Page 40 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“Is that what you’re telling yourself? That you’re doing thenoblething, skipping out on us? What utter bullshit. You’re running scared.” She stiffened as I whispered against her ear. “Shit got real, you found out you’re incredibly powerful, and you didn’t like it. So instead of facing up to what happened tome, you’re going to run away with your tail between your legs. I thought better of you, Stormy. I really did.”

I tutted, goading her with every slow click of my tongue.

She spun, fury flashing in her eyes as she glared up at me. For a split second, they flashed amber before her normal color returned. “Of course I’m scared, you ass! I nearlykilled you. I’m not leaving because I think it’s going to be fun to figure this out on my own, I’m leaving because I couldn’t bear to live with myself if I hurt you again!” She shoved at my chest, pitifully weak compared to my wolf-augmented power.

I grabbed both her hands, pinning them to the mattress behind her back.

“Stop that,” I snapped, and on instinct, I leaned forward, capturing her lips with mine, nipping and sucking at her lips, demanding she open, give in to me.

Fiona hesitated only for a moment, and then she ground her breasts against my chest, giving as good as she got with lips, teeth, and tongue. Satisfaction, hot and deep, rose within me as she told me the truth with her body that she couldn’t with her words.

She wanted me. Every bit as much as I wanted her. She was just afraid.

My Stormy girl was afraid.

I let go of her hands, sweeping my fingertips into her gorgeous dirty-blonde locks, angling her head and deepening the kiss. Stroking and demanding, taking every single ounce of connection she offered me until she was gasping, chest heaving, eyes wild when I pulled back.

Keeping my grip on her secure, I forced her head back until she was fully at my mercy, staring up into my eyes with need and resignation.

“Stay.”

One word, one simple command.

“I can’t.” Her voice broke, sobs racking her body as she crashed with a different kind of energy against my chest.

I held her close, stroking her back and whispering soothing words as she cried herself out. When the sobs had turned to hiccups, I gently stroked her jaw, urging her to look at me again.

“You can. No one here wants you to go. Especially not me. Discovering your powers is a terrifying time. You can feel out of control, dangerous, guilty… But we’ve all been there. Every one of us was once a young wolf with too much power and not enough maturity to handle it. You’ve actually got a leg up, getting to adulthood before it happened to you. Itwillget better. I promise.”

“But the pack… I can’t even look any of them in the eye. Not even Olivia. I’m so ashamed, Reed.” She buried her face in my chest, and my wolf was practically preening at the fact that she was turning to us for comfort in her distress. Smug bastard.

“Ah, Stormy. They’re not judging you. You havenothingto be ashamed of. I bet all of them would happily tell you the stupid stuff they did as young wolves, when their powers first came in.”

She sniffled but had a slightly more hopeful expression when she looked up at me again. “Really?”

“Really. Now, about this plane ticket. You’re not going. You want to see destruction? I’d go feral if you tried to leave me at this point. My wolf… He’s not willing to let you go.”

One side of her mouth twisted into a wry smirk. “Just your wolf, huh?”

“No, Stormy. You’re mine. I want you by my side, forever.”

“Just like that? We still know so little about each other. What if you hate the way I eat spaghetti or how I say the wordfakakta?”

I snorted at the idea that I’d be put off by something so petty.

“Not even the seizures? They don’t happen super often, but… I’ve had epilepsy since I was a kid. It’s not going away. And now that my powers are stronger, I don’t know what I might do when I have the next one.”

I shook my head, searching for the right words to explain to her how I felt. “I don’t think you get it yet. But you’re it for me. There is nothing about you that could put me off or deter me. If you’re really set on going home, I’ll go get my own suitcase and tell Kane he needs to buy a second ticket because I’m going too. Seizures are part of you, and I want all the parts of you. Even the ones you think are broken or scary.”

A stray tear ran down her cheek at that, and she dashed it away. “I can’t tear you away from your pack right now, Reed. That would be just as bad as… well, before.” She ducked her head, refusing to meet my eyes as she continued. “There’s been stuff happening the past week while you were out. I didn’t understand all the details, but… something’s wrong with the barrier. It’s got a big crack down the center of it, and some group called the ODL? I don’t know precisely what’s happening, but apparently, someone’s castle was set on fire yesterday. Theyneedyou.”

I ground my back teeth as I listened, cursing my stupid body for taking so long to heal. That would have been Kane’s father’s castle—his ancestral home—which they’d torched like low-rent vandals. It made my blood pressure rise, and I vowed there and then that we were going to nip this problem in the bud, once and for all. They’d get their recompense, no matter what it took.

But I couldn’t do anything about that if I was splitting my attention between that and worries about my mate running off and getting herself hurt or being chased by other wolves.

I tipped her chin up, using my fingertips. When her eyes met mine, I couldn’t help but smile. Even tearstained, she was the most stunningly gorgeous creature I’d ever seen. My other half, my perfect match.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I grabbed her suitcase, zipping it and then plucking it off the bed. “What’s it going to be, Stormy? Is this suitcase coming back to my room, or do I need to go pack?”

---