Page 22 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“Can’t Kane handle that?” I wasn’t proud of myself for asking. As a rule, I knew and valued my role as Kane’s third, especially now that things were so fraught with the Omega Defense League and Interspecies Governing Council. But a new mate bond was absorbing, and I didn’t want to be pried from Fiona’s side.

“He’s already there, and he’s asking for you.”

I nodded, turning to Fiona, who watched the interaction with quiet focus. “I’m Kane’s third, which means I handle interpack politics and act as one of his advisers. If he’s asking for me, he has a task he needs me to take care of. Do you want to come with me, or?—”

“I can take her back to the Alpha’s room. The other Blackwater women are all there.”

I tried not to grimace at Galyna’s offer. It was considerate, but did I trust Fiona alone with her when her first reaction to their meeting had been to draw her sword?

“It’s okay, you’re important. You can go,” Fiona said, giving me a drawn smile and a pat on the arm. Something about her dismissing herself rooted me to the spot, Alpha calling or no.

“I don’t think you understand, Fiona.Youare important. To me. Your needs come first from here on out. So would you be more comfortable with me or with the women?”

“Umm, well… The women are great, and I’d like to get to know them all a little better, since they’re your pack. Plus I don’t want to keep you from your work, with everything seeming so up in the air here.”

She was perceptive, especially for someone so new to all this. I closed my eyes for a second, pressing my lips to her forehead and stealing one last pull of her scent to steady myself.

“Okay. I’ll see you to the Alpha’s room, and then I’ll go see what Kane needs me to do. Come on.” I stood, offering her my hand.

Ever since she’d broken the invisible barrier between us by initiating that kiss, I couldn’t get enough of touching her.

I would never get my fill of her, and she didn’t even know it yet.

TEN

Fiona

Reed ferried me back to the room I’d woken up in—apparently Brielle and High Alpha Kane’s room—pressing a swift kiss to my cheek in the doorway before jogging off toward the front gate. Galyna followed me in, and I was introduced to Leigh, the pregnant female Reed had mentioned earlier. She was yawning in a chair, both legs thrown over one arm swinging idly.

“Fiona!” Olivia greeted me with a warm smile, surprising me when she rose from her spot by the bed to hug me.

“Wolves really are a touchy-feely bunch,” I said with a chuckle as I returned her hug.

“Sorry, too much?” Olivia pulled back immediately and blushed, her fair complexion showing the flush all the way from her neck to her cheeks.

“No, not at all. Just… trying to keep up. This is a lot to take in.”

It wasn’t something I was used to—I was definitely not a hugger in general—but it was so naturally part of them that it didn’t bother me. I actually kind of liked it. It made me feel like part of the group, thefamily.

Leigh snorted sarcastically. “I just bet. Bri and Shay filled me in. So, you thought you were human until yesterday? That’s wild.”

“Yeah… Wild is a good word for it.” I followed Olivia to the edge of the bed and sat, idly running a hand over my hair.

“We were actually just talking about what your ancestor might have been. Do you want to tell us about your powers, maybe give us a hint to work with?” Brielle asked.

“And don’t worry, you’re not the only weirdo around here. We’re pretty much all strange, so you’ll fit right in,” Leigh interrupted, pointing to herself. “I’m half human, Shay’s part fae, so she’s got way more juice than the average wolf. Oli’s basically a plant genius who sleepwalks, and Bri’s an omega. That’s its own ball of wax.”

Blinking in surprise, I followed her finger around the room as she aired everyone’s dirty laundry like it was nothing. Could they really just accept my differences as simply as that? People didn’t justdothat. Though, they were wolves, not people, really.

Elodie laughed from her position by the window. “Damn, I’ve never felt like a normalchick being part of the enclave, but you five do make me feel boring. I knew I liked you guys.”

“Says the woman with a sword as tall as I am,” Brielle teased.

Elodie fingered her sword’s sharp tip like it was a puppy, not a deadly weapon. “But it’s so pretty!”

Everyone laughed at that, and even when all their eyes turned back to me, waiting, I somehow felt at ease. “I don’t really know much to tell you, I’m afraid. There’s the family rumors about Great-Grandma Nell and theblue man, but besides that, everybody else in my family is pretty normal. I mean, my mom has migraines, and I have a seizure disorder. But those are pretty garden-variety human ailments.” I smiled, trying to sweep the illnesses under the rug. I didn’t like to talk about my seizures; I liked to pretend they didn’t exist.

“So your grandma—the child of the blue mystery man—didn’t have any strange physical features or any odd habits?” Shay asked.

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