Page 84 of Wolf Claimed
After unlocking Maddox’s cuffs, she returned to Tiernan and splayed her hands on his chest. “I’m not good about expressing how I feel, Tiernan. I’ve found it’s easier to hold things in than share them. And being with three males at once is confusing at times. But I do appreciate you and everything you do for me, very much.”
His mouth opened as if he wanted to say more, but he merely nodded.
“I love you,” she continued. “Blood-bond or not. We’ll figure out how to make this all work. And I mean all four of us.”
“Not me, angel,” Maddox said, rubbing his wrists. “I had a job here, and that didn’t include forming a new pack.”
“But we are a pack,” Rafe said. “Like it or not, Maddox, that’s exactly what we’ve become.”
“And you’d have me report to you, Heir? I already have an alpha.”
“That asshole Drake?”
“Say what you want about him. I’ll agree and tell you more than you can stomach to hear, but he’s still my alpha. I can’t leave him or my pack without breaking my oath. Not unless he releases me, and Drake doesn’t release shifters.”
“Don’t you mean assassins?” Tiernan said. “You killed Graves.”
“I didn’t lie about who I am. A border guard.”
“A guard who killed Graves.”
“I had orders.”
The room fell silent for several heartbeats.
“You lied to me. To all of us,” Alyssa said, not sure if she was hurt or stunned by his confession.
“I never lied to you. You assumed you knew why I was here. You never asked.”
“If I had, would you have told me?”
“There was no need. You weren’t involved, or rather you shouldn’t have been.”
“Damn you, Maddox!” Rafe cursed. “You were working against us the entire time. Your alpha sent you here to destroy the treaty.”
“Just the opposite. My alpha’s built up a network of spies over the years. Drake’s a bastard, but he’s smart. One of our spies found out that the WSSO had sent a mole to sabotage the program. I never expected it to be a DSA agent, but the one thing you learn in my pack is to suspect everyone.”
She felt the weight of Maddox looking at her. “You thought I was the mole, didn’t you?”
“You were the only female here. Females are good at luring and distracting males. It fit.”
When she tried turning away, he caught her by her arm. “But I came to know you quickly, angel. Your scent when you were telling the truth, and not. I knew you were hiding something, but I also knew you didn’t hate shifters. Your heart was too open and giving.”
“I was sent to find the mole as well,” she confessed. “We could have been working together.”
“Ironic, I guess. It’s a shame. We could have had fun working together. Well, more fun,” he said with a grin.
“I guess we never fully trusted one another.”
His hand caressed her cheek. “I trust you as much as I can trust anyone. But even back in Hanson, when you told me your true purpose here, it didn’t change a thing. My alpha ordered me to stop the mole. Permanently. Those weren’t your orders. And I would not ruin your life by making you my accomplice.”
“As I said, an assassin,” Tiernan scoffed.
“I take orders, just like you, scout,” Maddox bit back. “Like Rafe said, this treaty is important. Even my asshole of an alpha recognizes that. But he’s not exactly one to play by human rules. When he sees a threat, he neutralizes it.”
Alyssa tried to absorb what he was saying, and what he’d done. He’d known for a while now about her assignment. He’d known Graves was the mole, but he’d never let on. But he had stayed to dig her out of the mess Gallagher and her fellow agents had caused. He could just as easily have left once he’d killed Graves.
Rafe shoved Maddox into the desk. “You’ve endangered the treaty by killing a DSA agent.”
