Page 50 of The Wolf's Captive

“Thank you!” Victor announced. “You have no idea what it means to me.”

“Yes, well…” The old witch dismissed him with a wave. “…you better get on with saving the witches, then!”

Chapter Sixteen

“How does it feel to be back here?” Malone linked his fingers through mine as we stood in front of the mansion.

A chill ran through me, shaking my whole being. Malone felt the fear that gripped me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders in an attempt to frighten it away.

“Traumatic,” I replied, slipping my finger into the loop of his jeans waistband.

Something about the small connection made me feel stronger for what I was about to face.

It had been a couple of months since Kieran had violated me in the gorgeous historical mansion. And in that time, I’d learnt a lot about myself and my mate.

Malone turned me towards him and engulfed me in his muscly arms. His scent, pine and aftershave, slipped up my nose, changing the chill to a thrill. The very essence of him drove me wild, which was why I had to do this. For us.

“I’m right here,” he whispered, looking into my gaze, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Smiling, I clung to him, burying my head into his chest. No matter what happened tonight, I was his. Always.

The crunch of tyres on gravel made me step back with a start. The memory of being on this drive, sneaking out of the house, was still vivid in my mind.

It was dark, the house barely visible until the headlights highlighted it.

“It’s the others,” Malone reassured me.

Nodding, I glanced up at the house again. The dark wooden beams were so wonky, it was hard to see how the glorious Tudor house stayed standing. The small windows, criss-crossed with lead, were completely black, just like the night outside.

A group from our pack had staked out the place during the day, just to make sure that the rest of the Crawley Pack weren’t staying at the house. They would’ve been fools to come back once the werewolf council had found out what they’d done.

“And Nigel’s here, too.”

The hairs on the back of my neck lifted. If Nigel had arrived, so had Kieran and the other familiar werewolves. Shit, I thought I’d be able to handle seeing him again, but now that we were faced with the past, I froze, unable to move.

“It’s okay.” Malone stroked the back of my arm as Victor jumped out of the first car.

“Della!” he greeted, throwing his arms around me. “It’s a good job we’ve turned up at the same time, we can get it over and done with as quickly as possible.”

I clung to him, unconsciously begging him to do just that. If I had to see Kieran’s face for longer than was absolutely necessary, I would kill the bastard before Victor had a chance to do his spell.

“Della?” Fredrick said, drawing my attention away from the warlock.

Turning to him and the other witches, I moved forward and took his hands. They watched me, their expressions anxious, despite their desire to be unlinked from the werewolves.

“We spent the day with Victor.” Fredrick glanced over my shoulder at the warlock who chatted to Malone. “He’s a great guy. I have every faith in him.”

The others nodded their agreement and even managed a smile. I couldn’t deny that Victor was a charmer. Hopefully he could be trusted to take care of us above all else. After hearing his confession the day before, I was pretty convinced.

“He does seem amazing,” I replied, letting go of Fredrick when Malone appeared next to me.

His frown was quickly wiped from his face when Freddie turned to his new girlfriend and kissed her cheek. I smiled at them, pleased that they’d found each other through their ordeal.

“Shall we go inside?”

Nodding, I linked my arm in his and turned towards the building, just as the door to the van opened. I kept my gaze ahead, not wanting to catch sight of Kieran or the other wolves. I had to keep my mind on the task ahead and not get distracted by the bastard.

We walked to the front door, which had been opened by Victor. His spell had unlocked it, allowing us access. He also did a swift scan to see if there were any wards protecting the house. Weirdly enough, there wasn’t. Maybe the Crawley Pack really had abandoned the place once Kieran had been locked away. It was no wonder they wanted him dead, he had destroyed their pack.