Page 48 of Loved By the Wolf

“I loved the kiss you gave me before. I love everything about you. The way your smile brightens up your whole face. The laugh you make at my corny jokes. I—”

I kissed him on the lips, planning to only plant a soft one, but next thing I knew, he had me clamped tight to his chest with one hand while the other was behind my head, pressing my mouth against his lips. My hands went to his chest, and for the first time, I allowed myself to feel his muscles rippling under my fingers.

“You’re going to make me crazy if you keep doing that,” he said.

“Doing what?” My fingers were now tracing every ridge and dip on his chest and stomach.

He reached for my hands and brought them back up to his lips to kiss each knuckle before holding them to his chest.

I studied his face and realized something was off. “I remember you being bloody. How long have I been out?”

“Only a day.”

I opened the covers so that I could see his chest and gasped. After inspecting every inch of him front and back, I stared at Brandon. He in turn was looking at me with amusement.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “You were really hurt. How do you look so perfect?”

“I heal fast.”

That did not compute, and I continued staring until he added, “I heal faster than a human.”

I gave myself a lot of credit when I didn’t blink an eye. Holding onto my resolve, I repeated, “Faster than a human?”

“Yes. I’m a—”

“Wolf.” The word came out even though the rational part of my brain was still fighting to believe what Brandon was saying.

“Yes.” He paused and looked at me for a few seconds. “What made you think that?”

“Pac mentioned it, but I didn’t understand him at the time. He said something about how your wolf had met me, that we were mates, and . . .” I could feel tears rolling down my cheeks as I added, “That you would die if you weren’t able to be with me.”

“That’s all true,” he whispered. He seemed to be holding his breath while waiting for me to say more.

“I’m not sure what to think about it all,” I finally whispered.

“There’s no need to think too much into it. I want you to rest right now. I can explain more later. And Jill knows too.”

“Jill knows?”

“Well, she is with my brother.” He smiled. “My whole family are wolf shifters.”

“That means . . . Jill is Luc’s mate?”

He nodded, and his thumb rubbed along my cheek. “You’re safe, Becca. I got you. No more bad dreams, and no more Pac.”

I leaned into his warmth and decided that even if all of this was crazy talk, I wanted this moment to last. I leaned closer to Brandon, and he pulled me in as he rolled onto his back. Laying my head on his shoulder, I relished the feeling that we were finally together.

This was everything I wanted. I’d worry about the details later.

Pac

“There’snothing you can do, Theodore. Nothing at all.”

Our most esteemed alpha, Theodore McCullough, stood in front of me with a poker face. Probably hoping I’d cave and grovel back to him. I laughed, then cringed at the sound coming out of my mouth. All the surgery I’d done on myself and the elixirs I’d taken to conceal my scent had taken a toll on my body. Maybe it was for the best that Theodore got rid of me and let the others continue our path.

“What have you done, Pac?”

Theodore stared at me with hatred in his eyes. He hadn’t always looked at me like that. Once upon a time, he’d loved me as his own, but I guess I couldn’t expect that anymore after I had tricked him so many times.

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