Page 65 of Wolf Claimed
“I’m ready. Did I hurt anyone? I have images of a fight flashing through my head, but they’re disjointed and hazy.”
“Later, Tiernan. We have another problem to deal with first.” Rafe pointed to the two unconscious DSA agents.
“Why are they in cuffs?” Tiernan asked.
“A little payback,” Alyssa remarked, and he could hear the annoyance in her voice.
Rafe hoisted Gallagher and tossed him in the back of the SUV. “Can you drive, Artemis?”
“Of course I can. Can’t you?”
Rafe shook his head. “We let our wolves run whenever we can. No need to drive. Most packs have a truck and a few people who learn to drive to pick up building materials and supplies, but that’s it.”
“I can drive,” Tiernan said. “My alpha insisted I learn, for long-distance scouting assignments.”
“Long-distance? What exactly do you do as a scout?”
“Whatever my alpha orders.”
Rafe chuckled. “The definition of any job in a pack. Including that of the alpha heir.”
Alyssa reached out to Rafe with her free hand, and then pulled back when she realized he stood just outside her reach, intentionally keeping his distance.
Tiernan hated that look of hurt on her face. She’d sacrificed Rafe and Maddox to save him. He never wanted her to give up anything for him, especially the people she loved. And she did love them; he saw it in her eyes every time she was with them.
“There’s so much I don’t know about your world,” she said, trying to cover her disappointment. She motioned to their clasped hands. “I need to find something to wrap the cut on my hand until I can get stitches.”
“No need.” Rafe took her hand from Tiernan and ran his fingers along the palm in a very clinical fashion. “The wound has already sealed.”
There was no mistaking his intent, as medic or alpha in the situation and no longer her lover. Rafe understood the reality, but Tiernan wasn’t sure Alyssa did as she reached out to him again, and he stepped away. For as much as Tiernan loved Alyssa and wanted her to himself, he knew she needed Rafe and Maddox too.
Tiernan felt like curling up inside himself, ashamed that he’d stolen her happiness. Hiding from the situation, however, wouldn’t help anyone. He had a blood-bonded mate, and he had to do everything in his power to make her happy.
“The blood-bond is complete,” Rafe announced, his expression detached.
Normally, when a couple blood-bonded, the entire pack would gather and send up a roar when the alpha announced the bond complete. Not today, not in this situation.
“How do you feel?” Rafe asked him, with a congratulatory slap on the back and a strained smile. “I’m afraid there’s no time for a run.”
“What run?” Alyssa asked.
“Traditional run. The couple, followed by the pack. It’s not necessary, though. The mixing of blood is the only crucial element to form the bond.” Tiernan felt like a heel. He couldn’t even smile at his new blood-bonded mate because he knew what she’d given up for him. She’d saved Tiernan and lost her other two loves in the process. He wished he could give them to her; he’d do anything for her.
She smiled for him. A loose smile, but a smile, nonetheless. She understood the situation. As was typical of his female, she tried to make the circumstances better for all of them.
Tiernan looked inward for the bond to glimpse what she was feeling. He didn’t sense her yet. From what he’d heard from other shifters, including his parents, the bond would allow him to feel his mate, even when separated over great distances. He should sense her in his soul, but he felt nothing. Perhaps it took longer with a human.
With disbelief in her eyes, Alyssa stared at her palm as Rafe wiped away the blood and revealed her skin had indeed knitted.
“You received my ability to heal, but it won’t last,” Tiernan said, dismayed by that fact. A human. He’d actually blood-bonded ahuman. He’d never thought about the repercussions of that before. He’d been so focused on keeping his wolf from stealing control that his only concern had been to blood-bond and permanently stabilize his wolf. Tiernan hadn’t taken the time to prepare her, even for the basics of life with a shifter.
“Humans can’t retain a shifter’s powers, but the power of my blood heals your palm before dissipating.”
“That’s amazing,” she said, staring at her palm.
She was the amazing one, having risked herself for him.
“Do you think you can still shift?” Rafe asked.
