Page 23 of A Wolf's Heart

My movements turned to stroking. Her eyes were on me while Weylin jumped in front of me, the bullet snagging into his flesh. Still, she watched me, her target, every bit the predator we were.

It was the curl of her lip when she realized she hadn’t hit me. It was the glare of her eyes as she cocked the barrel again, readyto fire a second time. It was the way she held herself strong and true that had me on the brink of coming.

Shit. My balls were ready to explode. What was I doing? I gripped the rail with one hand and my cock with the other, a drop of pre-cum dripping from the tip and onto my fingers.

I held tighter.

A curse slipped, and I fell forward into the wall, the pain keeping me from finding a release. I held tight, no matter the agony, refusing myself the satisfaction of finishing to thoughts of Lila, the wolf that would be the undoing of this pack.

The wolf that was nothing but temptation and sin, attempting to pull us down. The wolf I had warned the other two to stay away from not moments ago.

After a few deep breaths, I was able to release my hold, tucking myself back into my pants, feeling the throb and bruising while I pulled up the zipper. Every time I was reminded of her, I would think of this ache.

Of the pain she caused, even if she had only generated it in my mind. It was safer for it to be in my head than to feel it in my heart.

The underground hallswere filled with Weylin’s team members coming and going in and out of rooms. Every time I passed by a group, they would stop and step to the side until I passed. I ignored them; they didn’t need any acknowledgement from me. They took their orders directly from Weylin.

The halls themselves were sterile. Unlike above ground, there was no need for pleasantries here. Down here, it was bare walls and bare halls. I turned towards the arena and entered the viewing suit where Rainor stood.

“Your plan to keep us away will not work.” I could hear the slight shake under his voice. “Each passing day her scent lessensis another day the beast demands more control. I am slipping, Kage.” He turned to face me, his eyes rimmed with the red.

“We will fight it out.”

Rainor shook his head. “He doesn’t want blood. He wants her.”

“Can you trust that he won’t claim her?”

He said nothing, he didn’t have to. He couldn’t trust that monster with anything. We turned towards the window and watched Weylin in wolf form go head-to-head with members of his team. I recognized one as head of security for my building, he was a worthy opponent.

“He still bleeds,” I said.

“The silver wound is slow to heal. Slower still that he refuses any treatment.” Rainor paused before continuing. “It is unnatural to ignore a fated mate.”

“I want no more talk of this!” I ordered. “Mates can be rejected.”

He was practically vibrating now. “Let me see her.” His voice was a mixture of himself and the beast. The beast never scared me, though. I had gone head-to-head with him on more than one occasion.

“No,” I bellowed, ready to shift here and give him the fight he so desperately needed.

“You have to!”

“Why?”

Rainor slammed his hand against the viewing window. “That’s why! Only, this time, you won’t be able to stop me.”

I turned and looked through the glass. Weylin stood in his human form, naked, as he assisted his men back up to their feet after defeating them. Bright blood still dripped slowly from the healing gunshot wound on his arm, but that wasn’t what Rainor was talking about. Covering the left side of Weylin’s shoulderand chest was the most gnarly, ripped-up, gruesome scar I had ever seen on a shifter.

That day, the beast had gotten a taste of Weylin’s heart. I had nearly failed them both. I had promised I would never let that happen again. This was my pack. I was in control.

“Let me set boundaries for him,” Rainor said as I turned to face my second-in-command. “I can’t guarantee he will obey, but cutting the beast off completely will not work.”

“We can’t, Rain. We worked so hard to get to where we are now. We can’t allow ourselves to fall into temptation. It’s a test.”

“Not everything is a test, Kage.”

A tap at the viewing window drew my attention back to Weylin. He stood in front, looking through the glass at me. “I’m making her my partner.” He yelled in order to be heard through the bulletproof barrier.

I raised an eyebrow.

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