Page 61 of A Wolf's Heart

“Emma, anything between us will always remain between us. You are the closest thing to a friend I’ve ever had.”

“Friends?”

I smiled. “Of course.”

She cleared her throat, as if the thought of someone considering her a friend was enough to become emotional over. I blinked my eyes rapidly and looked back to Max, running my fingers through his fur.

“Okay. When Kage came to my pack territory, my alpha at the time had females lined up for him. My pack is known for producing quality breeding females.”

I groaned. “When you say it like that, it sounds like a sex ring.”

“I mean…if the shoe fits. I wasn’t allowed to be sold or traded, because, to my alpha, I was used and therefore damaged goods. He wouldn’t even give me away. I don’t want to go into too much detail. Kage chose me, he demanded me, and when hementioned the wordluna, my wolf practically jumped at the idea of connecting our pack with Cridhe Pack.

“I was so scared. I know what alpha types are like and, I mean, look at the size of him. I thought as soon as we got back to his territory, it would be the end of the distance and quiet he’d put between us. I was ready for him to act like ever alpha I had known. But he put me in my own condo, two floors down from him, and he never asked for me again. It took three weeks before my old pack alpha questioned how I was and if I was providing my services dutifully.

“I hadn’t even talked to Kage. I was given a credit card, access to drivers, and a fridge that was always stocked. Kage never asked more from me. When my alpha found out, he threatened to have me taken away. That’s when I was given duties. Cooking for him, working as a receptionist in the office, his personal assistant, I organize his life. He’s fine with me doing the bare minimum, though. He really doesn’t need me.

“And during your heat?”

“Are you sure you want me to tell you?” she asked, her tone laced with concern.

The odd thing was, as much as Rainor had made it seem like I was broken for not being bothered, it really didn’t bother me. The doctor bothered me—Emma didn’t. I felt at home with Emma. She reminded me a lot of my adopted mother, except my mother was human, so I couldn’t talk wolf things with her. “I’m fine,” I reassured her.

“My first two heats, Kage let me sleep through, but I think something happened because suddenly there was pressure on him to produce an offspring. The following two heats, he bred with me. I use that term because that’s all it was—breeding. I was provided with toys during my initial waves, given the choice of medication for the following waves, but during the main wave,the climax, he would walk in, do the job, not even look at me, and leave.”

“It’s so cold afterwards,” I whispered, mainly to myself.

“I had heated blankets and heating pads. Really, I preferred it that way. Kage and I have never clicked. I still shake around him, and not because of him, but because of who he is.”

“It’s odd, learning how intoxicating the scent of a female in heat is and then hearing that he only came in for his release and then left.”

“If there is one thing Kage Cridhe does exceptionally well, it’s denying himself any pleasure. Years of living under him, I have come to know this. The only reason he bred with me was to have offspring. It never happened, and so he gave me the option to sleep through it once again. I might be afraid of him, but Kage is afraid of anything that makes him happy. And he will do everything in his power to get rid of whatever causes him happiness.

“Be careful Lila. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’m okay. He gave me the option too. They brought the doctor out here.”

“Dr. Thatcher? She’s good, but she reminds me of Sheldon Cooper fromTheBig Bang Theory.”

I laughed. “Yes! The mannerisms! Mentally, I was comparing her to Amy Farrah Fowler.” Emma started laughing with me. I turned my head to the bedroom door, hearing arguing coming from the kitchen. “I should get going, but before I go, the heart thing?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. We got off topic. When a heart is consumed, the heart's power gets transferred from one wolf to the other, but there are some stipulations. One being, the wolf has to be alive at the time the heart is removed, and it has to be consumed immediately. The energy leaves the heart quickly.”

“This is really a thing.” I shook my head in disbelief. “How is this not illegal?”

“Well, it might not be against our laws, but it is frowned upon now. If people practice it, it’s done in private.”

“So, the triquetra doesn’t practice it anymore?” Somehow, I highly doubted that.

“There’s no point in them doing it anymore.”

“Why?”

“In order to get the full benefit of the heart’s power, you have to consume the heart of someone with greater powers than you. I mean, you could still gain something from consuming a lower-ranking wolf’s heart, but it just wouldn’t be worth it, it’s not enough to do anything. And that’s why I think the triquetra stopped—there’s no one around here more powerful than them.”

After Emmaand I finished talking, I sat back, staring at my computer, just zoning out and absorbing everything. From hearts, to alphaholes, to Emma and I needing another bottle of wine and a full evening together.

I walked out to the kitchen and set the laptop down on the counter. Max kept going, running out the doggy door. The counter to the kitchen was shaped like a U, so while I technically stood in the living room, I had both hands on the counter while staring into the kitchen.

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