Chapter Eighteen
Madi
Brick started calling last night. I didn”t answer. It’s Christmas Eve, and I managed to drag myself out today to get a few presents for Aubrey, my mom, and Brayden, and now I’m holed up at the apartment.
Tomorrow, I will go to my mom’s to be with my family, but I am just not ready to fake holiday cheer yet tonight.
I heard on NPR that Moon Co’s deal with Benson was approved. Indira tried to call me a few times over the last couple of days, but I wasn’t up to chatting.
I did my part to get closure. I talked to Sully about Jerry, and I called Catherine to tell her what had happened and commiserate on our similar fates of being used by her pack to harm the men we loved.
Now I am done. It’s time to move on although I don”t know what that means.
I have the money from the bonus Brick gave me, and I’ve saved a large portion of my salary, so I don”t need to rush off and find a job. I can take my time to lick my wounds and figure out what I want to do.
My phone buzzes with another text from Brick. The first read, “Madi, please pick up your phone; then, I made a terrible mistake. Followed by please let me apologize.”
It’s tempting to answer. To hear the apology. My pride wants to soak it all up. But my heart just can”t take it. The pain of this breakup was like nothing I’ve experienced in my life.
It’s honestly something I never, ever want to go through again. If that means I put my heart on the shelf and never sleep with another man or woman, so be it. I seriously can’t take pain like this again. It would kill me.
Aubrey walks in and throws her pea coat over the arm of the coat rack by the door. “Save me.” I thrust my phone out. “I don”t want to answer his calls or texts.”
She stomps over in her combat boots. “I got you.” She takes my phone and walks away from me, her thumb moving across the screen.
Of course, my control issues rear up. Or is it fear of letting go? “What are you doing?” I call after her.
“I’m blocking him–that”s all. He doesn”t even deserve a response.”
“Wait.” I jump up from the couch.
She darts into the bathroom, closes the door, and locks it.
“Aubrey!” I shout, trying the handle even though I heard the door lock. “Wait.”
“Too late. All messages and voicemails have been deleted, and the number is blocked.” The door unlocks, and she breezes out, an impish smile on her face. She hands me the phone back. “Problem solved. He won”t be bothering you again.”
I try to ignore the sense of panic that brings on. But it was the right thing to do. I am not ever going back to Moon Co or speaking to Brick Blackthroat again.
End of story.
Aubrey puts on her Christmas movie, Die Hard, which isn’t helping my mood. I don’t need a sexy, growly hero or villain right right now. Still, it’s better than being alone, so I stay to watch with her.
Forty-five minutes later, our door buzzer sounds.
I look at Aubrey with a sense of panic rising in my chest. I’m usually so in control, but today I’m having a hard time managing my emotions.
“It”s okay,” she says. “I ordered Chinese food for us.”
I lean back against the couch and exhale, but when Aubrey opens the intercom line, it”s Brick”s voice that barges into our living room.
“Madi?”
I shudder at the gruff bark of his voice. Not because it doesn’t sound wonderful to my ears.
Because it does.
I was a fool when I was with him not to realize just how deeply I’d fallen in love. It was only obvious after I lost him.
“Madi”s not available,” Aubrey answers in a falsely pleasant voice. She glances at me as she goes on, “And this is a No Billionaires Allowed building, so please vacate the premises.”
She releases the intercom button, so he can”t answer, but he starts ringing the bell incessantly.
“Can we disconnect the thing?” I jump up and stalk toward the intercom.
Aubrey bodychecks me out of the way. “Don’t even think about coming near this.” She hits the intercom again. “Don”t make me call the police. Madi”s not here, and even if she were, you’re the last person on Earth she would talk to. Goodbye!”
“Disconnect it,” I hiss when she releases the button.
“But our Chinese food!”
Right. Damn.
Miraculously, he doesn’t buzz again.
Instead, his name pops up in my personal email box. I guess he got the address from my resume. I delete it without opening it.
He’s sorry. That’s honestly enough. I feel vindicated. I don’t need to read his words or hear his voice for more because that would only make me go running back to an impossible situation.
Twenty minutes later, the Chinese food arrives. Aubrey buzzes the guy up, and he knocks on the door.
