Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
GARRETT
Four paws barely touch the snow as I walk.
Body stays close to the ground, using the shadows to my advantage as I stalk my prey.
Not once has the shifter turned to look in my direction.
That benefits me. My nostrils flare, taking in every scent in a mile radius.
We’re utterly alone, no one to interfere, no one to tell me I’m doing this wrong.
And most importantly, no one to stop me.
The silver wolf pauses along the trail, scenting the air too late. The wind already stilled.
Mine, my wolf growls, eager to dominate.
Not yet, I urge patience. There is a right and wrong way to infiltrate, or in this case, to sneak up on and overcome a shifter.
Without a sound I shift, leaving me fully naked, but far from vulnerable. Fuck, the wind shifts. I need a distraction… fast.
I gather the snow and hurl a snowball. Yes! It strikes her right in the ass!
“I’m going to get you for that!” my sweet female shouts as she turns and hurls not one, but three snowballs at me in succession.
The first goes wide, but she nails me in the chest with the second two. “Damn, that’s cold.”
“Good! You struck me when I wasn’t ready.”
“That’s the idea, darlin’. You should always be ready.”
She hurls two more, catching me in the head and groin. Despite the cold, all that ice and snow is not going to deflate my cock. Seeing her like this, playful and confident, gets me hard as steel.
Three more pummel me. She has a cache behind the tree where she’s taken cover. “You’re playing dirty, Angel.”
“You said be prepared.”
I laugh. “I certainly did!” I shift and race away at top speed away from her, hoping she’ll chase me. She stays where she is. More snowballs, maybe? She’s proving a worthy adversary, her innate skills sharpening now that the treatment’s working.
Two hundred feet into the woods, I break left and circle back, the wind ever turbulent today. Let’s see if Angel scents me coming.
When I spot her, crouched behind the tree, adding more snowballs to a very ample stash, she has no sense of how close I am. It’s only been a week, I remind myself. Mila said it could take up to three months for her to heal fully.
I don’t bother with snowballs this time, I pounce on my female, while I’m still in wolf form.
Blue eyes stare up at me. She’s flat on her back. She could push me off of her, but she doesn’t even try. I shift.
“And here I was about to run my fingers through your fur.”
“What? Give my wolf all the attention I deserve?” I press my cock against the apex of her thighs, even though she’s fully dressed.
“If you think you’re going to claim me out here, in the freezing cold again, shifter, you’re mistaken.”
“The victor decides the terms.”
“I hit you at least six times.”
“Snowballs don’t count.”
“Yes, they do. I won. Pinning me doesn’t count, not until I’m at full strength.”
“You think you can argue your way out of capture with the enemy?”
Her face falls. “Tell me the truth, Garrett. Is it too late to save them?”
Ah, fuck, I hate how she still feels responsible. “Blade’s last scout reported fourteen shifters in captivity. We have no way of knowing if they’re the same ones the humans used you to lure. But they need rescuing, so we’re going after Christmas. Hayden’s already fleshed out the rescue plan.”
“Then why wait until after Christmas?”
“Anna’s researching a way to protect us from further cadmium poisoning. Damien doesn’t want to leave those shifters in captivity. But he won’t risk us.”
“I’m glad we have an alpha that puts his shifters’ needs first.”
“He’s good at leading. When he’s not being a dick.”
She swats my arm. “Don’t say that. Damien’s worthy of your respect.”
“Damien the alpha, yes. Damien my cousin… eh, not so much.” I smile, because she knows I’m joking. Mostly. It’s nice having family to lean on again, to know they’re there if I need them. I’ll always be grateful for my angel bridging the gap that existed for far too long.
“Thank you, my angel. You returned more than my wolf to me. You gave me back my family.”
Her smile fades. “I want to return to my old pack.”
I sit up, thighs on either side of her, not entirely shocked as I knew this moment would come. She’s not safe out there. Even if she allows me to escort her, there are a lot of dangers outside our territory, and the thought of her getting hurt sickens me.
Her hand strokes my abdomen, stopping near my cock. “I’m coming back, Garrett. This is my pack now. This is home. Ronin said my family was wiped out, but I need to know who survived. Which of my friends, neighbors… I want to see them, one last time. I need a chance to say good-bye.”
The old me would get off her and walk away with a resounding ‘no’. But she’s not Marla, not even close. She doesn’t do anything on a whim, which means she’s thought this through.
