Page 43 of The Wolf's Captive

“It’s fine, I…” Sighing, I stroked his thumb with mine. “…just can’t wait until this is all done so we can get back to…”

“Making mad passionate love?” he said, flicking his eyebrows in suggestion.

Cocking my head to the side as the others gathered, I licked my lips. “Exactly that. When I’m free of that bastard, I’m going to break you.”

His grin almost split his face, quickly disappearing when Manual called for quiet. It felt good to tease my mate playfully, even if our banter wouldn’t last. Seeing the excitement in Malone’s face made me determined to get back to how we were before Kieran had ruined everything.

“Ladies and gents,” Malone announced, turning to face his people. “First off, I want to apologise for being so absent this last month.”

“Me, too!” I piped up, “I shouldn’t have disappeared the way I did.”

They watched us, their gazes slipping from me to him.

Malone didn’t scowl like he would’ve done in the past. Instead, he stayed quiet, waiting for me to indicate that I’d finished speaking. Nodding, I gestured for him to continue, grateful that he’d given me space to apologise.

I studied the pack. The young and old wolves who followed Malone had been on a roller-coaster ride because of me. It didn’t help that Malone’s father had created enemies in his last days, but if Malone had just stayed on track, they would’ve settled some of it by now.

Still, there was nothing to be done about it, and the pack had mostly accepted me. Even Lionel smiled gently at me, his nod of acknowledgement warming my heart.

He was standing next to Manual, who winked and waved, pleased to see me. I smiled to them both, glad to see their friendly faces.

Joseph, the eldest member of the group, leant on a wooden cane, watching Malone closely. His long, fuzzy grey hair was tied at the nape of his neck. His leathery skin was tired and worn, and yet, his eyes were bright, waiting to see what his alpha had to say.

“As you know, Kieran and his pack have been a threat to us for months now. We’ve found a warlock who is powerful enough to disconnect Della from that… fiend.” Malone’s swallow was audible.

“Good!” Evie called out. “He doesn’t deserve to be alive, let alone connected to our Mrs Alpha.”

A couple of the younger members chuckled before going quiet.

Malone’s face was still serious, brooding. He had clenched his fists and barely had his temper under control.

“Trust me, once Della is free of the bastard, he’ll be dead.”

The others nodded, a knowing expression crossing their features. At first, I had been shocked by how understanding they’d been of Malone’s attachment to me, but the longer I’d been with my mate, the more I could see that every wolf would kill for their soulmate. The bond was unbreakable, and stuff of romance novels, quite frankly.

My mind wandered back to the days I’d sit in my armchair in the cubby of our front room window, reading paranormal romance novels. I never dreamt that I’d be one of the heroines, finding a man who was bound to me beyond reason. I was one lucky lady.

“And when that happens,” Malone went on, “we’ll be free from the Crawley Pack.”

“About time,” Lionel chimed up. “Those wolves need to pay for what they did to our people, to Emiliah.”

A low hum of agreement rumbled around the camp as we took a moment to honour their memory.

Lionel looked slightly better than when I’d last seen him, but Malone had told me that he’d gone into himself, hell-bent on revenge. Well, he would have it.

“Emiliah would have wanted you two to bond.” Lionel’s words were accompanied by a wet glimmer in his eyes.

My stomach trembled as I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth. Grief pressed against my throat, choking me. I swallowed it down, blinking rapidly as I glanced at Malone.

“He’s right,” Rochelle said. “It’s time for you to solidify your bond so Della can be an official member of the Brighton Pack.”

Mostly everyone else agreed, a couple going as far to suggest we do it right away. Malone let them laugh about it when one of them suggested a fancy dress ceremony where we all wore werewolf outfits.

Taking my hand, the alpha drew my attention to him. I smiled up at him, unable to hide the glee that wanted to burst from me. They wanted me to become a part of their pack, to officially belong to them. Every inch of my skin tingled at the thought of being paired with Malone indefinitely.

“Are you ready?” he said in a husky voice.

“What, now?” I squeaked, my neck flushing hot.