I jump up to get it.
Big mistake.
Of course, it’s Brick, looking half-mad. His hair stands on end, his rumpled button-down looks like he slept in it.
He stands there holding our Chinese food. He must’ve paid the delivery guy off to get in and bring it to us.
All my senses are hit at once. His dangerous beauty. His clean scent. The way I long for those large hands to touch me.
I’m like a deer in the headlights, unable to speak or move. Just struck dumb. “No,” I manage to whimper.
He attempts to step forward, but I block the door. His eyes glint amber. “Hey. May I come in?”
Aubrey barrels up off the couch. “Nope, nope, nope. I’m calling the cops. Get out of here now.” She snatches our food from his hands, plants her hands on his arms and attempts to move him.
I remain frozen until Aubrey’s brow wrinkles in confusion at her inability to even budge the guy.
“I know, he’s really strong,” I say quickly to stop her from trying. I shift my gaze to him and find his pinned on my face. “But he usually understands the meaning of the word no.”
“Madi, I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I fucked up. Will you please give me a chance to grovel?”
“Out!” Aubrey shouts.
I force myself to remain dead, no matter how tempting it is to leap into his arms and let him grovel his way over every inch of my body. “You heard her.”
“Madi, there’s more afoot here than you know. I need to explain some things to–”
“No,” I interrupt. “You really don’t. I never belonged on Wall Street, and we both know I didn’t belong with you. So, please, just let this go. I accept your apology. I’m glad you know it wasn’t me. That’s closure enough. Thanks and bye.” I swing the door shut on him.
He still doesn’t move. He looks deranged. “Five minutes. Just give me five minutes and–”
Aubrey joins me, and we both push on the door, trying to force him out.
“I don’t have a lot of time.”
Seriously? What an asshole. “Then you best be going.”
Aubrey holds her phone to her ear. “I’d like to report an attempted assault.”
Brick withdraws, and the door slams shut with both Aubrey’s and my weight against it.
“Are you okay?” she asks softly as I struggle to breathe.
“Did you actually call 911?”
“No, do you want me to?”
I shake my head and rally. I can get through this. I’m strong. I’m smart. The pain will eventually go away, I know that. I manage a nod.
We pick up the boxes of food from where Aubrey had set them on the floor and crawl onto the couch to watch the rest of the movie. I can’t choke down more than a few bites of rice, but eventually this gnawing anxiety will leave my belly.
I hope.
It’s not until the middle of the night that I remember what Brick had said about vampires and wiping my mind.
* * *
Brick
I stand in the boardroom, my hands planted on the glass, and stare at my own reflection. My eyes are bright as lasers and I’m glowering hard enough to carve through this window and the Adalwulf building beyond.
If I look down, I can see Moon Co and everything I’ve worked for, laid out at my feet.
I’d raze it all to the ground if it meant I could get Madi back.
She rejected me. I don’t blame her–and I can’t have her even if she was willing to be with me. An alpha can’t mate a human.
There are voices outside the conference room. Nickel, Jake, and Vance, murmuring.
“Is he–”
“Yes. Still no change. He ordered us to leave him.”
“Should we bring him home?” Vance asks. “It’s Christmas.”
I snarl. I’m not leaving the office. I’ve gathered every personal item and scrap of furniture that still bears her scent, and my wolf won’t allow me to leave it.
Nickel quickly shoots him down. “We can’t risk someone seeing him in this state. No one can know.”
If the Adalwulfs found out I’m this out of control, they’d go for the jugular. It’d be all out war, and they’d use the news of my weakness to rally their feral pack and kill as many of my pack as possible. They’ve wiped out packs before–killed the leaders, absorbed the rest into their ranks. My pack is strong, but without me as a figurehead? The largest families would leave, and the pack would splinter into weaker factions the Adalwulfs will see as easier prey.
I have to hang on to my sanity. Too many lives hang in the balance.
I have to fight this.
I clench my fists. My nails have sharpened to claws and cut my palms. The blood drips, staining the carpet. Staining my suit.
And what does it matter? Without my mate, there’s nothing for me.
