Page 42 of Protected By the Wolf Prince

“Do not answer,” I snap, pain and anger building deep within as the old wounds reopen that I thought had already healed. Traitorous tears burn my eyes, and I turn my back to him.

He slips his arms around my waist and pulls me back into his chest. My body instinctively melts into his solid warmth. “If we are separated, I will find you. I will never leave you again, Luna. The reason I did not claim you is because you are near the fertile peak of your cycle. I did not want to risk my seed taking root in your womb without discussing it with you first.”

CHAPTER21

MALAK

Inhaling sharply, she turns in my arms. “That’s why you did not fully claim me?”

I nod.

She stretches up on her toes and wraps her arms around my neck. She brushes her lips to mine and then whispers against them. “What if I want a child?”

“So soon?” I ask, searching her face.

She smiles. “We wasted three years apart, Mal. I want everything with you.”

My inner wolf revels in her proclamation, and I lift her into my arms and press her back to the wall. “When we cross the bridge,” I whisper between kisses. “I am taking you straight to the cathedral. We will marry according to the ways of your people and I will claim you on the altar before the moon goddess.”

The scent of her arousal fills the air, and I growl low in my throat. “I will take you many times, my beautiful mate.”

“Is that a promise?” she teases lightly.

I kiss her long and deep, sealing my vow.

When we reach the bridge,I instruct Luna to climb onto my back.

“Won’t we be spotted easier if—”

“We are going to climb underneath,” I explain.

Her eyes widen as she gazes at the wide expanse between the mountains and the drop below. She swallows hard. “Mal,” she says, an edge of worry in her tone. “What if we fall?”

“We will not fall,” I reassure her. “There are supports beneath that we can use.”

She looks down at the gorge again. “You’ve… don’t his before?”

I shake my head.

“Then, how do you—”

“Because I’ve read reports of people crossing the bridge this way to get into the Vale undetected, to avoid the archers overhead.”

“But if your warriors know of this, then—”

A grin tilts my lips. “When they discover us, we will have time to explain who we are.”

Luna smiles in return and then climbs onto my back. When I reach the edge of the railing, I can hear her heart hammering in her chest. The scent of her fear is thick in the air, but she does not complain. Instead, she holds tightly to me as I drop over the edge and onto a wooden support below.

CHAPTER22

LUNA

The dull roar of the water far below us echoes loudly beneath the bridge. My pulse pounds in my ears as Mal carefully balances on the wooden support beams, with his arms outstretched on either side as I cling to him, remaining completely still.

I’m too afraid to do more than breathe shallowly, afraid I’ll cause us to topple over the side and into the ravine.

A sharp whistling sound flies past us, and my heart stops when I realize it’s an arrow. “Mal,” I whisper urgently.

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