Page 26 of Stalked By the Wolf

“Slaughtering that bastard made me realize I had to stop. Turning perverts over to the authorities was nolonger satisfying my wolf, and I didn’t want to be that monster I turned into when I ripped the flesh from his bones. So I moved to the states. Got a proper job. It wasn’t until this business with the McGregors that I started hunting again. Only this time, I was hunting for the bears that had hurt my pack.”

I let out a shaky breath.

“Hunting Murphy . . . well, let’s just say that it brought out a part of me I thought I’d gotten rid of.”

“The part of you that has to know everything to feel in control.”

He gives a jerky nod, and understanding hits me.

Sebastian has never had anyone in his life he could trust. Ever since he was a boy, he’s moved through life discovering the worst of the worst in humanity. It’s no wonder he feels the need to question everything — to know everything.

“So now you know all of my secrets,” he says quietly. “I know it doesn’t excuse what I did, but —”

“Thank you for telling me.”

Sebastian studies me for a long moment. “For what it’s worth, you’re not the woman I was expecting to find.”

“You mean astripper?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “I’ve never met someone who was quite so good. So . . . idealistic.”

“Sonaïve?” I supply.

A tiny grimace creases his face.

“So desperate to have someone love me that I’d accept whatever scraps Dane tossed me?”

“Wanting to be loved doesn’t make you desperate,” Sebastian murmurs, reaching up and ghosting his fingertips across my cheek. “It just makes you human. And you, my sweet human, are infinitely deserving of love.”

My breath catches at those words, and I feel a lump rise in my throat.

“You can’t even begin to comprehend the dark shit that goes on in my head,” he whispers. “When I first saw your videos online, I told myself that woman was too good to be true. That there couldn’t be someone like you left in this shit basket of a world, because if there was, then I was even more of a monster than I realized.”

My mouth falls open. Is that really how he sees himself?

“You are not a monster,” I say, holding his cerulean gaze so he can see that I mean every word. “You are good and kind. You hunt to protect others. You . . . You’re my avenging angel.”

A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. “I rather like that.”

Sebastian leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead. “For what it’s worth, I feel honored that my mate is the kind of person who takes in strays. Who loves so deeply and trusts so fully. And, if you let me, I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of that love and trust. To be worthy of you . . . and him.”

He reaches down to place a hand on my belly, and tears well up in my eyes.

Suddenly, I no longer care that Sebastian has seen into my past. He is my present and my future, and I want him to haveallof me — even the sad, rejected orphan who I’ve tried to disown.

I know now that my mate won’t reject any part of me, just as I’d never reject the abused shifter boy who grew into the man I love. We both have our scars, and somehow I know that he’ll love mine just as tenderly as I love his.

Slowly, I rise up and plant a soft kiss on his lips. I taste the salt of my own tears on my tongue, and when Sebastian’s mouth moves against mine, I feel that sad, festering hole in my heart start to heal.

Soon our gentle kisses deepen, and a warm ache grows between my thighs. Maybe it’s the mating bond — maybe it’s just Sebastian — but the need to be with him is so strong it almost hurts.

My body won’t be satisfied until he’s inside me.

A low groan rumbles up Sebastian’s chest, and I wonder if he feels it too. Before I can pull away to ask, my mate sweeps me off my feet and deposits me on the edge of the counter.

Cool air pricks my skin as he helps me out of my shirt, and my nipples pebble up beneath my bra. His gaze turns feral as he looks me over — his eyes golden like his wolf’s. My skin heats under his assessment, and my panties grow damp.

Sebastian deftly unbuttons my pants, and I lift my hips off the counter. My jeans and panties come downin one rough tug, and my mate’s nostrils flare as he takes in the sight of my bare lower half.

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