My wolf rises and fur ripples along my forearms. I’m so tired of fighting him. I have so much to fight for–my pack and family–but my wolf doesn’t care. He knows what I’m beginning to believe.
Without Madi, I have nothing.
* * *
Billy
“We have a problem.” Vance calls me the day after Christmas.
With most of my pack mates in the Berkshires for Christmas, I spent the day yesterday with my parents at our family retreat in Vermont. Now I’m on my way to work after the first good night’s rest I’ve had since the security breach.
It’s hard to imagine we could have another problem. The security breach has been the biggest shit show since our previous alpha got murdered by his own mate back when we were at Yale.
“What is it?”
“Madison won’t talk to Brick.”
“Why is this our problem?” I snap. Solving lovers’ quarrels really isn’t my area of expertise. Especially not when a human’s involved.
“He didn’t go to the Berkshires for Christmas. He’s been here at Moon Co all night and…” Vance sighs. “He’s acting erratic. Like he keeps putting her hand lotion all over his face. He’s truly losing it.”
I tunnel my fingers through my hair. Losing Brick is not an option. “Fuck. So he tried calling? Going over there?”
“Yeah. He sent her a giant trophy that said he was sorry, which didn’t make sense to me but whatever. She refused it. She also turned away a van full of roses.”
I roll my eyes. For fuck’s sake. Humans and their methods of courtship are utterly ridiculous. Why couldn’t Brick have picked a wolf? Literally any she-wolf in the world would’ve been better than this. Hell, even a he-wolf would be better–who cares if they can’t reproduce?
“What does Madison want? Actually, it doesn’t matter what she wants. We just need Brick to mark her.”
I hate the idea of him marking and mating a human, but things have gone too far. This may be the only way to save his life now.
“Agreed.” Vance seems to have arrived at a similar conclusion. “We need to get them in the same room to figure this out.”
“Yeah. Okay. I think we should revisit the plan that involves the vampire king.” Thaddeus could mind control Madi into coming to see Brick and submitting to a claiming bite. Once that is complete, the two could work the rest out on their own.
Vance goes quiet, considering.
It’s a good plan. One that would solve everything, especially now that we know Madi isn’t working for the enemy.
Eagle and Sully have our real traitor, Jerry, imprisoned in Sully’s basement right now. We may or may not have worked him over thoroughly with our fists when we put him there, not that pain matters much to a shifter.
“He wouldn’t be able to come until after dark,” Vance says.
“Obviously.”
“That’s nearly eleven hours from now.”
Alarm bells clang in my head. I scrub a hand down my freshly shaven jaw. “You don’t think he’ll make it eleven hours?”
“It’s not looking good.”
“I’ll get the human,” I say.
“How?”
“I don’t know–I’ll knock her out and carry her if I have to.”
“Bad idea,” Vance cautions. “You even touching her could flip the switch in him. We have to think this through carefully.”
“I’ll talk to her roommate.” I am thinking carefully. That ridiculous roommate is key to solving this dilemma.
“Okay, good luck with that. I’ll loop the rest of the guys in on the Thaddeus plan and see if we can get a consensus.”
“Yep.” I end the call and change lanes. My car drives straight to La Résistance like it knows the way. Like I’ve driven here already a hundred times in my mind.
Which of course, I haven’t. Because why would I?
I find a place to park and walk two blocks to get to the cafe. As I pass by, I give the mural on the outside wall a scornful look. This hippie shit is over the top and ridiculous. Then I see the signature.
Aubrey Jane Cook.
Huh. I take another look at the artwork. I hate the subject, but I have to admit she’s talented. Proportions are perfect, the colors pop. Not that I care about things like that.
I push through the door of the cafe and spot the roommate behind the counter. Even with all the scents of food and coffee, I detect her unique scent in the air, and it does something unnerving to my blood.
She sees me, and her brown eyes flash. Her jaw thrusts forward in anger.
Okay. She remembers me.
She extends an upturned palm when I get to the counter although I have no idea what she’s demanding. Shrugging, I fish a twenty dollar bill from my pocket and drop it in her hand.
She yanks her hand back like the money scalded her. “My picture.” She jerks a thumb at the bulletin board. “You stole it.”
“Ah. Yes, indeed. I borrowed it. I will bring it back.”
