Page 13 of Don't Howl At Me

“Mine.” The gleam of his dragon shone in his eyes.

“Forever,” I promised and kissed him like he was the only thing that could keep me alive.

Because suddenly, he was.

***

Beams of moonlight danced over my mate’s body, his eyes closed in slumber, and his face relaxed. I couldn’t bear to take my eyes off him. After a year of yearning for this man, he was finally here and mine. I had never been more complete. But I also had never feared so much.

Fear that he would leave me, that the attacks would cause him harm, that I would fuck it up somehow. I needed to make sure none of that happened.

I gently ran a knuckle over his cheek, and the side of his lips tilted up. He reached out to me even in sleep and curled deeper into my chest. This man was my world. I would destroy anything that dared try to take him away from me.

“Stop being creepy,” my sleepy mate murmured. “You’re staring.”

I chuckled. “Sorry, I can’t help it. You’re finally here.”

Ollie nuzzled into me deeper. “And I won’t ever leave. Now, go to sleep. We have things to do in the morning.”

I closed my eyes and tried to fall into a relaxed state. But my thoughts turned from my mate to the investigation we were in the middle of and who could be behind all of the attacks. Right now, we had no known enemies. All of the other covens, packs, and clans in the area agreed with the idea behind the training center and sent representatives to freshen their skills and share some knowledge with us. And something inside my soul kept telling me this was more personal anyway. That one of us had fucked up, and now we all were paying the cost.

Thinking through my past, there was no one I had crossed enough that they would want to hurt my family. No one that we hadn’t already looked into and cleared.

“Go to sleep,” Ollie whispered again. “Or I will make you suck me off again.”

“Oops. It looks like I just developed insomnia.”

Ring.

“Shit.” I picked my phone up off the nightstand. My brother’s name flashed on the screen. I answered the call. “This better be important.”

“Trust me, bro. If it weren’t dire, I wouldn’t have called a newly mated wolf about anything.” Rayne’s muffled cries filtered through the phone.

“How do you know I’m newly mated?” I asked. “And is that screaming?”

Rayne huffed out a frustrated sigh. “The clan was attacked tonight—”

“Are you all right? The kids? Zander?” Worry for my loved ones swarmed me.

“Everyone we care about is fine. We have no major injuries, although I can’t say the same for their side.” Another shout punctuated his response. “We captured a few of them and are trying to find out what we can. But so far, they aren’t talking.”

“Do you think they are under a spell not to speak about who hired them?” My brain worked hard to determine what kept all these attackers quiet. “Or are they just that professional?”

Rayne barked a few commands before answering. “While they are professional freelance assassins, there has to be a magical reason why they are not squealing like the pathetic pigs they are.”

So a spell. Like I asked. “Do you need us to come down there?”

“We have everything covered for now. I just wanted to keep you informed. Bring Ollie here in the morning after breakfast for the meeting with everyone. With the latest attack here, he can go over the scene with fresh eyes. Maybe he will recognize a pattern we missed.”

I disconnected the call and brought Ollie closer, snuggling him into my embrace.

“What happened? Do they need us?” My mate pushed away.

“They had another attack, but it’s over, and want us in the morning.” I kissed Ollie’s neck, trying to get back into the mood we were in when my brother interrupted us.

“Wolf, stop.” Ollie shrank a bit farther from my groping arms. “Tell me what Rayne said.”

I needed to tell him what was happening. “Rayne says they caught a few of the attackers, but they won’t reveal who sent them after our family. Rayne is specially trained in both magical and non-magical interrogation. If he can’t get them to murmur the truth, I can only believe a spell prevents them from speaking up. There was no trace of a spell found, but maybe we need to call in one of the cousins who’s better at finding hidden workings.”

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