Page 115 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

“No. She’s mine. I chased her, and I found her. I’m going to bite her, and you can’t stop me.”

To my horror, I realized his fangs were indeed dropped, his words garbled as his wolf tried to come to the fore.

“If you don’t step back and let her go right now, I’ll feed your entrails to the birds tomorrow morning while you’re still alive to watch themfeast.” I stalked closer, worry over Leigh being unable to breathe driving me to be aggressive. “If you don’t let her breathe, she’ll be too dead for anyone to claim.”

Her fingertips scrabbled against his wrist, but she was getting too weak to budge him, and I knew I had to move. This man was out of his mind for some reason, and I knew then that nothing I said was going to change that.

I darted to the side, calling on my wolf’s speed and strength to augment mine as I aimed for his throat. My nails shifted toclaws as I reached them, and one vicious swipe was all it took. He didn’t even try to dodge as he leaned toward her shoulder with his fangs extended for a mating bite. But his teeth never met her flesh.

His carotid pumped freely, and his grip went limp around Leigh’s throat as he tried to stanch the bleeding from his own.

Leigh stumbled forward, but I was there to catch her. She was soaked to the bone and gasping in strained breaths as she landed against my chest. I cupped my hand behind her head, holding her gently despite the thick gore coating me.

She tried to turn, tried to face her last standing attacker, but I kept her tucked against me, shielding her from the sight of more death as he spasmed on the ground.

“You-u found me,” she said through chattering teeth. “How did you find me?”

“You called me,” I murmured, chafing her arms, trying to warm her and cursing my bad luck that I had nothing warm to offer her except my own body heat.

“Can you shift?” I asked, going into emergency triage mode. “Your wolf’s fur can keep you warmer.”

“Can’t. Too tired. She ran from them as far as she could before the water got too rough and we almost drowned,” she whispered against my neck, her exhaustion clear.

Even with nothing but my own heat to offer her, the shivers were starting to slow. I wouldn’t breathe easy, though, until she was dry and warm and in the bunker. I scooped her off her feet, stepping over the strewn limbs of her attackers as I headed for the nearest cache of clothing.

Thankfully, it wasn’t far, and I popped open the watertight black chest a few minutes later. I set her on her feet, not letting go of her hand as I dug through the clothing. There was a pair of sweats in there that was only a little too big, so I helped her step into those first. My next round of digging found a way too big sweatshirt, but it was better than nothing.

“Arms up,” I ordered, and she complied without hesitation. With trust. It was enough to clog my throat, but I was in damage control mode. I turned back to the chest, finally releasing her hand so I could find myself a pair of pants, when she gasped behind me.

“Gael?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, and I spun, looking for the threat.

“What is it? I don’t sense anyone?”

“It’s your back, there’s—” She grabbed my shoulders, spinning me around. “Would you hold still for a damn minute?”

“I’m sure I’ve got some cuts, but it’s okay. They’ll heal in a few minutes. Right now, we need to get you to the nearest guardhouse, where you can warm up and we can lock a door.” I tried to turn back to the chest, but she didn’t let me go.

“No, Gael,stop.” She used an alpha bark on me, and while it didn’t really work—your own mate couldn’t use an alpha command on you effectively—it did give me pause. Her chilled fingertips traced along my skin, leaving a shivery feeling in their wake. “Your back. It’s covered in mate marks.” Leigh used my shoulders to turn me yet again, this time to meet my eyes. “They’ve come in.Your marks have come in.” She said it slowly, as if she could tell I wasn’t hearing her.

Her words weren’t processing. She couldn’t be right. She’d said it herself—we were doomed. Our destiny was to never progress, to stay separate so I could protect our daughter. It wasn’t possible.

“BD?”

She must have seen the lack of belief in my eyes, because when I didn’t answer her, she held that eye contact as she reached down and lifted the hem of her oversized sweatshirt and lifted it back off. My wolf growled, knowing there was no way she was warmed all the way back up yet—and I had to work not to get distracted by both her chest and bump nowback on display—but she spun as she pulled it off, and I lost my breath.

Stunning, perfect mate marks. They covered her entire back, from the nape of her neck, broadly spanning across both shoulders and twirling down in graceful arcs to the base of her spine in striking red ink.

All the breath in my body left me, and I sank back to my knees.

We aren’t doomed.

“You have mate marks.” I breathed the words reverently, letting myself reach up and trace them. I wanted to kiss every delicate line, every sweeping curve. I’d never seen marks in such a stunning, bold red before, but they fit the firecracker of a woman who wore them. They almost resembled a phoenix, broad wings tapering down into the smaller lines framing the bottom of her spine. I pressed a reverent kiss to a curl of ink on her shoulder blade.

“So do you, prince. They’re on your back. That’s what I was trying to tell you.” She held her blonde hair to the side, peeking back at me over her shoulder as if to watch my reaction.

I let my eyes fall closed, sucking in great gulps of air through my nose. My hands were shaking, and we weren’t out of danger yet. I wanted to enjoy this moment to the fullest, but it was hard when her safety was still at risk. But the marks were everything.

I get to keep her. Even my father can’t dispute this.

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