Page 35 of Auctioned Wolf Bride

I stared, mouth dropping open. My wolf snarled and thrashed, bristling at the mere suggestion.

“Have you gone insane?” I finally demanded.

“No. Think about it. Who is he more likely to go after? A dangerous ex-spec-ops shifter? Or a weak absent? If he thinks he can get me on my own, he’s way more likely to go for it.”

I shook my head. “There’s no way in hell we’re doing that.”

Her brow furrowed, and she folded her arms. “But it would probably work. You can’t deny that part.”

“I don’t care,” I snapped. “I’m not about to let you do something that reckless. I don’t care who you are or what you think. That’s too far. That’s bordering on self-destructive, if you ask me.”

“It’s not self-destructive,” she argued. “It’s the best option, and you know it.”

She took a step toward me, her face defiant as she moved close enough to be within arm’s reach. I pinched the bridge of my nose. How did I get it through to her that all I wanted was to protect her, even if I couldn’t fully understand why I had that need?

“I agreed to let you stick around,” I snarled as her scent wafted toward me.

We were close enough that it would have been so easy to clear that final gap. For a wild moment, all I wanted to do was pull her toward me. I tried to ignore it. Now wasn’t the time.

“I didn’t agree to let you put yourself in even more danger,” I said.

She growled, every inch of her bristling. “I’m not helpless, you know,” she spat. “If you haven’t been able to figure that out by now, you’re even more pig-headed than I thought. My being an absent doesn’t automatically mean you can sideline me.”

Finally, I thought I understood what was really going on. Letting out a deep, frustrated breath, I came to crouch in front of her, my hands resting on her arms.

“You don’t need to put yourself in danger to prove that you’re not helpless,” I said. “Trust me, I’ve seen enough of you the past couple of days to know that you’re not. And after everything, I can’t worry about you being in danger. I’m going to be distracted, worrying about whether you're okay. On top of that, I can’t have another person threatening to kill you.”

“Why’s that?” she asked, and something about her tone made me wonder if there was more to the question.

“Because for whatever reason, I happen to enjoy your company, and I don’t really relish the idea of another asshole coming after you.” I tilted my head, staring her down. “I want to keep you alive, and I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen, even if that means telling you to sit something out.”

Her eyes met mine, jaw set in defiance. I met her gaze levelly. This was one thing I wasn’t backing down on, and she needed to realize that. Still, something about her stubbornness stirred my wolf again. He liked her stubborn streak. I did, too, for that matter. It was refreshing. But that didn’t mean I was going to let her do this.

Finally, her shoulders sagged. “All right,” she relented.

“Thank you.” Her scent was everywhere. I wanted to kiss her, to stop everything and do more than that. I had always been good at handling my impulses, especially when it came to women, but something about Thea made it nearly impossible.

I took a step back, letting go of her arms, trying to distance myself from her. “Let’s get going,” I said.

We spread our scent around the area as much as possible without making it too obvious that was what we were doing. We led a trail to the part of the cliff we had picked. Thea disappeared into the brush, using some techniques I’d shown her to hide her scent.

Then I waited.

It wasn’t long. I pretended to look busy, preoccupying myself with my gear, keeping my ears pricked. After a while, I heard rustling. A moment later, Damien appeared.

“I would have thought you’d have run for the hills by now,” Damien drawled, though his eyes blazed with anger. “Especially considering you have to know how much moretrouble you’re in, now that you’ve killed one of my men. I was happy just having one of my lackeys kill you until then. Now you’re going to have me to deal with.”

“I’m terrified,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Where’s your bride?” he mocked.

“Already long gone,” I said, moving so I stood between him and the ravine. “I stuck behind to have a word with you.”

He laughed, the sound grating against my ears. “You really have a death wish, don’t you?” he jeered. He stepped forward, teeth lengthening to fangs. “I’m going to enjoy—”

I grabbed Damien, spinning him around before he could react, and pushed him back toward the cliff. My foot slammed into his gut. He took a single step backward, instinctively trying to balance and finding nothing but air beneath his foot. He toppled, falling down the steep edge.

Yowls of pain echoed through the air, along with thump after thump as Damien tumbled down. I stood at the top, watching as he fell, his figure growing smaller until I could no longer see him.

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