She folds her arms across her chest. Her long braids shift over her slender shoulders. “What are you doing here? Just out ruining lives for fun again?”
My lips twitch. Not because I find her words amusing but because I love her anger. I must truly despise humans because my cock actually gets chubby seeing how much she hates me.
“I came to solicit your help.”
“You must be out of your mind. You’d be the second to last person on Earth I’d ever help. The very last would be your buddy, Brick.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate because he’s the reason I’m here. Something very important has come up at the office, and he needs Madison.”
She cocks her head. “He should have thought of that before he chose to believe your lies about her and had her thrown out of the building. You don’t come back from that.”
“It’s extremely important and only she can help. I’ll give you fifty thousand dollars if you convince her to go. Deposited in your bank account today.”
It was the wrong thing to say. This is the girl who occupied Wall Street. Money’s not a good motivator. Her upper lip curls in disgust. “Absolutely not. Get lost.” She makes a shooing motion with her hand. Her fingernails are an unmanicured disgrace, with blue paint caught around the sides and underneath them.
I want to catch that hand and fold it behind her back. Bend her over the counter and spank her ass. I bet it would satisfy on many levels. Especially if it made her mad. I want to lean closer and sniff her neck. Find the place where her scent gathers and lick it.
“Five hundred thousand.” I can’t stop myself, even though I know it won’t move her. Know I’m botching this. I want to see that flash of anger in those dark eyes.
Her nostrils flare. She shakes her head. “You really are a piece of work.”
“I’ll make the same deal with Madi–tell her that. She likes money.”
Aubrey draws back like I slapped her. “She does not.”
I shrug. “Let her decide for herself.”
Aubrey narrows her eyes at me. “Are you done?”
“Yes.” I pick up the discarded twenty dollar bill and drop it in the tip jar. “Thanks for your time.”
As I walk away, my shifter hearing picks up her angry mutter. “Entitled alpha-hole.”
Even though I failed my alpha, I still can’t help feeling a spurt of satisfaction from her words.
* * *
Brick
I’m losing my ability to think rationally. I’ve managed to stay in human form today, but I’m not even sure why anymore. My team flits around, sending me worried glances as I pace around the first floor.
“Brick,” someone says. “Brick.”
I turn. It’s Vance. Billy stands beside him. “Come into the conference room,” Vance beckons.
I follow because I’m not able to do much leading right now.
“Madi’s coming tonight,” Vance says.
The fog in my brain suddenly clears, and my mind sharpens. “She is?”
“Yes. We’ll bring her here as soon as we can. And then you can mate her.”
I frown, suddenly realizing that everything is wrong about this conversation. The way they’re looking at me. The idea that someone else would bring Madi to me.
My fangs start to descend. “Nobody touches her,” I snarl.
“I told you not to tell him yet,” Billy mutters.
“What?” I whirl. My eyes must be glowing because my vision is sharp as hell.
Billy holds his hands up. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. We’ll get Madi for you. Thaddeus will–”
I cut him off with a roar. Billy’s the asshole who made me believe Madi had betrayed me in the first place. Now he’s not heeding my orders to keep Thaddeus away from her.
I shift and leap through the air, my fangs snapping for his throat.
* * *
Madi
The day after Christmas, my phone rings. It’s Ruby. I decline the call. She immediately rings back. After four rounds of it, I finally pick up. I have no reason to dodge her calls, after all. Talking to her won’t cause more physical pain in my chest. It’s already there every breathing second.
“Hi Ruby.”
“Madi!” She sounds frantic. Like emergency-level frantic.
I suck in a sharp breath.
“Madi, listen. This is a life or death situation. Where are you?”
My heart revs up to Olympic speeds. “Is it Brick? Is he okay?”
“No!” She sounds hysterical–like she’s holding in a sob. “He’s going to die, Madi, and only you can save him. I’m on my way to your apartment right now. Are you there?”
I may or may not have stayed in bed all day again. I throw the covers off and climb out. “Yes, I’m here.”
“Can I pick you up in twenty minutes? Please, Madi. After tonight, you never have to see him again, but we really need you right now. Brick needs you.”
