Page 11 of Stealing Sloane

Patrolling had never been Jacob’s favorite task, but it was a necessary part of the job, albeit a boring one. It usually involved long hours of being alone and nothing ever happened, which, as his father had said, meant that they had done their job right.

In his wolf form, he was able to stay hidden among the shadows surrounding Stella’s property. Every hour or so he would walk the perimeter, though it was small enough that it wasn’t truly necessary. With his enhanced hearing, he could hear everything and everyone approaching the house. As they lay in the darkness in the far corner of the backyard, the wolf raised its head and sniffed, the dry, desert heat reminding him of another place—one they had called home.

Two years ago, he went on long term assignment in Zhobghadi, the mysterious desert kingdom in the Middle East. The ruler, a dragon shifter, had married a Lycan from their clan, and Jacob and another Lycan had been tasked to guard the new royal family. Truly, it had been one of the most memorable times in his life. The silence of the desert had been unnerving at first, but there was a peace he found nowhere else, except maybe his uncle’s farm in West Virginia.

But best of all, in Zhobghadi, he was just … Jacob. Not Selena and Quinn Martin’s youngest son or genius Lizzie and human rights lawyer Anthony’s younger brother. Not the hothead hybrid who almost burned down a TriBeCa loft or the temperamental and unpredictable youth who started fights because they were fun. Not the suave skirt-chaser with a revolving door of women to his bedroom.

It was almost like a new beginning for him, and he had a life that was all his own. In the oppressive heat of the desert, he could finallybreathe.

While he was happy to come back to New York to fight against their enemies and protect those he loved most, over the last few months, he’d begun to wonder what to do next with his life. His wolf, too, had grown restless. Perhaps that’s why he had started looking around him, trying to find the next step. Wondering when he, too, would settle down. When he could shed his reputation of being the irresponsible, unpredictable manchild most people thought him to be.

A noise coming from the house jerked him out of his thoughts, and his wolf raised its head toward the direction of the sound. A shadowy figure crept along the side of the house, making its way to the front lawn.

Go!

The wolf sprang toward the unsuspecting intruder, knocking it down to the ground, snapping its jaws in fury.

“Ow! Get off me, you moron!”

Sloane?

The wolf rolled off the female, shifting quickly back to its human form. “What the hell? What are you doing out here?”

Sloane scrambled to her feet. “Me? What are you doing, knocking me down?” She brushed her hands down her chest and torso. “Are you sneaking—” Her jaw dropped open as her gaze raked down his naked body, stopping at his now semi-hard cock.

Jacob could barely suppress his laugh. “My eyes are up here, pervert.”

She blinked a few times, then snorted as those pretty blue eyes rolled. “Nothing interesting down there anyway.”

“Sure.” The way her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets said otherwise. “What the heck are you doing out—” He stoppedshort as he saw the backpack she wore and his stomach dropped. “You’re leaving.”

“Ding, ding,ding,give the man another prize,” she said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

He swallowed. “Why?”

“Why do you care if I stay or not?”

“I don’t.” He took a step toward her. “But you’ll break Stella’s heart if you leave.”

Her lips twitched. “I’m doing this to protect her. You know this is the only way.”

“Cliff will protect her. We’ll protect her.”

“Exactly.” She put her hands up. “Otherwise, I’d be taking her with me. But I thought about it real hard. With Stella under Cliff and your clan’s protection, nothing will happen to her. I’ll feel better knowing she’s in good hands and that Ronan will never get to her.”

“And what about you?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “What about me?”

“Who’s going to protect you?”

“Ha! As if I need protection. I’ve been fine on my own for a whole year.”

“Sure, but what about the next year? What are you going to do? Keep running forever?”

Her mouth pursed tight, but the silence told him that she wasn’t planning on being on the run for very long.

“You’re gonna go after him, aren’t you?”

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