Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Maverick
“ L una!”
By the time I get to the scene, there’s fur flying and teeth snapping. Growls, whines, and other unspeakable sounds of fighting canines fill the air. Behind the mayhem, I see Madi. She’s pressed up against a fallen log, watching with horror.
I don’t waste any more time and pull a bear banger out of my pack. I hope like hell it will be enough to stop the fight and scare off the male wolf, because I didn’t bring my shotgun with me.
I fire the banger.
There’s a whimper and a whine, and the bigger wolf takes off, running through the bushes.
“Luna!”
“Madi!”
I move for her at the same time she moves for the dog.
“Are you okay?” I’m desperate to know if she’s uninjured. Thank God Luna came back to the camp to alert me when she did. I’ll never forgive myself if Madi’s hurt. My hands move over her, but she shakes me off.
“Maverick! I’m fine.” She stares me in the eye, and I believe her. “It’s Luna.”
In a flash, my attention shifts to my dog, who is lying unmoving on the forest floor.
Madi has pulled Luna’s head into her lap and is stroking her fur. “She saved me.” Madi’s tears flow freely down her cheeks onto the dog’s fur. “Please be okay, Luna. Please.”
The dog’s eyes are open. She’s watching Madi carefully. That’s a good sign.
I do a quick assessment of her. “She has a few bites, but they don’t look too deep. I think she’ll?—”
“What about the pups?”
My head flies up to look at Madi. “The what?”
“The pups,” she says again. “Luna is pregnant. I thought you knew.”
Again, my attention goes to my dog. I noticed she was getting a bit plump, but I’d just assumed I was feeding her too much, combined with whatever it was she was hunting on her own. But…pups?
“We need to get her cuts cleaned up and get her comfortable.” I jump to my feet and hold a hand out for Madi. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nods, but it’s not enough for me. When she takes my hand, I tug her up and pull her tightly into my arms. “You swear it?” I hold her face in my hands and look her in the eye. My voice is rough and commanding. “You swear you’re okay?”
She nods, tears streaking her cheeks. “I’m fine. I’m?—”
I don’t wait to hear what else she has to say. I kiss her hard. Possessively.
The only thing that matters is that she’s fine.
And making sure Luna is okay, too.
Nothing else matters.
Madison
I feel useless as I trip and stumble after Maverick. He’s carrying the massive wolf-dog, cradling her like a child as we make our way back to camp as if she doesn’t weigh anything at all.
But instead of going back to camp, we take a different turn. “Maverick?”
He whirls around at the sound of my voice. “Are you?—”
“I’m fine.” He’s asked me at least a dozen times since we started walking. “But, I think camp is that way.”
“It is.” He nods curtly. “We’re going back to my cabin. I want to make sure she’s comfortable.”
I nod and we start walking again. It isn’t long before we reach the top of the mountain with a small clearing. A log cabin sits in the middle of the clearing, with a perfect 360 view of the surrounding valleys and peaks.
On the porch, Maverick settles Luna onto her dog bed, and together we get to work, assembling the first-aid supplies. I don’t say much, but let him tell me what to do and where to find the items we need. After a while, Luna’s wounds are clean and she’s resting comfortably on her bed.
I press a kiss to the dog’s head and whisper, “Thank you for taking care of me, Luna. I’m going to make sure you’re taken care of, too.”
When I look up, I see Maverick watching me. He gestures with his head, and I get up and follow him inside the cabin. Nerves race through me. He has every right to be angry with me.
“I’m sorry, Maverick. I never should have left like that. I just needed to get some space from you because I was feeling things that I?—”
“Shut up.” His words are rough, and to my horror, tears spring to my eyes. “Shit. I didn’t mean…not like that, Madi.”
Maverick grabs me by the wrists and yanks me toward him. “Do you know how scared I was when I saw you there with that wolf? You could have been hurt. Fuck. You could have been killed, Madi.”
His voice shakes with emotion, and he bites back a growl.
“I’m sorry, Maverick. I just needed to…I didn’t think that would happen.” Again, tears stream down my face. “I didn’t mean to cause such a mess. I just?—”
“What did you say earlier about feeling things?”
I shake my head. “What?”
“You said you left because you needed space from me. You were feeling things. What were you feeling?”
“Oh.”
He’s standing so close that my senses are on overdrive, muddling my thoughts. But one thing has never been clearer. My whole life, people have left me and there was nothing I could do about it. But maybe this time can be different. I at least have to try.
I swallow back my nerves and tilt my head back to look up at his handsome face. It’s lined with worry and concern. “I’m feeling things for you, Maverick. I know this is going to be crazy, but I owe it to myself and to you to say it.” I take a deep breath and prepare to put it all on the line. “Maverick, I’m?—”
Maverick
“I’m in love with you, Madi.”
I can’t wait a second longer for her to tell me what kind of feelings she’s having. And it doesn’t matter, because no matter what, I need her to know how I feel about her.
Her mouth falls open.
“I can’t explain it,” I continue. “And I don’t care to. All I know is that from the moment I saw you, I knew you were mine. And last night…” I take a breath and force myself not to shut down the way I always do. This is too important. “Last night, I felt something I’ve never felt before, doll. Like you were made just for me. And when I thought you’d left earlier, I wanted to tear down the forest to find you. The thought that you could have been hurt today…” I suck in a breath. I can’t even think about what could have happened if I hadn’t arrived in time. I shake my head and force the thought out. “Don’t leave, Madi. Stay on the mountain with me. Live with me here, or closer to town if it makes you happy. Study the wolves if you must, but I’ll make sure you do it safely. Have my babies. Be my wife. Just…don’t go.”
It’s the most I’ve ever said at one time, but I don’t regret any of it.
She doesn’t say anything at first. She only blinks slowly and after what feels like forever, she sucks in a long breath. “Wow,” Madi says with a shake of her head. “I thought I was the chatty one.”
She giggles and ducks her head. When she looks up, her eyes are glassy with unshed tears. “That’s exactly what I was going to say.” She laughs again. “Well, not exactly, but…I’m so in love with you, Maverick.”
Her words are a balm to my ragged nerves.
“Say it again.”
“I’m in love with you.”
I close my eyes and breathe in the moment. “Again.”
She giggles again; the sound is intoxicating. “I love you, Maverick.”
“And you’ll stay on the mountain with me?”
“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”
She’s so perfect. I open my eyes to see my doll looking at me with love in her eyes. I don’t know how it’s possible that fate would give me—a grumpy, gruff mountain man—this beautiful bubbly doll of a woman, but what I do know is that now that I have her, I’ll never let her go.
“And babies?” I ask. “Will you have my babies?”