Page 103 of Stealthy as a Wolf

When that didn’t work, I dug my elbow into his ribs so hard that he grunted and his breath left him in a whoosh.

“What was that for, sweetie?” he asked, his question more of a wheeze.

“Just wanted to make sure I’m awake,” I said with complete seriousness.

Matty snickered, Grady’s grin was so huge that his gorgeous dimples made an appearance, and even Burke’s lips twitched.

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Boone gave me a wry smile and tried to mansplain it to me. “You’re supposed to pinchyourself, not someone else. The pain is supposed to wake you up.”

“Don’t be stupid. Why would I want to cause myself pain?” I gave him a look that said he was the one being the idiot. “I give the pain. If this were a dream, you would’ve woken up with a shout. Since I would be sleeping next to you, it would have woken me up too.”

Everyone looked toward Boone, expecting him to dispute my logic, but he just opened his mouth, then closed it with a look of consternation. Then his expression softened, and a pleased grin curled his lips. He slipped his arm around my waist and cuddled me close, rubbing his cheek along my neck. “I’ll be sleeping next to you, huh?”

“Of course,” I said, giving him a quizzical look, then narrowed my eyes on the dunderhead. “You’re my mate. Where else would you be?”

A satisfied purr vibrated in his chest, my nipples hardened in an instant, and I swatted him away. “Don’t be trying to seduce me, you rogue. I know your tricks, and you still have a lot of explaining to d—”

“Are you sure we’d be sleeping?” He gave me such a wicked grin that I couldn’t stop the way my core clenched in need.

My wolf snickered in my head at how easily he’d tamed me.

My mates knew me so well.

I pursed my lips, sticking my nose up in the air. “Of course. You and the others wouldn’t have sent me to bed until I was thoroughly satisfied.”

The men growled possessively, and I couldn’t keep from smirking as I sauntered away from them with an exaggerated sway to my hips. When they hurried after me, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face.

We’d only traveled a few more yards when a pack of wolves swarmed through the crowd and came to a stop in front of me. In the lead was none other than Timothy’s father, the pack alpha.

Steam practically shot from his ears when he caught sight of me. His nostrils flared, and he looked at me like I was a pile of shit that got stuck on the bottom of his shoe. He pinned me with such a hateful look that a nasty vein popped out on his forehead, pulsing so violently that I just couldn’t look away, wondering if some sort of monster would pop out of it like on those alien shows.

“Hey, Reggie!” I waved a couple of my fingers at him, then pointed to his forehead. “You should really get that checked out.”

He practically quivered with outrage. He inhaled so sharply that his nose pinched and his chest heaved.

“Dude, you okay? Are you having some sort of fit?” I glanced at his second-in-command. “Should you get a doctor or something?”

Hate just seemed to explode out of Reggie as he roared, “You had my son murdered, you little bitch! I demand that the men responsible be executed and you returned to me.”

I couldn’t help it, I tipped back my head and laughed. “Returned to you? Like some sort of property?”

When his wolves began to circle us, Simba stepped between our groups with his security detail in tow. The wolves came to an instant halt, suddenly looking wary. The lion narrowed his eyes, taking the scene in at a glance, a displeased rumble in his chest. “Murder is a very serious accusation. Are you sure that you want to go down this route, Alpha Reginald Reigns?”

“She was supposed to be my son’s mate, and they stole her from him. When he went to reclaim his property, they killed him in cold blood.” Reginald stalked forward, not stopping until he stood right in front of me, his murderous rage making his bloodshot eyes appear almost completely red, much like what happens when a wolf turns feral.

“Bullshit.” I rolled my eyes at the way he so effortlessly twisted things to make it look like his shit didn’t stink. “Your son and I were never mated. You couldn’t change my mind, even after subjecting me to years of being tortured in your prison cells. Did you think he’d simply be able to waltz back into my life and I would fall at his feet in gratitude?”

Every spark of amusement vanished, and I stalked toward him, my wolf snarling in my head with the need to rip out his throat. “When he came for me, he knew I was already mated with my men, but he was going to take me back anyway. The only way he could do that was if he murdered my mates. He thought it would weaken me enough to finally force me to mate him.”

“I’m your alpha!” Reggie snarled, his eyes darkening with rage as he struggled to contain his wolf. “The only thing my son and I ever did was take you under our wing. We tried to show you the way of the pack, since you never had one. You were just too young to understand the honor we were doing you.”

My eyebrows shot up at his audacity, and I gave a sputtering laugh. “You mean you had me chained and tortured for my own good?”

“Of course.” The alpha flashed a smile that was more fang than friendly. “You were too strong for your parents to handle. You’d already killed people. We were trying to protect you and others. We had to take extreme measures to make sure it didn’t happen again. The lessons were harsh, but they were the only way you seemed to learn.”

Everything that he said had a spark of truth to it, but he twisted things in a way that made me look unstable.

Feral.

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