Page 62 of Stealthy as a Wolf

I leaned down, giving her lips a nip sharp enough to sting, getting her attention. I glared down at her, angling her head so she had no choice but look directly at me. “You are never going back to the wolves. I won’t allow it. You’re ours, and no amount of money in the world would change that fact. If the wolves think otherwise, I will show them the error of their ways, even if I have to carve it into their flesh. You are mine. Understand?”

I barely dared to breathe as I waited for her to fight me.

Because I’d fight for her if that was what it took.

Whether she claimed me or not, I would do absolutely anything for her. If she needed me to slaughter a pack of wolves for her to feel safe, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I would burn down the world for her.

I watched in horror as tears filled her eyes. Before full-blown panic could set in, Maggie threw herself against me and clung to me like I was the only thing in her world. With a purr of satisfaction, I held her close, my arms closing around her. Nothing else in the world mattered but her, and I rested my cheek on the top of her head.

When a fine tremor went through her, murderous rage filled me. It was all I could do not to shift and hunt down the fuckers who had so traumatized her. She burrowed closer to me, and I held her tight, careful not to leave bruises. I shared a glance with the others and saw the same resolve reflected back.

We would do whatever it took to protect Maggie.

And when we ran across the wolves who’d harmed her, blood would be shed.

Chapter Eighteen

MAGGIE

Ishould’ve been horrified by the threat of violence and ran in the opposite direction. I’d lived through enough of it to last me a lifetime. For more than half my life, I’d dealt with torture and pain, degradation and hatred.

It nearly broke me.

Maybe in a way, it did.

I wasn’t the same girl as before. I was stronger and harder. I was more ruthless.

That didn’t mean I didn’t crave the softness that these rough and growly men gave me so freely. I so desperately wanted what they were offering that the back of my throat tightened and my eyes burned.

And instead of acting like the badass bitch that I was, I threw myself against Burke like he was my prince charming and I was some helpless girl in need of rescuing.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

But when he clutched me close, nearly crushing the air from my lungs, I took comfort from the surly man—the one I used to believe saw me as nothing more than a nuisance.

Instead, he was the biggest softie of the bunch, and I rubbed my cheek against his very naked chest. His tangy scent of outdoors and autumn leaves was soothing, inviting my wolf to burrow close and rest.

After years of being on the run, it was terrifying to simply let go and trust someone else.

And so freeing that I was at a loss for how to react.

Who knew being free could be so paralyzing?

Not wanting to lose my snuggly little monster and the rough purr that soothed the ragged edges of my soul, I didn’t bother to lift my head as I asked the question that lingered at the back of my mind. “So whose idea was it to bring Matty to the Summit?”

I cracked my eyes open and saw Boone giving his brother an intense stare. I didn’t have to look up to know that Burke was glaring back at him just as hard.

They were doing that silent communication thing again.

I swore that I could almost hear them in my head.

I didn’t get the impression that they were keeping anything from me, more like they wanted to protect me, and I dug my fingers—claws and all—into Burke’s kidney hard enough to make him flinch, but not hard enough to inflict any damage. “The truth. All of it.”

I didn’t consciously use the alpha bark, but it slipped out anyway, my wolf unconsciously giving the extra push.

How did they expect me to protect them when they refused to give me all the information?

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