Page 62 of Love Bites

“Hell, yeah,” Gideon growled with a smile.

Brynn rolled her eyes then came to the couch to sit next to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tucked her close. She was so dominant that it was rare she’d let him hold her like this. The fact that she seemed to need it spoke volumes.

“You going to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “Not yet.”

He nodded then rubbed his chin over her head. Brie came around to Brynn’s other side and set the coffee mug on the table before wrapping her arms around his sister.

“We’re here when you need us,” Brie said softly. “You don’t have to hold it all in.”

Brynn pulled away to smile at both of them. “With Brie here, I don’t think anyone can hold back their thoughts for long.”

Gideon grinned at his sister then his mate. “Sounds about right.”

He tucked his girls closer, his wolf content in their presence. He’d do anything for his Pack, for his family—even if it meant waiting for the right time to help.

This hunt was goingto be different, Gideon thought, the feeling deep in his bones. This time it wasn’t Brie’s introduction to the Pack, but rather a moment where she was part of the Pack. The moon rode high in the sky, the tension in the air palpable. It was a different tension though, not unwelcome. His wolves needed their run to be able to let their animal side roam. No one was staring at Brie as though she was a newcomer this time.

There might still be some resentment, but he didn’t feel it like he had before. He had a feeling Brie’s insistence at taking over some of his duties had helped—plus the way she’d cared for the others when the explosion had hurt so many. She’d been cut and bruised but had stood by his side. There was a strength there that others hadn’t seen because they hadn’t been looking beneath the surface.

Becausehehadn’t been looking beneath the surface.

Thank the goddess for his stubborn mate. He wouldn’t be making that mistake again.

He tucked Brie to his side and ran his chin over her head. “You ready to hunt?”

Brie scrunched up her face, and he laughed. “I want to run, but I’ve never been a fan of eating a bunny after it’s hopped around in front of me.”

He kissed her nose, and she batted at him. “We’ll run together.” He cupped her face, his tone serious. “If others fight you for dominance, I will do my best to let them live, but I can’t promise anything.”

She shook her head. “It’s not the same this time. I’m truly your mate and not just the new member of the Pack, but thank you for trying.” She lifted up on her toes and kissed him softly.

Truly his mate. Yes, he supposed that was the case. He wasn’t as…angry as he’d been before, and Brie seemed stronger this time, more settled into her skin.

He kissed her soundly then pulled back, throwing his head back in a howl. The other wolves joined him, their songs a melodic harmony that soothed his wolf. There were dangerous times coming and many things left unsaid, but for this night, their Pack would run as one.

When the final howl faded, they shifted, each taking their time, their bodies twisting and reforming into their four-footed counterparts. Once Brie finished, he licked her muzzle, gently bit down on the back of her neck, and then started to run. She fell in place beside him, their pace not backbreaking but just what their wolves needed.

He sensed the other wolves around them, giving them space but not leaving his and Brie’s presence. Brynn and the others followed them, on guard yet letting their wolves play as well. They made their way through the forest, jumping over fallen logs and through puddles left by the rain earlier in the day.

His wolf knew something was coming, only it didn’t know when. It wouldn’t be that night—they at least had that reprieve—but it meant that Gideon would do all in his power to cherish the time he had. It was the least he could do.

When the first howl hit the air he came to a halt, his wolf in awe. The man might not have known what the sound meant, but the wolf did through the bonds. Brie came to his side, her eyes wide.

The wolves’ song wasn’t for him, or the Pack as a whole…it was forher.

They were claiming her as their own.

She’d come out of a burning building alive and had cared for the innocent.

She’d stood up to the dominants around her and told them to care for the others, not her.

She’d become the Alpha’s mate in truth.

He threw his head back and howled with them, pushing the emotion through the mating bond. He wasn’t sure she understood, and when the last howl became an echo, he led her off to a small lake on their land where no one would come near. He could sense Kameron and Ryder close by but out of earshot. They would keep the others from dipping their toes in the lake and seeing too much.

While others would burn off the adrenaline from the hunt either by taking prey for a meal, play-fighting with others, or finding another wolf for intimate touch, he wanted only his Brie.

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