Chapter 30
He landed on his feet at the edge of the mattress and tackled her, careful to roll and keep her safe. She felt perfect in his arms.
“What are you doing?” She breathed, her arousal already filtering through his senses.
He rolled on top of her, careful to balance his weight on his elbows. She was too light, and he could still feel the silver in her system. Hopefully it would be gone soon, especially if they had to run. “I figured we should talk.” Never in his life had he suggested a chat with anybody.
Her dark eyes gleamed. “You’re not much of a talker.”
No shit. He’d rather be pounding inside her right now, showing her how much she meant to him.
But the pack was chasing them, and while he’d get her to safety, he wasn’t a runner.
Wouldn’t make her run for her life. So he’d return to take out the threat.
There was a good chance he’d get taken out at the same time.
But he’d make sure she was safe. “Just wanted you to know that I’ve felt you in my skin since the first time you smiled at me.”
She blinked, her lips pursing. Vulnerability shone in her eyes for a moment.
He kissed her, trying to be gentle. It wasn’t easy for him.
She returned his kiss, her eyes remaining open.
He paused.
“You’re not leaving me,” she whispered against his mouth. “Not sacrificing yourself.” She obviously didn’t know him very well.
“The second you became mine, your safety became all that mattered.” Truth be told, her safety had become his obsession from day one, but that was too hard to explain.
She stretched out beneath him, her pretty breasts brushing against his chest. All of his hurts disappeared.
“We’re taking this life on together, Caidrik McGregor.
If we have to fight the pack, we do it together.
If we have to run and explore the world, then it’s you and me.
” She pushed both hands through his hair, scraping gently along his scalp.
He wanted to purr, but wolves didn’t do that. So he growled instead.
Her grin was slightly lopsided. “Maybe we start our own pack somewhere and come back and save the Slate Pack members.”
His mate was a planner, that was for sure. “We’re not running,” he rumbled.
“I know,” she whispered, her gaze dropping to his mouth. “There has to be something more in that book. I haven’t translated all of it yet, but I will.” She shifted her weight, tempting him. Then her thighs lifted and slid against his flanks. “Maybe there’s a treaty or something we can write.”
Wolves didn’t rule via treaty. Even in today’s world, strength and power mattered. He gently prodded her and then began to stroke inside her, going slow and letting her tight body accept him.
She was tiny, his mate.
“Caidrik? Promise you won’t go all vigilante on me,” she whispered, her voice hoarse.
He didn’t even know what that meant. Not really.
“I’ll protect you.” It’s all he had to offer.
He nibbled on her lips, loving the taste of her.
Sweet with just a hint of spice. He could spend a year just kissing her.
So he let himself go deep and get lost. They might only have this one last night, and he wanted it to matter.
Wanted her to remember him in the future.
He’d call Jackson in the morning and get his promise to keep her safe with his pack. At least Emily was there, so Nadia wouldn’t be alone.
Of course, maybe he’d take out the Slate Pack.
But what then? He’d be an Alpha without a pack, which he’d tired of being. If she stayed by him, then maybe he could make it work? Actually build his own pack?
He licked along her jaw to her ear, where he bit.
She sighed and arched against him, pulling him farther inside her. God, she was tight…and wet. He bit his lip to keep from hurting her.
“I’ve loved our time together,” he whispered.
She giggled, actually giggled, and then bit his bottom lip. “You spent two months watching me and being cranky.”
“Yeah. I loved that time,” he said, licking his wounded lip.
Brat. “You’re fun to watch.” With one final push, he planted himself firmly in her, balls deep.
He never thought he’d find someone like her.
Then he grasped her hands, flattening his over them, intertwining their fingers and stretching her arms above her head.
More wetness spilled around his balls.
She wrapped her fingers through his and clapped her thighs to his hips. “Make me a promise.”
“Anything.” He meant it.
“Don’t die. Don’t sacrifice yourself. Don’t give up on us.” Her eyes were luminous and her angled face stunning. Feminine and strong.
