Page 113 of Dark Shadow of Guilt

“How do you know? I mean, I felt something, but...”

Dom searched inside his body. He envisioned a thread. “Our hearts are tied together.”

He felt her lips curl up against his skin. A smile. “Are you okay with that?”

“I love you, Maddy. We were already one.”

But what should have been a cheerful moment was shadowed by gloom. Though he wanted to protect Maddy, he had, instead, put her in jeopardy.

Chapter Thirty-One

The next morning, Maddypropped herself on an elbow to stare at the still-sleeping Dom. Her mate. After a sinful amount of time ogling him, she slipped on her robe and sneaked out of the bedroom. Padding across the salon, she walked down the steps and flopped to the grass on the side of the house.

Last night was big. She and Dom had mated. She’d drunk his blood and broken a law. Maddy waited for her OCD to kick in. But, surprise, she was not compelled to re-organize the canned goods in the kitchen or recite the Dewey Decimal Classification System. Her quirks had faded.

Maddy stretched out her legs and leaned back on her hands. A warm breeze blew across her face, ruffling her hair. She tilted toward the rare sunshine.

A warm, furry body curled up beside her. “Hey, Freki. Isn’t it a little early for you?”

“Yes, but I’m in charge of the pack runts today. Brought them on an outing.”

Maddy glanced across the lawn to the edge of the cliff. Sure enough, five wolver pups ran in circles, play-attacked, and piled atop each other. “Cute.”

“Trouble.”

Without warning, the ground shook and rolled, not as bad as sometimes, but disorienting. Maddy stumbled to her feet, throwing out her arms for balance. The pups yelped and howled. When she glanced their way, they bounced frantically, calling for help. She and Freki raced to the cliffside. A pup had tumbled off the edge, lying crumpled on a rock below with its head twisted at an unnatural angle.

Freki called out, “Bolt.”

No answer.

Maddy fell to her stomach and reached as far over the side as she could. She wasn’t able to grab the unmoving ball of fur. “Just a little more. Freki, you and the pups sit on my feet. I think I can scoot far enough to grab him.”

“Too dangerous, Maddy. You could slip over the side.”

She had to try. “No. I think I’ll be okay.” The pup still hadn’t moved.

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