Page 41 of Promise of the Wolf Moon

“Des?”

He seemed frozen.

I felt anxiety and anger warring inside him. “What’s wrong?”

He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Were you a virgin when you mated Tillman?”

Apparently, he didn’t want to wait until our conversation for an answer.

“Yes,” I admitted. “And Tillman never mated with me.”

His eyes went wide as he cocked his head. “He never mated with you?”

“No.” I took a deep breath. “He had sex with me, but he never marked me. Never performed a mating ceremony.” I took both of Seff’s hands in mine. “He lied and broke every promise he made, not only to me, but to his pack.”

Seff squeezed my hand as he leaned in closer and nearly growled between his gritted teeth, “Did he hurt you?”

Hurtme? With my high tolerance for pain and what I’d allowed Till to get away with before I struck back, myhurtscale was probably far different from what Seff had in mind. As for the evidence of physical pain, Tillman had never been foolish enough to leave a mark on my skin.

Seff let off a low, rumbling growl. “He hurt you.” Not a question.

“He used words like weapons to wear me down, then used them as chains to tie me to him,” I said as I pulled my hands from Seff’s and wrapped my arms around his neck. “He lied. He was mean and manipulative. I got over what he did to me. I forgave myself for letting his treatment go so far. If you still want details, I’ll tell you. It’s not like he traumatized me, more that I was...disappointed. And completely pissed off.” I tilted my head and sighed. “I’ve never told my parents because it would hurt them to know. But it doesn’t bother me to talk to you about what happened. Though...” I curled my lip and made a funny face. “You may wish you’d had the chance to kick his ass even more than you do now.”

He didn’t smile. He only pressed his forehead to mine, closed his eyes, and breathed.

“Des.” He sighed, his warm breath skating over my face. “I swear—”

Thankfully, my phone rang in my jacket pocket and interrupted a moment I didn’t want to have out on a public street.

Seff let off a low growl through clenched teeth. Taking a step back, I reached into my pocket.

The name on my screen was a bit of a surprise, though.

I grinned and took the call. “Jessy!”

“Oh, Desarae, I am so, so sorry!”

My pack is dead.

My heart squeezed as the reason Seff and I were standing out on the street slammed back into me.

“Jessy—”

“Gunner told us. Me, Dain, and a couple of the other males are flying up to Billings.”

“Thanks—”

“And Seff Weylan?”

“How did you know about—”

“Jules called me, and I’m so damn glad he’s there with you.”

“Really? I thought you might not...”

Seff kissed my temple, then brushed my lips with his. “I’ll go on in and corral the twins.”

Jessy spoke up in my ear, “Might not what? Approve? Hell, yes, I approve! Des, I was so angry at him for challenging Dain, but I get it now. Dad told me sometimes the inklings of a bond may be felt through close family members, like siblings or cousins. Seff told Dain he’d felt something. Dad said the full moon probably added to that connection. How could I not forgive him when he saved my life and Simone’s life? And then he found Blaze out in the middle of fucking nowhere!”

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