He pulled out and pushed back inside her, tightening his hold. “Nadia.”
“I mean it.” She clenched her internal muscles around his dick, and he nearly saw stars. “Promise me.”
He sighed. “All right. I promise.” He had no clue how he’d keep that vow, but he’d do his best. “If we survive this, want to get married?” They weren’t human, but more and more of the wolves today were undergoing the marriage ceremony. He’d like to change her last name to McGregor.
“You have to ask with a ring and down on one knee, like the humans.” Amusement glittered in her eyes now, and her soft mouth curved. “Now you have to stay alive, don’t you?”
Well, yeah. At least until she agreed. “I need to stay alive just to properly tame you,” he said, nipping at her lips this time.
Her grin was wicked. “All right. Let’s see you give that a shot.”
Challenge accepted. He might just have to make her beg. He started to pound, bringing her to the edge several times, only to slow down. Over and Over.
His self-control was legendary.
She challenged it.
And by the end of the night, she did beg. Then she pushed him into a climax so hard his heart must’ve stopped for a moment. But she did get her promise.
He’d do everything possible he could to stay alive.
Now fate had to work with him, too.
Nadia finished translating the newest section of the grimoire and sat back, her mind reeling.
Oh. This was not good. Not good at all. Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them, blurring the page.
According to the text, her lupine aunts would be excommunicated from the entire pack, all because she couldn’t keep her hands off Caidrik.
The words felt cruel and absolute. There was a solution, buried deeper in the passage, but just thinking about it made her stomach ache.
She lowered the book and looked around the quiet room. The faint smell of canned soup still hung in the air. She’d cooked breakfast for them earlier, grateful for finding happiness with him but sorrowful that they’d lost the pack.
He’d left before dawn to meet Bussy, Margaret, and Solomon.
He hadn’t wanted them anywhere near her until he made sure it was safe, until he knew they were alone.
So he’d arranged a meeting spot about half an hour away and had taken Emily’s SUV.
The silence he left behind pressed in now, thick and uneasy.
Nadia turned the page. There wasn’t enough time to finish the entire book.
She read through the current section, translating faster now, the shapes and rhythms of the words finally settling into something familiar.
There was one way out of this. Just one.
And she didn’t want to tell Caidrik about it.
Didn’t want to say a word.
There were still several more pages to translate, but the words started to dance in front of her eyes.
She leaned forward, elbows on her knees.
What if they did go on the run? Would the pack stop chasing them eventually?
Could they find another place to live? Last night had cemented something in her heart.
She belonged with Caidrik. She’d thought she belonged with the Slate Pack, but maybe that wasn’t true anymore.
He was her choice.
She thought of the pack. They were wonderful wolves.
Gail, with her funny handwriting. Paco, always talking about farming once the mines shut down.
Glenys at reception. Even the doctor. Nadia had grown to love every single one of them.
The idea of leaving them in Bulwark’s hands made her feel sick.
She couldn’t do that. But she couldn’t risk Caidrik’s life.
The wind picked up outside, whistling through the trees. The cabin creaked softly, settling. It was utilitarian and isolated, built to disappear into the woods. The distant rumble of an engine snapped her attention up.
She hurried to the door just as the SUV came to a stop. Caidrik had shoveled a neat path earlier, and it made things easier as Bussy and Margaret climbed out, followed by Solomon.
He wore a three-piece green suit and a deep frown, which darkened when he caught sight of her. “How could you take the grimoire?” he shouted.
Nadia stepped back instinctively.
Solomon visibly caught himself, jaw tightening. “Sorry,” he said stiffly. “I have one duty. You took it. No one takes the grimoire.” His face had gone red as he walked behind the females. “I can’t believe you even touched it.”
“I’m sorry,” Nadia said quietly. “I needed to decipher the rest.”
“Why didn’t you just fucking ask me?”
She nearly dropped right there. She had never heard Solomon swear. Ever.
“They weren’t followed,” Caidrik said from behind them. “I made sure.”
