Page 83 of Wolf Mate

I had no doubt who that question was directed at.

“She’s exhausted and can barely stand,” Raffe bit out. “Back the fuck off.”

A faint smile spread across my face at his protectiveness. “I can try to stand. It might help me not to focus on how tired I am.” My words held a faint slur as if I’d been drinking.

“Ba—” Raffe cut himself off. “But you don’t have to.”

I was confident he’d almost called me babe. My legs shook more with each step, the exhaustion catching back up to me. “But if I tell you, I need you two to swear it stays between us. I don’t want Slade to know I’m sharing this in case he stops providing information.”

Raffe huffed. “Fine. I swear.”

“Me too,” Adam answered. “But what about Keith?”

“He’s kinda hotheaded, so—” I hated talking ill of their friend, but Keith was a wild card.

“We won’t tell him.” Raffe lowered his head so our eyes met. “I’ll alpha-will Adam if I have to.”

“No need.” Adam sighed. “I’ll keep it quiet.”

With that settled, I filled them in on what I’d learned tonight.

“Wait.” Raffe’s tone lost its warmth. “You’re telling me that using too much of your magic cankillyou, and you had the earth fucking cracking open tonight? What were you thinking?”

His words were like a slap, but even though my blood wasn’t doing anything, I understood the reaction.

Fear.

“I couldn’t control it. I thought someone was attacking us.” I refused to feel bad about that. I needed to focus on learning how to control it. “Believe me, if I could help it, I wouldn’t have made a scene in front of your dad or made the desk shake in class when you labeled me a pariah.”

Adam chuckled. “She has a point, man. But what you should be pissed about is Slade knowing all this and not sharing it with us.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Raffe huffed. “I’m sorry, Sky. About everything.”

My heart melted. I needed to tell him everything when we were alone. I couldn’t trust Slade anymore, and my gut said I could trust Raffe. Maybe together, Raffe and I could figure all this out and Slade wouldn’t be able to hold knowledge about me over my head.

As we stepped from the woods, Raffe said, “Adam, will you go grab something for her to eat and bring it back to her room? Snag something for me too. I want to make sure Slade doesn’t try something else.”

“Yeah, okay,” Adam replied. “I’ll be back soon.”

Raffe and I continued to the apartment, and when we stepped into the elevator, the edges of my vision turned dark. Raffe swooped me into his arms, and no matter how hard I tried to stay awake, snuggled into his chest and feeling safe, I succumbed to sleep.

I wokeup blanketed in Raffe’s arms again. I glanced at the clock. It was five a.m. Unlike last time, I felt almost like myself since Raffe had forced chicken noodle soup, a grilled cheese, and a chocolate chip cookie down my throat for dinner before carrying me to bed.

I lifted my head from his chest and stared at his face. He was always handsome, but like this, when he didn’t have the pressure of being what everyone expected him to be, he looked like a different person. Still handsome, but not as haunted and stressed. Add in his rugged good looks, delicious body, and protective, loyal, and smart characteristics, and I was certain I’d found my perfect guy. Which should scare the hell out of me.

His eyes cracked open, and one side of his mouth lifted up. “Are you watching me sleep? Because that’s fucking creepy.”

I laughed, my cheeks hurting. “If you think it’s creepy, why are you smiling?”

“Who said I didn’t like creepy?” He winked, but his smile dropped as worry creased his face. “Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? I can get you something to drink or eat. Just tell me what you need.”

For the first time in my life, I felt cherished. My body warmed, and I nodded. “I can think of one thing I need.”

“What? Anything.”

I kissed him, startling him, but he recovered within a second, and his mouth responded to mine. I licked his lips, begging for entrance, and he opened, allowing our tongues to collide.

My hand slipped down under his shirt, touching the curves of his abs. I wasn’t sure what to do since I’d never been with a man before, but the way his stomach quivered at my touch made me think he liked it.

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