Page 63 of The Strongest Wolf

“Yes. You will.” I swear it.

But the same lingering doubt swimming in her silver gaze doesn’t fade.

What do I have to do to make her believe that I want her, and only her? That my feelings will never change.

Sierra takes a step back and glances at the cell in her hand. “I have your phone. What if—”

“I’ll stop along the way and buy another. This one is yours.” After sleep deserted me last night, I had nothing but time to plan out how I could stay in touch with her. That and hold her as she slept.

She nods. “And if Dom calls looking for you?”

“He knows you have it.”

She takes another half-step back, but I see it for what it is. A retreat. From me, her feelings, my feelings… all of it. “Okay, then. I’ll speak to you soon.”

Behind me, I feel the rest of the pack observing, mostly quiet but watchful, as if none of them want to interrupt. Not that I can blame them.

I’m fighting back the urge to grab Sierra and stuff her in the truck when every line in her body warns me what would happen if I tried that. “The most stubborn woman in the world,” I breathe.

“What?” Her eyelids flicker, and I know she’s pretending she didn’t hear me.

She did. Shifter hearing is second to none.

I shake my head with a wry smile. “I’ll call you later. Don’t…”Put yourself in harm's way. Don’t go so far away that I can’t find you. And don’t stop looking at me with that soft light in your eyes.Turning, I grab my truck door handle. “Never mind.”

“Don’t what?” she asks a little too fast to be casual.

I peer over my shoulder and find she’s taken a step toward me. “Don’t let anything happen to you, Sierra Bree.”

The rest, I say unsaid. At least out loud.

I love you, and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.

“I’ll be okay.” Her voice is firm, assured. Even if her hands are gripping the cell phone tighter than she needs to.

Please let it be because she’s fighting back the urge to throw herself at me, and not because she’s desperate for me to leave so she can take off instead of accepting she is the Luna that I and the Hunt pack need.

“I like you, Sierra Bree,” I tell her, looking her right in the eye, doing nothing to lower my voice despite all the Blackshaw’s attention.

Her grip loosens around the cell phone. “I like you too, Galen Hunt.”

I nod and turn away, but before I do, my eyes snag on the locket hanging around her neck. A necklace she never takes off.

That reminds me…

After waving to the Blackshaws, I climb into my truck, start the engine and prepare to pull away.

Before I can, someone rips the door open. I jerk my head to the right, heart pounding with excitement that Sierra has changed her mind, and she’s coming with me. But my eyes clash with Luka’s amber gaze.

He presses a silver thermos of coffee into my hand. “Drive safely, and we’ll visit soon.”

Nodding, I take the thermos, toss it into the passenger seat, and nod. “Thanks, I will.”

After taking a step back, he slams the door shut and retreats to Eden’s side before wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Briefly, I catch Dayne’s eye and he nods. Just once, and I know that whatever happens while I’m in New York, Dayne will make sure nothing will happen to Sierra here in Hardin.

It’s the best I can hope for.

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