold on and wait her out.

And oh, was it worth the wait.

Slowly her mouth opened beneath his. His tongue swept inside in triumph, the intensity building until his chest tightened.

Chapter 17

Scarlet’s heart raced as Wulfric’s free hand explored her body slowly. It wasn’t a frenzied race to the finish like before, nor was it a light-hearted flirting.

This was a hot, dreamlike kiss of promise. It spoke of a future together, a life spent on the same side, back-to-back fighting against the world as one unit.

With his mouth and hand, he told her how precious she was to him. And with this single, never-ending kiss, he hesitantly sought comfort and acceptance.

The same acceptance she craved.

Her heart ached to open to him, but a sliver of fear held her back.

This impossible kiss defied all reason and logic. The Growler and the Hunter, two that were never meant to be but had somehow been fated by the gods. It shouldn’t work.

But who was she to deny the fates? Maybe they knew what they were doing. They had taken her parents, but maybe this was their way of making up for that. By giving her a mate, a lover, a soulmate.

She wrapped her arm around his neck and pressed her breast into his palm. She moaned into his mouth as his thumb flicked back and forth across her fabric covered nipple.

The promises of connection and love lingered even when he pulled away and broke the kiss. He carefully avoided her horns as he touched her forehead with his own and sighed. Her emotions swung back and forth from wanting him to wanting to run away from him.

She felt him smile against her cheek. With eyes closed, she savored the sounds of the forest, the breathing of her mate, the scent of their desire. She’d never been one to just sit and enjoy the touch of another. She wasn’t a cuddler.

But in his arms, maybe she could learn to be because this felt pretty damn good. Like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

She bristled, as their previous conversation invaded her desire-fogged mind. “If you kissed me to shut me up, think again. You’re not getting out of the conversation that easily, wolfie.”

He tightened his arms around her in a sideways hug that made her feel small and dainty. She should’ve felt mad about it, but she didn’t feel fragile. She felt protected and loved. Cherished even.

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