Page 89 of Stealthy as a Wolf

My heart went all swoony at the ease with which he carried me, and my cheeks burned as I clung to him. A pleased purr vibrated in his chest, and the sound traveled straight to my pussy. I refused to feel mortified. I was gradually getting used to my reactions to my mates. Instead, I slipped my arms around his neck and peered up at him. “I can walk, you know.”

“Why bother when I can carry you?” His reply was so simple that I couldn’t fault his logic, especially since it gave me an excuse to cuddle with him.

“Very true. Carry on.” I gave a regal nod and waved my arm like a princess…if you ignored the dried blood that began to flake off my skin.

I winced at the rough sound of my voice.

Swallowing was painful.

Now the fight was over, every inch of me ached. I didn’t even remember getting half the wounds that littered my body. I wearily rested my head against his shoulder and gave into the urge to rest my eyes.

Boone tipped back his head and let out a victorious roar, and I fell asleep snuggled up against him with a smile on my face. Before darkness claimed me, I swore I heard an answering roar in the distance—my mates were safe.

* * *

BURKE

Ipaced back and forth on the front porch, a snarl rumbling in my chest as I waited for my mate to return. Boone signaled that he’d successfully reclaimed her about ten minutes ago, but they weren’t back yet.

Where the fuck is that asshole?

Matty was securing the one intruder we had left alive.

Well, mostly alive.

Even now, it was a struggle not to go back and remove his head from his body. He didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as my mate.

Grady stood in the doorway, arms crossed, blocking me from putting my thoughts into action. Aggression poured off the alpha. If the fucker hadn’t ordered me to remain here, I would already have my mate in my arms.

I blew out a heavy breath, curling and uncurling my fists, wondering what happened to the calm, rational side of myself. I used to be known for not losing my cool in battle.

I was analytical.

Ruthless about using logic to get what I wanted.

Yet something about seeing Maggie run off, forced to defend herself, fractured my calm. That she might even now be hurt because we weren’t able to protect her destroyed my ability to think beyond my beast’s need to exact vengeance.

“She’s here.” Matty pushed past Grady and exited the house, leaping off the porch without waiting.

I whirled, and it felt like my heart just imploded when Boone walked into view with my mate in his arms—completely blood soaked and unconscious.

An eerie buzzing blocked out all rational thought, and I grabbed the support beam to keep from shifting. As I struggled to remain human, my claws left deep gouges in the pole, sending wood chips scattering at my feet. It was only when Grady whacked me on the back, giving my shoulder a bone crushing squeeze, that my sanity returned in a rush and I realized that he was talking to me.

“Why don’t you go get the bathroom ready for Maggie? Fill the tub. She’ll want to be clean before we leave.” His face was grim as he gazed down at our mate. “Gather whatever medical supplies you can find. We need to get out of here before anyone comes to investigate, but I don’t want to move until I know she’s okay.”

I cast the alpha a look and saw that he was just as rattled as me, he was just better at hiding it. While I liked being in control, liked being able to plan for any contingencies, Maggie had the ability to derail the best laid plans.

All the schemes in the world meant nothing if anything bad happened to her.

I watched Maggie smile and laugh with the others, but there was a tightness to her face, a stiffness in the way she held herself, that told me she was hurting.

“We were supposed to keep her safe!” I snarled at Grady, needing someone to blame besides myself.

With a determined nod, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. “We’ll do better next time, and so will Maggie. My first mate said being mated to an alpha is very difficult, but I don’t think I understood what she meant until now. I believe we were all chosen specifically to help Maggie survive. One mate, even an alpha, would never be able to keep her safe, not the way she needs to be protected. It’s going to take all of us.”

“We’re her pack,” I rasped. For my entire life, I’d worked toward the goal of being free. To find a place where my brother and I would be in charge and not used as pawns. Now the thought of someone having my back, able to help me keep my mate safe, was a relief.

None of us would be able to do it alone.

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