Page 46 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“Yes, let’s go back to my room,” Reed practically purred against my back, his left hand creeping up to trace the underside of my breast in a way that was not at all appropriate for the audience we had right now. I grabbed his hand, dragging it back down to a safe spot and holding it there.

“I take it Reed isalsounder the influence of omega fertility juju right now?” I asked.

“Seems like it. If you’re uncomfortable being alone with him, one of the mated males can stay with him and ensure nothing inappropriate happens.” Kane’s expression held no judgment.

While under any other circumstance I’d have been more than happy to follow wherever Reed’s train of thought was obviously taking him, sleeping with him right now would be taking advantage, no different from if he were drunk or drugged.

“Will he still try to sleep with me if I tell him no?”

Kane shook his head. “His wolf will not ever allow him to take you against your will. No matter what is happening, your desires come first to the wolf.”

Okay, then. I could work with that.

I peeled Reed’s hands off me and took a step back so I could look into his eyes. “Take me back to your room. I don’t want to share you with any of these other women.”

He grinned, and I held up a hand. “But I’m not sleeping with you. You’re going to shift, and we’re going to wait this out.”

“I’ll see you both back to the room,” Kane offered, looking concerned at the mass of maidens who had gathered at the fringes of the courtyard, every one of them looking at Reed like he was the last brightly colored lollipop in a candy shop.

Jealousy stronger than I’d ever felt before made me want to do something stupid, like climb into his arms and kiss him while they all watched, so they’d know he was off-limits.

But the way Reed only had eyes for me… I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about. I could trust him.

For the first time, I was starting to understand what the mate bond was really about. He was mine, every bit as much as I was his. And I didn’t want anyone else touching him or looking at him like that.

“Alpha, before you go. It sounds like Brielle’s strength is too much for the shield with the diminished number of maidens we have here to support it. Your half-fae pack mate, Shay. Would she be willing to see if she can lend her strength to the cause?” Priestess Belleza seemed to have regained a measure of control, her serene smile back in place as she addressed the high alpha.

“I will send her to you as soon as I have these two settled.”

* * *

Reed’s doorclicked shut behind us, and he locked it with a flourish. His hands were in my hair before I could blink, tilting my head back so he had easy access to trace my lower lip with his tongue. The impressive bulge of his erection was distracting against my stomach, but I knew I had to end this, cut off the haze of lust before we did something he’d regret when he wasn’t under Brielle’s spell.

I lightly pushed on his chest, and he immediately stepped back, the hunger in his eyes undiminished by the foot of space between us.

“Reed, I do not want to sleep with you today, not like this.”

He frowned. “But, Fiona, we’re mates. You’re perfect for me. I’ve wanted you like this since the moment I set eyes on you in that bar. This? This is just the truth, dragged to the surface. Being together will only make our bond closer, tighter. I want that. I wantyou.”

Despite his impassioned words, he didn’t close the distance between us, didn’t push.

“Can I talk to your wolf, please? Is that a thing? Can you—” I stopped mid-sentence when his eyes began to glow, the stunning blue leaving me agape for a second. “Hi, wolfie. Human Reed isn’t himself right now, but we’re not ready to have sex yet. Not like this. Can you come out? I’d like to snuggle you until this weirdness passes.”

I bit my bottom lip and waited, but it was only a few seconds until Reed stepped back, and the shift took over. Fur sprouted along his arms, and everything about him seemed to blur until there was a wolf, large and black and intimidating, standing in front of me. But no matter how terrifying he might have looked, the eyes were the same.

His tongue lolled from his mouth, and he cocked his head to the side as if to ask,Where are those cuddles you promised, lady?

I took a tentative step closer, then another when his tail began to wag happily.

“Hey there, big guy. You’re way bigger than a normal wolf. Are all shifters like that?”

He yipped happily, and I took that for a yes.

“Well, we may as well get comfy on the bed, then, huh? Unless you want to play fetch or something?”

He snorted, then leaped onto the bed in one graceful movement. That was easy enough to interpret, so I climbed in after him, propping my back against a stack of pillows. He circled a few times, then lay down, his head in my lap.

I traced the soft, short fur on his head with my fingertips, humming a little tuneless song as I stroked behind his ears, tracing his eyebrows, exploring the insanely soft patch of fur under his neck, getting lost in exploring this other, wilder side of him.

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