Page 78 of Wolf Claimed
“Are you talking personally, because it seems as if you can’t let go of her,” she said, staring into his eyes. “Damn, I’m sorry. I have no right telling someone else how to grieve. Look at me, jealous of someone who died.”
“Why are you jealous of her?”
“Because she still has your heart. You’ve built a wall around it and won’t let anyone else in.”
Maddox closed his eyes. He’d made his peace with what he’d done to Isabella, and he’d let go of her, not that he’d ever forget her. Alyssa didn’t understand. She’d already taken over his heart, more completely than he’d thought possible.
“I can’t be with you without blood-bonding you,” he said, hoping she’d let it go. “It’s just not right. You’d always be Tiernan’s.”
“I’d be all of yours. Equally.”
“The blood-bond is what ties us. Even if we don’t feel it at first. At some point, you will feel it. And that’s when Tiernan’s wolf will rise up, not feral, but protective, possessive. I’ll have to leave. As will Rafe. He just won’t admit it yet.”
“It may or may not happen,” Rafe added from the front seat. “I’d rather take the chance it won’t happen instead of giving up on her. On us.”
She hugged Maddox tighter. Fuck, he didn’t want to leave her.
“The plan,” Tiernan interrupted. “We’re almost there. And I’m still not happy about the plan.”
“Artemis goes in, meets with the other humans. We hang back, form a perimeter fifty yards out, close enough to reach her if she needs us and far out enough to stand guard for any shifters in the area.”
“That leaves her alone with six humans.”
“I can handle six humans,” Alyssa said, rolling her eyes. “You guys are too protective.”
“Get used to it,” Rafe said.
“And if Gallagher is there?” Tiernan asked.
“Even better,” Alyssa said. “He wants the killer.”
“And you,” Maddox added. His angel seemed to forget she was being targeted by more than one group.
“That’s why you’ll be watching me from the distance, 86.”
Nowshe called him 86. “You’re such a troublemaker.”
“Which is why you love me,” she laughed as she kissed him on the cheek.
That devilish expression stirred him all too easily. She was doing everything she could to entice him. “Yes, that’s why I love you,” he admitted.
She beamed at his words. He felt like a fly who’d flown right into her trap, but he’d gladly let her tie him up and take her fill of him. “That’s also why you’re going to stick to the plan and not do anything rash that puts you in danger.”
“I have Darla,” she said, patting the gun in her boot.
Another kiss made him forget the wise-ass retort he’d planned to deliver. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to leave her unprotected. Forget fifty yards. He’d be no more than twenty away. She just wouldn’t know it.
They hid the SUV two miles out and approached the DSA facility on foot. The twenty-foot fence barely slowed them down. Alyssa scaled the fence nearly as fast as Tiernan. But she couldn’t shift, so the two miles took longer than usual. Not that Maddox minded. He enjoyed being with her. He hoped during their hike that Rafe would come to his senses and put an end to this plan of hers.
As much as Maddox wanted to clear her name, he didn’t want to risk her. Despite her skills, just being in the middle of this situation put her at risk, but he deferred to Rafe on the matter. Alphas had a better sense of the full picture, and Rafe remained level-headed under pressure. Maddox would do what he did best. Guard.
Alyssa knew exactly where to find the humans. In the only place the shifters never went. The gym. Shifters didn’t believe in lifting weights and doing crunches. They ran in the woods, sparred, hunted game, learned to survive.
“I’ll be fine, Rafe,” she said, leaning back against Maddox’s front as Rafe went over the plan one last time.
Maddox slipped his arm around her waist. “Let him talk, angel. Alphas need to lecture. It’s part of the job description.”
“You’re not being fair to him,” she said, easing out of Maddox’s hold.
