Page 35 of Wolf Desired
“Graves wasn’t there. I had to talk to his secretary, convince him that swapping Jason for Artemis is in everyone’s best interest.”
“He agreed?” Maddox asked, surprised the human complied so easily.
“I refused to leave until he did. I sat there with my arms folded over my chest, staring at him. He gave in quickly. He’s human.”
“So, it’s official then? She’s part of our team, and we got rid of that annoying human.”
“Artemis is under our direct protection now.”
Kingsley wouldn’t bother her again. Not if he was smart.
“You went to a lot of trouble for her,” Maddox said, his eyes and ears still directed toward her and Tiernan.
“Not for her. For Tiernan. I owe him. He helped me get the vaccine for my pack. And he’s a decent shifter.”
“You’re not a good liar, Rafe. You have a tell. You want Artemis for yourself.”
“I do not want—”
“Your entire body stiffens when you’re hiding something,” Maddox added. He wasn’t one to play games. It was a waste of time, and he’d seen enough of it in his pack to know it only caused trouble.
“Idon’thave a tell,” Rafe insisted as he shuffled his feet, trying to loosen up. “Fuck. You’re right.” Rafe’s hand sifted through his hair, looking unsettled.
“Just say it, Heir. Whatever it is, I guarantee it won’t shock me.”
The shifter’s green eyes focused on the woods toward Tiernan and Artemis. No doubt Rafe had scented or heard them as well. “It doesn’t matter what I want. Tiernan needs her.”
“Does that bother you?” Maddox asked, curious about how the shifter felt about her.
“I’m the alpha heir of my pack. I can’t risk losing my abilities by blood-bonding a human. I need a strong shifter. But that doesn’t mean I can’t watch over her. She’s—”
“Special,” Maddox finished for him, realizing he had something in common with the alpha heir after all. Artemis. From that first day, standing in line, scrutinizing every other person in the training program, Maddox’s entire body had grown all-too-aware of Artemis in a way he never had with Isabella. Perhaps that was because Isabella and he had been drawn to each other out of need, not passion. They’d had a mutual respect for one another and shared goals of survival. They had blood-bonded because they’d both been lonely and she’d needed protection from the other males in their pack, the ones who had no honor. They’d never developed any true passion. Nothing like this driving need he had to claim Artemis. He had to be careful not to let how he felt about Artemis affect him.
“You’re playing a dangerous game,” Maddox cautioned. “Tiernan considers her his, and there’s something you haven’t thought about, even if Tiernan weren’t a factor.”
“What is that?”
“Artemis. She’s afraid of shifters.”
Rafe didn’t argue with Maddox. Despite her bravado, Artemis was uncomfortable around shifters. She watched every little move they made, observed how they interacted, seemed to be cataloging everything she could about them like she expected to be attacked any minute.
And yet, she showed how strong she really was by pushing past her fear and interacting with them every chance possible.
“Here.” The alpha heir slammed a manilla envelope against Maddox’s chest. “We’ve been given our first assignment. It involves going into one of the nearby towns and infiltrating a drug den that funnels money to one of the anti-shifter groups.”
“Never thought the DSA would give us anything real to do,” Maddox said, letting the topic of Artemis drop. “Why now?”
“Are you suspicious about everything? Or just the humans?”
“It’s how I stay alive in my pack.”
“I bet no one ever got past you on the border.”
“No one does, but that’s not what I was talking about.”
“White wolves. I forgot. And yet you’re not as domineering as the white wolves’ reputation.”
“That’s a compliment coming from you. Now my life’s complete.”
