Page 64 of Cursed Wolfsbane

“Oh, little shadow.” He wraps his arm around me, pulling me into his side and resting his cheek on the top of my head for a moment. “If this is about what I walked in on, you have nothing to be sorry about. I should’ve knocked before barging in. And I’m not upset that you slept with him. He’s your mate too.”

“You’re not mad at me or jealous?” I ask hesitantly, pulling back to look at him.

“Mad at you? No. Jealous? A little, yeah, but that’s a me problem.” Saint gives me a wry smile. “That’s not because you did anything wrong.”

I shrug at him because it feels like it’s my responsibility to make sure none of my mates ever feel jealous. I distractedly stare at the Paris lights for a moment. “Are you still pissed at me for being a dumbass in the alley?”

“First, you’re not a dumbass. No one gets to talk badly about you, including you.” My brows rise almost to my hairline at the vehemence in his words. “Second, I was never truly angry. I’ve never been as completely and utterly terrified as I was the moment you ran over to Patrick. But fear, not anger, was why I lashed out. I’m sorry I didn’t manage my emotions better.”

I’m already shaking my head before he even finishes his unnecessary apology. “You don’t have to apologize. I’m sorry I didn’t make a better choice. Besides, I deserved to get yelled at.”

Saint turns to face me fully and captures my chin with his thumb and forefinger, making sure my full attention is on him. “You never deserve getting yelled at, Briar. You always deserve to be spoken to with respect and consideration.”

My eyes bounce between his for a moment as I try to figure out how to respond. “If you say so.” I guess I’ve gotten a little too used to getting yelled at for messing up. Along with smacking me around, Patrick loved to scream at me for any small mistake I made.

“I do.” He gives me a genuine smile before leaning down to give me a fast, hard kiss. He pulls back and glances over to where Malachi is standing, pretending not to listen to our entire conversation. “So, should we find your other wolves?”

Malachi winces. He looks at me sheepishly before turning his gaze to Saint. “They’re on their way back. I alpha commanded them to leave, so they’ve just been wandering around Paris for the past hour.”

I realize I had totally forgotten about Xander and Bastian during our fight and angry makeup sex. Before I have time to feel too bad about it, Bastian pushes open the hotel room door. Xander follows so closely that he bumps into Bastian when he comes to an abrupt stop.

Bastian’s nostrils flare for a moment before he pins Malachi with a glare. “Really? You were getting it on while we were out in the cold? You’re such a dick, Kai.” Spotting me standing over with Saint, Bastian bounds over with a smile. “Hey, pretty girl. Long time no see.” He pulls me into a hug, and I breathe in his spicy citrus scent. I guess he’s not mad at me. It takes at least two to get it on, so he really should be.

Malachi scrubs a hand over his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have alpha commanded you like that. It won’t happen again.”

“It better not,” Xander grumbles. He strides over to me, too, his sharp gaze inspecting every inch of me. “You okay, sweetheart?”

My lips tip up into a half smile at his concern. “Yeah, I’m fine, Xander.”

“Now that everyone’s here, how about we get some sleep?” Saint suggests. “We need to head out to Bayeux in the morning.”

We all agree and get ready for bed. After Malachi turns out the lights and we say our good nights, I stare sightlessly at the ceiling. I’m unable to fall asleep, my mind playing the scene with Patrick in the alley over and over again. I can’t stop thinkingabout all the ways my mates could’ve been harmed. The last thought I have before I eventually fall into a fitful sleep is that I refuse to let them get hurt because of my family legacy.

CHAPTER 29

BRIAR

“The view’s gorgeous from up here,” I say without taking my eyes off the scenery outside our hotel room.

From our hotel window in Bayeux, we can see the top of the cathedral’s copper spire towering over the stout limestone buildings with gray and red stone roofs.

We left Paris by train at a little before nine this morning to arrive in Bayeux a few minutes before noon. Since there’s no fancy supernatural hotel here, we didn’t want to portal into a space that might have humans watching. The train was the safer, albeit longer, option.

We wandered the charming Norman town for a couple hours before check-in. After we got the room, the Wyldharts left to go scout out the church. We’re planning to go half an hour before it closes for the night. Hopefully it’ll be pretty empty by then.

“Yeah, it is,” Saint agrees softly. When I turn to look at him in his deep red sweater and jeans, he’s not staring out the window like I was. Instead, he’s looking directly at me. I glance down at my chunky knit off-white sweater, leggings, and boots to see if I got something on my clothes. I can’t find anything, so I lookup. His gaze roams over my face before flicking down to my lips. When he leans down, I go up on my tiptoes to meet him halfway.

His soft lips press against mine, and he wraps one arm around my back to hold me to him. My hands grip his shoulders as I try to keep up with his passionate kiss. As his tongue slides into my mouth, Saint grinds his hard-on against my stomach. He groans, and arousal skates up my spine at the feel of him.

I doubt we’d have time to fuck before we need to go to the cathedral, but we probably have time for me to take care of him. Saint has always been so hyper focused on taking care of me. I don’t think he ever stops to think about what he needs, but I want to be the one to be there for him.

Pulling back from the kiss, I drop to my knees in front of him. He clenches his fists at his sides as he stares down at me. While keeping eye contact with him, I reach for his jeans button. “What…?” Saint starts, his voice rough. He has to clear his throat to continue. “What are you doing, little shadow?”

“I’m planning to go down on you.” While I might joke about it with one of the Wyldharts, I don’t want Saint to feel like I’m making fun of him, so I keep my tone neutral. “If you don’t want me to, that’s completely fine.”

He rubs the back of his neck with one hand as he stares down at me for a moment. “I do want you to, but I don’t want you to feel obligated to.”

I give him a genuine smile. “I don’t feel obligated. I just want to make you feel good.” After tugging his zipper open, I shove his jeans down until they pool on the floor. I cup him through his gray boxers before pushing those down too.

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