Page 78 of Fated to the Wolf Billionaire

“That’s what I thought. So now I’m going to finish packing, and we’re going to hope wherever we stay in Las Vegas has a good laundry service, because everything I own smells like feet. And if you’re a very good wolf, I’ll read you the next book in that series we started back at the enclave.”

I snorted at her cheeky smile, resisting the urge to plant a kiss on her lips and follow through on my desire for good old-fashioned make-up sex. But the blue flush was still there, her amber eyes still blazing, and I knew it was risky.

“I will see to it that your laundry is taken care of us as soon as we land. But, I have a question for you I never asked,” I said, sitting on the bed next to her bag.

“What’s that?” she asked, mollified now that my wolf had agreed to let her come along.

“Did you make the ceiling fall when the trolls were attacking us? You said you’d worn yourself out, but I never followed up with what happened.”

“Because you were blown away by my sex appeal?” She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively, and the last of the tension of our fight left me, my shoulders finally relaxing without the pressure.

“Blown away is putting it mildly, Stormy girl. But usually when your powers flare up, it’s impossible to miss.”

She sighed. “I’m not really sure, but it was difficult to get anything to happen down here. Maybe because we’re underground?”

I pondered that, staring at the heavy book on the side table that she still hadn’t been able to read.

“When we were on the bridge, you said ‘By the power of water, our bond be sealed.’ I didn’t question it at the time, but it rained on us as we left the bridge until we were soaked to the skin. I think your power might require water to be the most effective.”

She pursed her lips, considering, then shrugged. “It’s as good a guess as any, and it could explain why I turn blue.”

“Maybe you need access to water to read the book.” I stood, pressing a kiss to her forehead as I reached for my own luggage.

“Maybe so. But I’m not going to test that theory while we’re on your jet.”

“Probably for the best.”

THIRTY-NINE

Fiona

Saying our farewells to Leigh, Gael, and Elodie was bittersweet. We had come together, so it felt weird to be leaving them behind only two days later once Elodie was finally stable, even though a small part of me was excited to get a little more one-on-one time with Reed. We’d already slept together and been permanently marked with mate signs, but we still hadn’t even been out on a real date or had the awkward conversations about our families and past. It was a lot of cart before the horse, even though it somehow worked.

When we walked into her room, Elodie was still pale as a sheet, propped up in the bed with so many pillows, she looked like they would swallow her up, but she was smiling, and her grip on my neck was strong when I hugged her goodbye.

“I hate that I can’t come with you guys. You could pick Galyna up from the enclave on your way, but with you not pregnant… it would draw unwanted attention to have a warrior maiden along. Unfortunately. Don’t go getting knocked up, though.” She fake scowled, wagging a finger when she released me.

“I’m definitely not pregnant, I’ve got that covered.” I rubbed the spot in my arm where I had my long-term birth control rod implanted.

“That’s probably for the best. Times are tricky right now to be pregnant, isn’t that right, Petal?” Leigh groused even as she smiled down at her belly and rubbed the side.

“I bet. I’m definitely not ready for a kid any time soon.” I glanced at my own palm, then quickly tucked it into my pocket. Out of sight, out of mind. I wouldn’t be stopping my birth control until this entire omega mess had been taken care of. The alternative was too awful to consider.

But when I looked over at Reed to see if he was thinking the same thing, his expression was troubled, his stare fixated on my arm.

I hadn’t mentioned the birth control before, but surely he didn’t expect me to have jumped in bed with him completely unprotected, right? Did wolves really do that?

A question for later.

After our goodbyes, things moved quickly. A few gold coins slipped to the mining carts out front of the medical center, and we were zipping at breakneck speed out of Neftheim, through the chaotic outer boroughs, and back up to the long, endless exit tunnel.

But before we could disembark from our mining cart on the loading platform, the dwarf manning the platform waved us to stay still, then pushed up his sleeve, revealing a control pad I hadn’t noticed when we’d been coming into the city. He pressed a button, and our cart zipped out to the side, a little track that didn’t seem to get much use, and continued zipping along, this time through a side tunnel with a steep upward tilt.

What had felt like hours coming down was over in less than ten minutes by cart. Clearly the king wasn’t joking when he said he wanted usgone. I wasn’t offended, though, because I hadn’t liked him or his stuffy attitude either.

Reed pasted on a smile for the dwarves at the smaller platform near the surface who helped us out of the cart and past the magical curtain that blocked the tunnel mouth.

Just like that, we were alone on the surface. When he turned toward me, the fake smile was gone. “I knew Cysernaphus was angry that we didn’t take him up on his sauna offer, but making us walk the whole tunnel with our bags was a special touch.”

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