Page 6 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

He nodded grimly, but I could see the questions he wasn’t speaking out loud. The same questions I had, probably.

But to me, they didn’t matter. She wasmine, and the fact that she was human couldn’t touch that.

A soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and Kane went to let Olivia in. She was clutching a vial with milky yellow liquid inside and had an overflowing bag of what looked like medical supplies over one shoulder.

She stepped up to Brielle’s side as Fiona began to stir.

“I got a frogs-foot tincture from one of the maidens. It’ll help her energy come back.”

“Great idea. Let’s make a poultice and apply the mixture to her lower abdomen.” Olivia nodded at Bri’s instruction and got to work, pulling supplies from the bag.

Someone pounded on the door, and Kane sighed with exhaustion before crossing to yank it open again.

It was the blonde maiden from the gate, Dakota. “I’m sorry to bother you, High Alpha. But the head priestess would like to see you and your top men. Immediately.” She inched back even as she delivered the message.

“Tell her we’re on the way.”

* * *

No partof me wanted to leave Fiona, asleep and in a strange place. But I’d started this mess, and she was safe with Brielle and Olivia. Kane had set Dirge on the door before we left, and Shay was inside with the other women. My pack mates had her, and that had to be enough.

Head Priestess Marciana’s face was nearly as red as a tomato when we walked into her office.

“I demand to know why you’ve dishonored this sanctuary by bringing ahumaninside our walls. We’ll have to perform a cleansing ritual, and frankly, I’m considering tossing all of you ingrates out on your asses for the trouble.”

My wolf snarled in my chest, not appreciating her acerbic tone or the threats against our mate. But Kane held up a hand, keeping me silent.

“Priestess Marciana, I assure you we are very grateful for your protection, and there were extenuating circumstances. Reed was in the village when he saved a human woman who was being pursued byfourshifter males. She had a medical issue, and he brought her here for treatment. As you know, my mate is a doctor and also has a skilled healer apprentice with her.”

“I’m well aware of the omega-sealed healer and your mate’s talents, but surely your man is intelligent enough to understand that a human woman could be taken to thehumandoctors? Humans are verboten to the maidens. They are a threat to our kind, and we have no tolerance for them here.”

I was about to crawl out of my skin because the fury building underneath it was more than I could contain. She was threatening my mate’s safety and, beyond that, my pack’s safety. Claws sprouted from my fingertips, and thick fur spread along my arms, uncomfortable underneath my button-up shirt.

Kane must have felt my tenuous grip on my control through the pack bonds because he shot me a sharp look and sent a heavy wave of alpha power down the bonds, strong enough to make me sway on my feet and stop me mid-shift.

Not enough to knock me to my knees, though, not when my wolf was fighting this hard for control.For our mate.

“I’m afraid you find yourself at cross-purposes, then, Priestess,” Kane said, tone level in that way he reserved for politicians and unwilling allies. “Because the human woman has an omega seal on her palm.”

Marciana hissed. “That’s impossible! The sacred texts say nothing of omega-marked human females. It’s an abomination, and I mustinsistshe be removed from the premises immediately. Or my maidens shall remove her permanently.”

A vicious growl ripped itself from my chest, and a red haze descended over my vision.

Like fuck will you lay a finger on Fiona.

“Reed! Control yourself!” Kane snapped, Alpha command buffeting me in waves. But with the red haze, I barely felt a thing.

Three hundred years of perfect control, gone in an instant. I was a beast made entirely of rage, of deadly purpose. The priestess threatened my mate? She’d have to go through me.

My wolf exploded out of my skin, blazing heat the last thing I remembered before I surrendered to the feral haze and leapt.

FOUR

Fiona

My head was fuzzy, and my limbs were heavy. I blinked slowly up at an unfamiliar ceiling, trying to remember where I was and why. I had the strangest dream that I’d been walking in the woods when I’d been chased by wolves.

And then there was a man, the one from my dreams. He always saved me, no matter what nightmare chased me. His eyes were so blue, they couldn’t be real. But the squishy comforter pulled over my lower half was very real, the fabric soft and nice under my fingertips.

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