Nadia hustled everyone inside. “Oh, Bussy, I’m so sorry.” She hugged the elderly woman and then turned to engulf Margaret in a hug. “I had no idea you’d be excommunicated. I feel terrible.” She stepped back from them.
“We didn’t do our job,” Margaret said, removing her coat and hanging it on a wall peg. “We should have just slept in your bed.”
Bussy rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Young love is young love.”
“I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did,” Margaret said softly. “We’ll go on a cruise with our husbands for a year. It’ll be okay.” She tried to smile, but sadness lingered in her eyes.
Caidrik walked inside then and looked toward the table.
Solomon did as well. He rushed forward, grabbed the grimoire, shut it hard, and held it to his chest as if he needed it to breathe.
“For Pete’s sake,” Caidrik growled. “It’s just a book.”
Solomon looked at him, eyes sharp. “It’s a book of our laws. Ones you would’ve had a chance to change if you could’ve controlled yourself.” He cut Nadia a look.
“Fair enough,” Caidrik said. “I have to admit that I didn’t take the chastity warning seriously.” He looked at the women. “Is everyone really coming to kill us?”
Bussy threw both hands up in the air. “I don’t know.”
“Is that really what the grimoire says?” Margaret asked.
“Yes,” Nadia and Solomon said at the same time.
Solomon glanced at the notes spread across the table. “Did you decipher everything?”
“I still have at least a chapter to go.” She needed more time.
Caidrik brushed melting snow from his thick hair. “Did you find anything that would help?”
Nadia grimaced. “I did. But it’s not pretty.”
Bussy jerked upright. “What’d you find? Did you find a way out of this?”
“There is a way,” Solomon said slowly. “But it’s not a good one.”
“I don’t care,” Caidrik said. “What is it?”
Nadia swallowed. “It’s really not good, Caidrik.”
He looked at her and then at Solomon. “Somebody had better tell me.”
Solomon patted the grimoire. “Apparently this situation has happened before.”
“We’re wolves, dear,” Bussy said. “Of course it’s happened before. That means there’s a contingency plan.” She grabbed Margaret’s hand. “Oh, Margaret, this is such good news. I really didn’t want to go on a cruise for a year.”
“Me either,” Margaret said. “I burn in the sunlight. Crazy.”
Caidrik didn’t spare them a glance. “What is it? What do I have to do?”
Solomon looked at Nadia.
Her stomach rolled. “According to the grimoire, you can get back into the contest if you fight twenty-five of the pack’s best fighters.” She gulped. “In addition to any remaining challengers.”
“Okay,” Caidrik said instantly.
“No. Hold on a minute,” Bussy said, holding up a hand. “You can’t just fight twenty-five and then Bulwark. That wolf is a killer.”
Caidrik looked directly at Solomon. “Do I have to fight them all at once?”
“No, no, no,” Solomon said quickly. “It’s one at a time.” He swallowed loudly. “If any of them beat you and take you out—kill you—they get twenty-five percent ownership of all the Slate mines.”
“Ooh,” Margaret murmured. “Now that’s an incentive.”
Nadia frowned. “Caidrik, you were in several fights just last night. You still have bruises.” He had so many he hadn’t been able to heal them all.
“I’m aware of that,” he said evenly. “But we can’t leave the pack to Bulwark.”
“Is there a time frame on this?” Nadia asked.
Solomon nodded. “Yeah. It has to be today, before anyone else is named the Alpha of the pack. I can stall Bulwark with a challenge or two, but it won’t take long. He’s going to want the ceremony tomorrow night at the latest.”
Caidrik looked around the cabin as the firelight danced over his handsome face. “I enjoyed our night here.” His soft words landed hard in Nadia’s chest.
“So did I,” she whispered. She had faith in him. She knew he was a great fighter, but taking on twenty-five trained enforcers and then Bulwark? Caidrik wasn’t invincible.
He must have seen the worry on her face because he winked. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve got the right incentive.”