Oh, God. What could it be? How can I save Brick from death? I run for the shower. “Yeah, I’ll be ready. I’ll wait outside.” I end the call and turn on the water for the shower, stepping in before it’s even warm.
My hands tremble. What could it be? Car accident? No. Why would they need me for that? Besides, he told me they had superhuman healing abilities.
Something with the Adalwulfs, then?
It still doesn’t make sense. I rush through a quick shower, then dress and dash downstairs.
A limo pulls up to the curb, and I climb in the back with a tearful Ruby.
“What’s going on?”
“Oh, Madi, thank you so much for coming.” She throws her arms around me.
I have to fight my own tears back because I know once I start, they won’t stop. “What happened? What is it?”
“Brick has gone feral. It can happen to alpha males who don’t claim their mates by middle age.”
I blink, trembling. Not understanding but waiting for more.
“His wolf chose you as his mate. He waited too long to claim you, and now he’s succumbed to moon madness.” Tears stream down her face. “It may be too late, already, but I’m hoping you can bring him back.”
Dammit, now my own tears leak from the corners of my wide eyes. “Bring him back from what?”
“From his wolf state. He’s gone feral,” she repeats, and it starts to come together for me. Goosebumps raise on my arms.
“So he can’t change back? Or won’t? Is that what feral means?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
I draw in a measured breath, trying to get control of my panic. Trying to find the Madi who’s great in an emergency. The one who thinks on her feet.
But she’s freaking out, right with Ruby. Brick can’t die. He can’t.
“Where are we going? To the Berkshires?”
Ruby shakes her head. “No, he shifted at Moon Co again. They locked him in the conference room, but he’s tearing the walls down to get out. If he does…” Her eyes are wide and horrified.
“If he does, what?” Alarm clangs through me.
“He’ll have to be put down.”
My empty stomach heaves. I feel like bursting into full-on sobs, too, but I keep it together. Brick needs me. I’m his mate. I’m not sure what that means, but if I can save Brick, I will.
“It’s okay,” I promise, even though I have no idea if that’s true. “We’ll save him.”
When we get to MoonCo, I forget to feel awkward or stiff about getting fired and returning now. All I can think about is Brick being put down. We get off the elevator on the top floor, and I’m shocked by what I see.
My desk has been thrown to the far side of the room. Trash litters the floor. The ferocious snarls of a wolf, terrible scratching sounds and the thud and clang of heavy objects being thrown emanate from the conference room.
The executive team lingers in the main area, and they appear relieved to see me.
“Good work, baby.” Eagle pulls Ruby into his arms.
“This way, Madi,” Nickel clips in his crisp English. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course I came,” I say hotly, but then I realize with a sick feeling that Brick was trying to talk to me about this. He needed my help, and I turned him away. Refused his calls. Shut him out.
Oh, God.
Hot tears threaten again. I’m responsible for this situation.
Nickel leads me to the conference room where Sully stands outside the door, loading a gun.
My eyes fly wide. “What are you doing with that?”
“These are silver bullets,” Sully says grimly. He screws a silencer on the muzzle. “They will take him down if necessary. It’s a last resort, obviously.”
My fear level ratchets up to atomic levels. The door shudders with the impact of a very large animal hitting it, followed by an unearthly howl.
“He hears you,” Nickel says.
“Brick?” I call out.
“Don’t,” Sully cuts in. “Don’t rile him up. He’ll think we’re keeping you from him.” He cracks the door. “She’s coming in,” he calls through the door. “Back the fuck up, bro.” He opens the door and peers through before stepping in and making room for me to follow. He folds his arm across his chest, the gun resting on his heart.
“What are you doing with that?”
“I’m going to protect you.” His jaw clenches, but when he looks at the giant wolf growling at us, his eyes take on a sheen. He means kill Brick.
“The hell you are,” I snap and point at the door. “Get out of here.”
At the sound of my raised voice and anger with Sully, the wolf goes mad, snarling and barking, lunging at him.
“Easy, easy, easy.” He holds his hands out. Thankfully, he doesn’t point the gun at him. Yet.
“Get out!” I yell.
Sully backs toward the door but presses the gun into my hands. “Take this.”
