Page 17 of Claimed By the Feral Wolf

They ate the rest of the meal and then cleaned up their mess. She felt like they’d been together for months or years and not days. When he said they were destined to be mates, she believed him.

It was the most pleasant day she’d ever had, and she hoped for more.

****

Jacob looked around the kitchen as he ate. The color was definitely new paint. He could smell the slight aroma.

He also saw that the family room had the same paint. It was a big room, but one wall had a fireplace and shelves. Another had windows, and the third had two doors. There was only one area they had to paint.

He was astonished that they had gotten so much done, but with a lot of people, anything could happen, and he guessed most of the town was here to get the house ready for them.

Tears stung his eyes. He couldn’t have asked for a better family, friends, or mate, and he knew he was a lucky bastard.

Chapter Ten

“I’m going to go find Jacob,” Sage said.

“Aren’t you supposed to wait here?” Brenna asked.

“Yes, but it’s been longer than he said it would be, and he wanted to get home, so I thought I’d save him some time.”

“That might not be a wise choice,” Nicole said. “You know how prickly our mates get when we don’t do what we’re told.”

Sage snorted.Pricklywas one word for it. “I’m not going anywhere besides down a few blocks to the fire station.”

“Good luck with that,” Brenna said.

Sage waved at the women in the bakery. They were the best friends a woman could ask for, and the fact that she hadn’t had one in a long time made them even more precious.

Jacob was in town talking to the fire chief about getting his old job back. His brothers didn’t think there would be a problem.

He had been discussing ideas with a few of his brothers about a side business he wanted to start. It was news to her, but her mate was talented with metal soldering and had even made statues and figurines from scraps of metal he found at the junkyard or in old warehouses around town.

Simone’s mate had a store next door to the bakery where he talked about selling Jacob’s art, but he’d also do metal work for the car garages and anyone else that needed it. Most of his brothers were firefighters and had artistic talents like her mate.

The smell of fried chicken from the restaurant made her mouth water, and she wondered if she could talk Jacob into having lunch there before they headed back home.

Sage didn’t see the hand reaching for her hair as she passed an alley. She was yanked into it and slammed face-first against the brick wall. Her face struck hard, making her see stars, and it took her breath for a moment.

Something pressed up against her back, and then a face pressed against her cheek, and foul-smelling breath made her nauseous.

“I want to know what you did with my boys?”

Sage didn’t recognize the voice. “I … I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The last time I saw them, they were running after you into the forest,” the man said.

Sage stiffened. Oh, God, the men Jacob killed were this man’s sons. Her fear spiked even further because now she understood the fury in the man’s tone.

He pulled her back and then slammed her against the brick building. “Tell me, cunt. Where the fuck are they?”

“I don’t know,” She cried out. She could feel blood slide down her face and blind her in one eye.

“They went after you. Did they find you?”

She inhaled, tried to steady her nerves, and frantically tried to think of something to tell him besides the truth that her mate ripped their throats out. “No. I ran into some hunters, and they brought me back here to file a police report.”

“They never caught up to you?” He sounded suspicious.

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