Page 5 of Wolf Claimed
“I didn’t exactly volunteer to come to this program. I was ordered to come here.” Not a total lie. Though a partial lie was still a lie.
A rumble moved through her body from deep inside her, the place she tried to ignore time and time again. She’d didn’t like lying to Maddox and Tiernan, but she had a job to do. That took priority over personal relationships.
“It seems this program receives all the cast-offs,” Maddox said in a voice that said he was amused by not joking.
“There’s more,” she said, checking in both directions first to make sure there weren’t any shifters listening in.
“No one’s nearby,” he assured her.
“Graves suspected. More than suspected. He had a photo that would. . . undermine me. I destroyed it and we. . . There was a fight last night. I swear he was alive when I left. Just not totally conscious.”
“Very nice, angel,” Maddox said with a smile.
“It’s not something to be proud of,” she said, snapping at him. She swallowed hard, trying to bury her anxiety over the situation. None of this was Maddox’s fault, and he wasn’t condemning her. He was on her side.
“I really thought he’d send everyone after me. That’s why I fled. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“You left?” Tiernan turned to Maddox. “And you knew, but didn’t tell me?”
“Rafe thought it might stress you and cause an issue with your wolf.”
Tiernan growled and paced a few steps away. He appeared to be struggling with his wolf. He probably would have lost control had he heard she was missing. Rafe had made the correct decision, but she could see how Tiernan felt left out.
“Why didn’t you come to us for help?” he asked, more concerned with her than why he’d been left out of the search.
“I didn’t want to drag you into my problems.”
“You don’t get how being part of a pack works,” Maddox said. “Your problems are our problems.”
She stared at them, stunned by their insistence that they were all part of a pack with each other, with her, no less. “Aren’t you even going to ask me about the evidence? What I’m hiding?”
“You’ll tell us when you’re ready,” Tiernan said. “Quite frankly, your past doesn’t matter. I need you, regardless of what you’ve done.”
I need you.That’s twice he had said that. That could explain his unfailing loyalty. That very fact saddened her. She thought their relationship had improved, but still he’d said those words which troubled her.I need you, instead of what she’d hoped to hear.I want you. I love you.
“You know nothing about females, Tiernan,” Maddox said, shaking his head.
“What did I do wrong? She’s my mate. I’ll protect her, give her everything she needs.”
“I’m not your mate,” Alyssa said, as she resumed walking, though away from the mess hall. She’d lost her appetite. “And I hate that word.”
“What word?” Tiernan said, chasing after her.
She spun around. “Need. Like I’m some means to an end. I need a wrench to tighten a bolt. I need another magazine for my Glock. I need you to stand up there to show everyone what a mistake you are—” She clasped her hands over her mouth, not believing what had spilled out. She’d never told anyone what her father had said to her.
“You’re not a mistake.” Tiernan’s soothing voice calmed her.
He wrapped large arms around her and pulled her in tight against him. All the feeling of worthlessness struck, threatening to pull her down into that dark pit, a place she’d never escape again.
Her stomach clenched, and she felt numb everywhere. Until Tiernan’s hand caressed her back, sending warmth and love through her. Maybe he did care for her after all, for more than her ability to calm his wolf.
“Whoever said that doesn’t know you,” Tiernan added.
“He knows me. Better than anyone,” she said, her voice muffled as she buried her head against Tiernan’s chest and inhaled the scent she loved so much. Like spring water. Fresh and clear.
Tiernan held her without saying another word. The part of her that always seemed on edge calmed and she found herself able to breathe. Maybe he didn’t have to want her. Maybe just being a decent person—shifter—was enough. It’s more than she’d had from dear old dad, shifter hater extraordinaire.
“This mating thing of yours. . . It’s for real, isn’t it? You’ll go feral without it?”
