Page 53 of Wed Or Dead

“Kayla!” Gage hadn’t meant to roar her name so much as just say it, but the beast was too close to the surface for much control.

She stilled and looked back at him. She had a “don’t-try-me” expression tightening her face.

He held out his hand to her. Some things had to be done.

For the pack.

For me.

Just in case something happened in the next battle, Kayla had to be protected. Her safety was what mattered.

“My wife.” Now these words were softer, but still growled. It was time to claim his mate in front of the pack. She wasn’t a hunter anymore. She was one of them.

Forever.

Confusion swept over her features. She glanced at the other wolves. Then back at him.

Gage kept his hand up. The pack needed to see them as unified.

Kayla licked her lips and took a step toward him. “Uh, Gage?”

Shamus hauled the body out of the room. Left a trail of blood in his wake.

Yeah, wolf pack life wasn’t exactly sunshine and paradise, but his Kayla wasn’t the sunshine type.

He didn’t speak again, just waited for her to come to him. And she did. With slow, uncertain steps, when she wasn’t the type for uncertainty, either. Her hand lifted and, hesitantly, her fingers curled around his. “What, ah, what am I supposed to be doing?”

She’d taken his hand. And he’d take her. “This,” he said simply, then pulled her against him. His lips found hers in a hot, hard, openmouthed kiss.

The pack cheered around him. Blood, sex, and violence—yes, they all understood those three things.

He kissed her harder. His tongue tasted her. So good. The best he’d ever had.

Never let go.No matter what happened. No matter what he had to give up, Gage wasn’t letting Kayla go.

And that was why he’d married her. Not for the pack. Not to get intel on her boss. Not even because shemightbe able to give him children since her scent marked her as a genetic match for a shifter.

He’d just wanted her. So he’d taken her.

His head lifted. Her lips were swollen. Red. “Mine,” he said simply.

No one spoke.

Kayla glanced around. “Um…mine?” Kyla pointed at Gage’s chest.

The shifters roared their approval.

She winced.

Damn but she was cute.

Gage lifted her into his arms. She was all that mattered. She might not realize it, but he’d pledged his life to her with that one simple word.

Mine.

Mine to protect. To care for.

Mineto put above all others.

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