Page 153 of The Wolf King's Mate

“I’ll show you where he was, and you can tell me.”

She nodded, and we shifted.

Our wolves didn’t mind the mess on their skin and fur.

They rubbed up against each other, rumbling and snuggling, before they slipped into the forest. My wolf showed Aspen’s the way, and we recognized the scent when we caught it.

Jake.

He must’ve heard my mate’s cries.

That fucker was dead.

“He was close enough that it should’ve pulled him in,”she said.“Simon was much further when it hit him.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

We would.

And then I’d kill him.

My wolf salivated at my mental image of tearing him apart. He was a bloodthirsty bastard even more than I was.

“Do you think it’s because we’re mated?”she asked me, as we ran. There was hope in her voice.

“I don’t know. I can’t focus on anything except killing that fucker.”

“You can’t kill Jake,”she protested.“You… need him to protect me.”

My wolf growled.

“You belong to me, remember?”she asked.“So if I say you can’t kill Jake, you can’t kill him.”

“That’s not how it works, Princess.”

“I’m your mate. That’s exactly how it’s going to work,”she growled back.

Grudgingly, I had to admit that she had a point.

If I wanted her to fall in love with me, I had to let her make some rules. Even if I hated those rules.

I spent the rest of the run back focused on trying to calm my anger. If Aspen wanted me to leave him alive, I had to figure out a way to leave him alive.

twenty-six

ASPEN

Enzo’s wolfdidn’t stop at our room for a shower, despite the filth that we were currently covered in. He ran past the Lodge and around a corner, skidding to a stop when he found a shirtless Jake sitting among a group of other men who were gathered around a firepit.

Jake’s grin vanished when he saw the snarling monster facing him, and it didn’t return when Enzo shifted.

The voices of everyone around the fire quieted.

Jake stood and lifted his hands in the air. “I didn’t know you were out there.”

My wolf didn’t give me control, and I didn’t dare try to take it back. Ending up naked and on my ass in front of all those men definitely wouldn’t help the situation.

Enzo’s chest rumbled with a furious growl.

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