“I’m not using that.” I try to push it back.
“Take it. Don’t put it down. Keep it pointed at him. If he lunges at you, shoot him straight between the eyes.”
“Get out!” I scream.
The wolf leaps at Sully, but he slams the door just in time, and the great beast hits the wood, his claws scraping down it.
I’m shaking all over. How much of the Brick I know is still in there? Has he gone totally mad?
“Brick?”
He makes a grumbling sound, trotting around the room in agitation. He’s like one of those caged animals at the zoo that make you wish zoos and cages never existed.
The room is destroyed–claw marks everywhere, cracked windows. The chairs look like they’ve been through a trash compactor. It’s utter devastation. There’s blood on the floor and table. I’m not sure who it belonged to.
I am completely out of my depth here. How do I calm a wolf? How do I appeal to the man inside? This isn’t some graphic novel where I sing him a lullaby, and he calms down enough to change back.
Tears fill my eyes. My back hits the door, and I slide down. “Brick, please.”
The wolf stops pacing and stares at me. There’s nothing about the giant animal that reminds me of Brick. Nothing to make me feel safe here.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up at his continued stare. Does he recognize me? Is he going to attack?
“You’re scaring me.” I hold the gun with shaking hands, sloppily pointing at him.
He lowers his head, trots over and whines.
I let out a shaky exhale. “Yeah, it’s me. Do you recognize me?”
He sinks to his belly and inches forward, into my personal space. When he gets close enough for me to touch him, he rolls to his back and whines.
“Brick.” Tears of relief streak down my cheeks. I set the gun down and gingerly reach out to rub his belly.
He licks my hand.
“You need to change back now. Can you hear me, Brick? Your friends and your sister are terrified. You really went on a rampage this time.”
He shivers and leaps to his feet again, his fur ruffling across his neck and shoulders like he’s angry.
“What did I say?” I eye the pistol on the floor, but don’t pick it up. “Come on, you have to shift back.”
He comes back to me, but is more aggressive this time. He bites my pants and pulls, ripping a hole in my leggings, then lunges toward my throat but only licks my ear. It’s not an attack. At least…I don’t think it is. It’s more… an aggressive show of affection.
Then suddenly, he’s a man, pushing me onto my back, his hand at my throat.
“Brick!” I’m alarmed again. His eyes are still golden, his canines seem longer than human teeth. The weight of his body pins me to the floor.
“Please, please, please, Madi.” He sounds hoarse. “I need you.” He rips my leggings and panties off.
Oh. Um. Okaaaay.
“Please… my control is… “ He pushes my knees up and licks into me. His fingers join his tongue, and he rubs roughly. “I need inside of you. Please, Madi.”
“Brick.” I’m still more than half-scared of him. He’s panting. His eyes are wild. He’s definitely not himself. Probably still dangerous.
“Life or death,” he manages to choke out as he rises above me, his fingers already penetrating me, stroking. “You’re wet for me. Please, Madi. I don’t know if I can hold off the change much longer.”
Life or death. Having sex with me will save this man’s life. Truly, I have a magic pussy. Now I suddenly understand why Brick was so passionate before. How he needed to have sex the moment he walked into the building.
I grip his shoulders. Reach for his dick to guide him in.
He lets out a roar when he sinks into me and starts moving with a frenzy.
It’s terrifying but also delicious. To be so desired, so wanted by a man is a heady experience. “Mark… I have to mark…Madi.” He shakes his head like he’s trying to get control. “I’m going to bite you.”
“Wait… what?” I don’t know what he’s talking about.
“Please don’t freak out. I promise I will make it up to you. I’ll be careful. Won’t go too deep.” He’s already lowering his head to my shoulder, those gleaming canines definitely longer than man-teeth. “It’s the only thing…save my life.”
He has to bite me to save his life.
How can I refuse? “Okay. I understand.” My voice quavers with fear. “Do it.”
He shudders and his teeth sink into the place where neck meets shoulder. I gasp. It burns and throbs like a mo-fo, and for a second I go into shock. But then I realize Brick is in the throes of pleasure. He shakes and shudders, orgasming.
