Chapter 23 #2
Ethan meets my eyes, his gaze softening.
“It felt like I did,” he admits. “I watched as you asked Teddy, ‘what if you’re being kept from who you’re supposed to be’, and…
I fell hard, Wren. I thought to myself, if I couldn’t have you, then I’d at least make sure whoever got in your vicinity was a safe option. ”
My heartrate picks up. “I…I had no idea.” I had no idea that even before I met these men, they were looking out for me.
“You were never supposed to,” Ethan chuckles, shaking his head. “But, now that it’s out in the open…I hope you realize this was never about the true scent match for us. Yes, we’re all very, very happy it exists, but…it only revealed the ending to the story that we already knew.”
My eyes dart back to Maverick. I still don’t know how he reacted—if he did at all—after seeing me meet Teddy. “What about you?”
“What about me?” He frowns.
“Well…” My gut turns at the question I’m about to ask…what if I don’t like the answer? “Brennan kept tabs on me, Ethan screened the packs that wanted to court me…what did you do?”
He looks like maybe he wasn’t expecting me to ask that question. My heart starts to sink as all he does is stare at my face, indecision warring across his features.
He didn’t do…anything.
I don’t know why the thought of him not being as drawn to me as the rest of the guys had been makes me feel like I might be sick. He wants me now, and that’s what matters, right? But the idea that he had been indifferent, even for just a moment, makes my omega want to curl up into a ball and die.
He swallows, his eyes searching mine before he sighs, rubbing his hands over his face. “Are you sure you want to know?”
Well…that’s not what I was expecting him to say.
“Should I not be?” I whisper. Brennan and Teddy look at Maverick with confused expressions.
“It’s up to you,” he shrugs, even as his face turns sad, “I…I never want you to be scared of me.”
Scared? Of Maverick? The alpha who turns into a big softie just for me?
Before I realize what I’m doing, I’m getting out of my chair and crawling into his lap, straddling his legs for the second time today. This time, I take his face in my hands. “I could never be scared of you.”
He doesn’t try to escape my hold but averts his eyes slightly, even as his hands come up to grip my waist. “Baby Girl, I…” he lets out a sigh, his eyes closing briefly. “I’ve…killed people.”
The words should send terror through me. But…they don’t.
“Who?”
“The part of the dark web we use to get clients…well, there are two sides to every coin, right? For every person wanting to save an omega or beta, there’s someone else who wants to kill or kidnap one. So I…got to them first.”
I…what?
He keeps going. “It started just like Brennan’s obsession…
simply looking up your name. But after a mission where we relocated someone who had a hit on them…
I searched you on the site. Seeing your name…
your face on these ads…something inside me broke.
I had to get them down, I had to know that you were safe, or I might have gone crazy.
I don’t regret a single life I’ve taken in your name. ”
For whatever reason, the thought of Maverick killing someone doesn’t make me want to run and hide. But the other thing? That makes me feel sick.
“There were people who…wanted to kill me?” My mouth goes dry.
“Enemies of your parents, or enemies of your family’s friends.
Ones who didn’t want the Messina family to gain more power by allying their daughter with an influential pack.
I tracked down every single person who posted the ads, and I…
killed some of them. Most of them were able to be threatened or beat into taking it down and telling anyone who took the bid that the job was cancelled… but some needed more convincing.”
I’m frozen. I don’t know what to say. Maverick…Maverick has killed for me? Before he even knew me?
My alpha searches my face for a hint of my emotions, but I can’t even begin to put into words how I feel about this admission.
His face falls. “I know. I’m sorry, I—”
My mouth slams into his.
A surprised grunt leaves him as I delve my tongue into his mouth, hoping that he can read my emotions through this kiss.
His arm wraps around my waist, holding me to him as he kisses me back just as fiercely. This man…this rough, gentle, sweet man…he’s been protecting me for far longer than he’s known me.
They all have.
And that means everything.
I pull back with a gasp, pressing my forehead to Mavericks as I try to catch my breath. “Thank you,” I whisper, closing my eyes as another tear falls down my cheek. Not from anger or sadness, but from pure elation.
Then, I try to compose myself before standing from Mavericks lap and looking around the table. Teddy is grinning like a kid, Brennan looks mildly shocked, and Ethan seems like he has more questions for Maverick. But I clear my throat, drawing their attention to me.
“In light of everything that I’ve learned the last ten minutes…
will you all sleep with me in my nest tonight?
” And then I swallow, trying to summon the courage to ask this next question.
But, if my guys can be honest about what they’ve done for me, then I can be honest about what I want with them.
“And…during my heat…I would like for you all to bond me.”