Page 57 of Stealing Sloane

“Please, let me have her. Give her, her body back.” Jacob nuzzled the wolf’s neck. “I’ll take care of everything. Please.”

Slowly, her wolf’s presence ebbing away as her body returned to its human form. “Jacob,” she whispered. “Ronan, is he …”

“Breathing, unfortunately,” he growled. “But you sure did a number on him.”

“I hope it hurt.” Then for some reason, she burst into tears.

“Sloane … there, there … it’s okay.” He held her tight as a hand soothed down her back. “It’s okay, let it out.”

What was probably years of grief and sorrow poured out of her in that instant. She cried and cried until her throat was raw and her eyes hurt and there were just no more tears left. “Jacob … I have to tell you … I?—”

“Shh … don’t say anything.” Shifting her position so they faced each other, he cupped her hands in his. “We’ll talk later, okay?” He nodded back toward the battle, which was seemingly over, as most of the Lycans had shifted back into their human forms, their enemies neutralized.

“C’mon, let’s get cleaned up.”

Chapter 13

“We’ve got everyone secured,” Cliff reported. “The humans have been placed in a locked storage room, and Daric has administered a sleeping potion on them. Should keep ‘em knocked out until morning.”

“McCall is in a separate room,” Jackson said. “Chained up tight, but Austin is guarding him just in case.”

“Good,” Killian said.

“What about Forte?” Jacob asked.

“Alive,” Cliff said distastefully.

“But we’re not helping him along, though.” Quinn said. “He can heal his own fucking wounds.”

“I wanted to watch over him, but Dad didn’t want me anywhere near that bastard.”

Cliff looked ready to kill, which Jacob could understand. But there were consequences to killing an Alpha, even if said Alpha was a bastard who hurt his fellow Lycans.

“I can’t believe all of you came,” Jacob said. “I only asked Lizzie to watch over us in case something happened.” His father and uncles were there, but so were most of his relatives from New York and Shenandoah. Aunt Meredith had come, alongwith her mate Daric and oldest son Cross, who transported everyone to Boston using their powers. Astrid, their daughter and her mate Zac. Even Gunnar fought alongside them. Jacob had been stunned to see him, but before he could say anything, Gunnar sent him a knowing smile.

“Of course we came, son,” Quinn said.

“What about the consequences with the council? We invaded another Alpha’s territory. I don’t think Lucas Anderson will be happy with us either.”

“Let me deal with that,” Killian said.

“This isn’t about Alphas or territory,” Jackson added. “This is about family. And we protect what’s ours.”

Quinn nodded. “Damn right.”

“Whatever happens, we’ll face it together,” Connor, who was normally stoic and silent, said.

“Thank you, for everything,” Jacob said. “I should have said something earlier instead of just coming here, but I didn’t know what else to do.” He shook his head. “If the council or Alpha wants someone to punish, I’ll tell them this was all my idea. Sloane wanted to come here and kill Forte by herself. I couldn’t let anything happen to her. “

“We understand, son.” His father placed a hand on his arm and squeezed. “Believe me, we all do. She’s your True Mate, you’d do anything for her. You were probably terrified.”

I guess the secret’s out, he thought as all the men around him nodded or hummed in agreement. But then again, in this family, it was hard to keep anything a secret. “The True Mate part, I can handle. It’s the being stupid in love with her that’s scaring the bejeezus out of me.”

He wasn’t lying, he would burn the world for her. It wasn’t just about being True Mates. This was so much more. He loved her with his entire being. The words didn’t pass his lips, but his love for her was so much bigger than them both.

But he had seen her hesitation. If she didn’t love him back, he wasn’t sure what he would do.

Quinn laughed. “Don’t worry son, you can figure that out together. Just don’t be a dumbass. Tell her how you feel.”

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