The pain instantly morphs into pleasure. I buck against him, my own unexpected orgasm crashing over me. I wrap my legs behind his back and hold him in against me, my inner muscles squeezing and contracting around his cock. A hoarse cry flies from my lips.
The door behind us flies open, and I hear several people invade the room with cries of alarm.
Brick extricates his teeth from my trapezius muscle.
“Get out.”
* * *
Brick
My friends back out of the room and shut the door to give us some much-needed privacy.
I lick Madi’s wound to prevent infection and try to keep all of her body shielded from view as I glare up at my friends.
“Thank fuck,” Nickel says from the other side of the door.
I get it. I was inches away from a painful, silver-bullet induced death. I almost couldn’t find my way back. My human form is exhausted from fighting my wolf. It’s the relief that comes after a long hard battle. An all-out war.
It was only Madi’s beautiful voice that cleared my head enough to shift.
“It’s okay, he’s back.” Eagle says outside the door–probably to Ruby.
I roll to the side and pull Madi into my arms. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop myself. You saved my life, baby. Thank you so much.”
Her lips tremble, eyes brim with tears. Her face is pale. “Ouch.”
“I know. I’m sorry, sweetheart. It’s a mating mark. I know I fucked up. I fucked everything up. Thank you for coming.”
She pushes against my chest. “I came for Ruby.” She’s still mad at me. It doesn’t surprise me that someone with such a strong will and firm convictions would also be unwavering in her decision to cut me off forever.
But she came. She let me mark her. Her eyes shine with tears, so I know she still cares. Know that this stems from the pain I inflicted, not logic.
“We’re done.” She scrambles away and collects her torn panties and leggings, wobbling as she tries to step into them.
“Madison–Madi. I don’t trust easily. It’s a terrible flaw, I know that.”
She manages to get both legs through the holes and yanks up the combined set, frustrated when the panties wrap around and get trapped halfway up.
“I should have trusted you. I do trust you. You got set up by Aiden, and I believed the worst, but I won’t make that mistake again. Please don’t walk out that door.”
She stops with her back to me, her hand on the doorknob. The wound from my mark stands out, angry and red, the edges still open, seeping a little blood. My need to tend to her, to take care of her, nearly bowls me over.
“Please. I won’t make the same mistake again. Not ever. I just marked you as my mate. Wolves mate for life, Madi. You’re the only woman for me. Please don’t walk out that door.”
She turns and looks over her shoulder, and the uncertainty in her expression guts me. I’m the one who made her so insecure about our relationship. I wouldn’t give her anything but orgasms. I refused to admit she was my mate. Refused to own up to what she meant to me until it was too late. So when the Adalwulfs used her as a weapon against me, we had no foundation to stand on. The shifting sand beneath our feet made it possible for me to believe she’d deceived me.
I climb to my feet to persuade her and spread my hands. “Please.” I gesture around the trashed conference room. “You mean everything to me. All this is a result of not mating you.”
I know the moment I’ve won because she takes the time to look around the room.
She cocks a hip. “I don’t know who you expect to clean this up, but if you hired a new assistant–”
I catch her up around the waist and pull her against me. “I didn’t.” I lick her wound again to provide immunity and speed healing, then brush my nose against hers and seek her gaze.
She melts against me.
“I’m sorry, Madi. I was an ass. Please forgive me.”
She melts a little more and nods. “Yeah, I’m a little sorry I refused the giant apology trophy you sent.”
I chuckle, relief wending through my veins. “I’ll have it re-delivered tomorrow morning.”
“You didn’t hire a new assistant?”
“How could I?” I ask softly. “No one will ever compare to you.”
She sweeps her gaze down my naked body, taking in my dick, which is already standing at attention for her. “I’ll get your suit.”
I catch her arm and tug her back against me. “You don’t have to serve me.”
“Don’t take away my fun.”
I chuckle. Right. She has a boss kink. I can’t forget that. “Well, snap-snap then.” My tone is a suggestive rumble.
She’s ever-efficient, opening the door a crack to peek out and order my friends like the queen she is. “Can someone get us a set of clothes from the closet there?”
I hear the relief in the voices outside, and all I can do is drink in the sight of Madison, my beautiful mate, back in here where she belongs.