And while I’m fucking nervous about her going, I can’t stop her. I wouldn’t want to. My Angel’s been caged enough.
“You know you don’t need my permission to go.”
“I know.”
“What if the scouts find the pack soon, before you’re healed?”
“I know these shifters, including their alpha. They won’t harm me, if that’s what’s worrying you.”
“Angel, I don’t trust anyone outside a small circle of shifters.”
“You mean our pack.”
I brush the hair away from her eyes. “I’m always going to worry about you, but I won’t ever stand in your way. I just want you to be healed, first. In case—”
“In case I have to run? Defend myself?”
“Yes, basically.”
“I’ll have you with me.”
“You will? I wasn’t sure you’d want me along.”
“Who else will guard my backside? I mean, when he’s not busy staring at it.”
“If any other male stares at your backside, he’ll have to deal with me.”
That smile she throws me is as confident and ego-boosting as can be. She knows what I’m saying. I won’t let anyone hurt her ever again.
“Then you’ll come with me?” she asks.
“Do you really have to ask that?”
“I know you don’t want me going anywhere near my birth pack.”
“I don’t trust that asshole.”
“Look, what Ronin did to me was a dick move, but I understand his desperation. I can get through to him and his brother. The cadmium test and cure will go a long way to possibly establishing relations between the two packs. I need to more than see them. I need to ensure they have this chance to survive.”
“You make several good points. Can you promise me you’ll return here with me, no matter what?”
“I can’t see myself anywhere else, shifter.” Her arms wrap around my neck. “Especially since I love you.”
My heart stops for a full beat as the blood rushes north, trying to absorb what she just said.
“I don’t think… I’ve never…” Hell, I have no words. I’ve waited so long to hear that she loves me, to know how she truly feels about me. Hearing that now… so much joy, I’m not sure what to do.
Her lips brush mine. “I should never have taken so long to tell you I love you. For that, I’m deeply sorry, but I do love you. Very much.”
“I’ve been lost, confused, and too damn busy blaming myself to give in to this pull I’ve felt for a long time.
Falling for you was easy. Telling you… that was the hard part, because I wasn’t sure what my future held.
I’ve finally realized that no matter where I am, what I do, or where I go, none of that matters, as long as you’re there with me.
You’re my future, Garrett. That’s the part I failed to understand.
Nothing else matters, as long as I have you. ”
“Fuck, Angel, I’ve loved you since… Hell, I don’t remember the first day. I feel like I’ve known you forever, and yet every day I learn more about the woman who has captured my heart and realize just how incredible she is.”
I caress the side of her face as I stare at her. “You’ve opened my eyes to what love is. Without you, I’d still be that husk of a shifter who existed, but had forgotten how to live. You’re as much a part of me as my wolf… more, even. I cannot fathom a life without you.”
Those dainty, perfect brows of hers furrow. “All this time, you’ve feared that I’d just walk away, leave you behind…”
“Yes.”
“Garrett… you are why I’ve survived. You rescued me, and I don’t mean from the WSSO. You saved me from thinking I had no place in this universe, no purpose. Losing my pack was fucking hard, but somewhere, even before then, I lost myself. You found me.”
“I didn’t do anything, Angel.”
“You did so much, Garrett. Always being there for me, supporting me, believing in me, especially when I stopped believing in myself. You found me, the shifter inside who’d let her alpha, her pack, repress who she is.
You gave me the chance… to be me. You are the definition of love, my sweet Garrett. ”
Heart racing, I lean forward and capture her lips. She sees me. Not the shifter or the wolf within me, but me, Garrett Black, a male who forgot how to live.
I lift her into my arms and head to my cabin, kick the door open, and carry her inside.
“The fire’s dying, shifter.”
“I will keep you plenty warm and then some.” I toss her onto the bed and methodically peel away every layer of clothing between us.
“Now, I’m really cold.” Her grin is an invitation I cannot refuse.
I take a blanket from the bed and drape it over her chest and arms, pulling the ends tight as I tuck them under the heavy mattress, effectively locking her in place.
“Really? You’re tying me up?”
“Keeping you warm.”
“There are other ways.”
“True, but this has you where I want you.” I spread her legs, pinning them down with my arms as I take one long lick along her pussy.
“That’s good,” she says with a dreamy quality to her voice that adds to my eagerness to claim her.
“So good that you don’t want any more,” I tease, because I can’t help myself.
“Don’t you dare stop, shifter, or I’ll have your hide.”
“That’s tempting.”