Page 62 of The Strongest Wolf

I feel Eden smile against my throat. “He already does. Don’t worry about Sierra, I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Because I have half my eye on Sierra, I glimpse her lips tightening. “Sierra doesn’t need anyone to keep an eye on her.”

She does a good job of looking after herself.Toogood.

I can’t understand why she doesn’t recognize there’s so much more to her than a label. A submissive would look to a pack to provide them with the safety and protection they crave. They’d search for those stronger than they were—alphas, usually—to protect them. Sierra never asks for help. She’s the one doing the helping.

Sierra not only survived in a pack full of predators who never did a thing to help her, she picked off the ones responsible for killing her parents. No submissive would have survived in a pack like that, and if they had, they certainly wouldn’t have emerged with their mind intact.

But Sierra did. Sierra, who is a submissive wolf but… not. She’s more than that. A lot more, and she’s the only one who doesn’t see it.

“I know,” Eden responds, hugging me tighter. “But that’s what family does. Looks out for each other.”

Her words draw my full attention as she releases me. “I’ll be back in a few days.”

Eden nods. “I know.”

I stare at her for several seconds, memorizing her face. We’ll see each other again soon, I know that, but leaving her after having lost her for so many years isn’t easy. “You’ll visit us in New York?” I ask once I feel like the thing in my throat has cleared enough that I can speak.

She smiles. “And have a vacation away from Nathan and Hallee’s arguing? Luka and I may never leave.”

Two outraged voices ring out. One male and one female. A second later, they turn on each other.

“I knew I hated mornings for a reason,” Talis groans.

A growl that can only come from an alpha demanding obedience silences Hallee and Nathan’s bickering. “The next argument I hear from anyone is going to lead to a dip in the lake,” Dayne snarls.

Hallee and Nathan wisely keep their mouths shut after that.

Conscious time is counting down, I shift my focus from Eden to find Sierra walking away. “Sierra!”

Her back stiffens, and then she turns around, her expression neutral as I stalk toward her.

I stop inches away, and just as I did back in Dexter, Wyoming, I take her hand, flip it palm-side up, and tuck my cell phone in it. “Keep hold of this. I want to talk to you…” I pause. “Whenever I want,” I say because anger is better than the mask she’s wearing.

The mask slips. Her eyes narrow, and her lips tighten. “Whenever you want?” she asks, her tone incredulous.

“Whenever I want,” I repeat, squeezing her hand a little tighter. “So answer when I call you.”

“Jeez, talk about—”

I yank her toward me, and she stumbles into my chest. As she bumps into me, I grip her by her nape, slant my mouth over hers and kiss her. Fuck the watching Blackshaws. I kiss her like I want to eat her alive.

Slowly, her arms slide up my shoulders and haul me even closer.

The rest of the world disappears.

Long minutes later, I break the kiss and peer down into her eyes. “Stay safe, little wolf, until I come and get you.”

Braced for her to snarl at me for dragging her into a kiss when she’s never been about public displays of affection, I’m not prepared for the softness I see in her eyes. Or the gentle touch of her fingers against my jaw as she gazes up at me. “I…”

My stomach tenses, cramping so hard it’s like someone punched me in the gut. I hold my breath, waiting, desperate to hear the three words I dream she will one day say.

She licks her lips, and I shove aside my arousal at the sight of her small pink tongue. Not with what she’s about to say.

I need to hear her say those words.

But then she blinks, and I could roar when she offers me another of those false smiles and lowers her hand from my jaw. “I’ll see you soon.”

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