Page 37 of Protecting The Gray Wolf
Talk about a loaded question. It was a miracle Luna hadn’t fallen asleep at the counter. Her shoulders were drooping and her body swaying. He doubted she realized it. “Come here.” He lifted her off her stool and onto his lap.
“Not a good idea.” But she snuggled her head against his shoulder and sighed.
“Solange and Charles want what the lone wolves have.”
“Immortality. That’s what I was missing.” She placed her hand on his chest. The tattoo began to pulse. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around that. Is it even possible? How would you steal immortality?”
“Even a few weeks ago, I would have said no, but with everything I’ve learned since, I honestly can’t say for sure.” And that was a little more than disconcerting. He might not have chosen to be the gray wolf, but it was who he was. Damned if he’d let some mage and her wolf cohort yank it away from him and use that power for their own selfish ends.
The muscles in his shoulders and arms rippled and bunched, and his grip tightened around her. “No one has ever been able to predict who the next lone wolf will be. It simply happens. I’d always considered it fate or destiny. Now I wonder if the first lone wolf wasn’t a product of some sort of magic.” It made an odd sort of sense when he thought about it. “Maybe it was meant to be hereditary, but the spell got away, took on a life of its own.”
“If it has a basis in magic…” She raised her head, worry clouding her eyes.
“Maybe a mage can manipulate it. Even take it away.” The grim reality settled over him. “With three of us in the world, there are three chances to get it right.” There was no way that was an accident.
“Is Solange behind that? The three of you existing at the same time?”
His Luna was smarter than most. It didn’t surprise him she’d grasped the nuances as fast as she had. “I don’t believe in coincidences. It makes a horrible kind of sense. Devlin has already had a run-in with her.”
“But why am I involved? Why was that other woman drawn to the white wolf?”
She wasn’t going to like it, but she deserved the truth. “You’re the lure. This isn’t a plot hatched a few days or weeks or even years ago. It goes back decades. It’s no coincidence you have the same coloring as me, that fate or instinct brought us together, and my wolf is drawn to you. It’s impossible to track a lone wolf. We’re constantly on the move, traveling wherever we’re called. But a human woman is easy to keep tabs on. It’s speculation why everything seems to be coming to a head now, but it was inevitable.” It was diabolical and bloody brilliant.
She bolted off his lap, horror dawning in her eyes. “You’re saying today isn’t the first time I’ve had some sort of hex put on me. That the coloring we share is no accident. Neither are my dreams about the gray wolf. Is anything in my life real or is it all some supernatural experiment? Did I ever have a choice about anything?” She dragged on the ends of her hair, her eyes wide, her pupils dilated. “And what you feel for me is no more than magical manipulation. I’m a weight around your neck, a responsibility you can’t shake, one that will ultimately lead to your capture and death.”
When she began to sway, he reached out, but she held her hands out in front of her and took a step back. He couldn’t allow her to believe that’s all she was. “Maybe our paths crossed because of magic. And, yes, maybe it has something to do with our sexual attraction.” He placed his hand on his heart. “But if that’s all there was to it, I should resent you, should feel trapped.” Shoving up from his seat, he stalked toward her. “But that’s not what I’m feeling.”
“What do you feel?” she whispered.
That was the question, wasn’t it? “Like you’re more essential to me than air, than food.” There was no bitterness, no anger toward her at being maneuvered into this position. Instead, there was a bone-deep sense of rightness.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled her against him, leaned down, and lightly brushed his lips over hers. “Whatever outside influence brought us together, the connection I feel toward you is very real. You’re a song in my blood, the missing piece of the puzzle, the lover I’ve searched for my entire life without knowing I was even looking. When I’m around you, the restlessness that constantly plagues me is silent. You’re the one who’s magic. I want to know everything about you—favorite foods, movies you enjoy, and what makes you laugh.”
If he was going to end up damned for his attraction to her, he might as well reap the benefits. “What do you want from a lover.” His tongue teased the seam of her lips until they parted. On a groan of pure pleasure, he swept inside.
The white wolf could wait. Solange and her partner could go to hell. The world could damn well leave them alone for a few hours. He needed Luna. And whether she realized it or not, she needed him. Lifting her off her feet, he headed toward the bedroom. She didn’t protest, instead wrapping her arms around his neck. Every cell in his body sighed with relief.
“If you don’t want this, tell me now.” He set her down beside the bed. Once he took her, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to let her go. A wolf lived and died by instinct. As a lone wolf, his went deeper. And right now, they were screaming that Luna was his.
There was no mention of any previous lone wolf having a mate, but why would there be? Lone wolves were meant to be solitary, and for good reason. His life was all about death and blood. He was always on the move, never resting for more than a few days or weeks at a time before the urge to hunt became unbearable.
On top of that, there would always be those who hunted him, putting any lover or mate in constant jeopardy. Not to mention he’d live forever while Luna was a human. At best, she had decades. He’d be alive long after she’d left this world.
Pain pierced his lust, stabbing him in the heart. He clenched his jaw to keep from howling, his wolf filled with fury. It didn’t matter if she might be willing to overlook the obstacles they’d face if they remained together. Her life was being threatened by his enemies…and he’d always have enemies.
His growl was so low it vibrated through the floor and pulsed in the air. Solange and Charles had made a grave error. Having Luna didn’t weaken him; it strengthened him. There was nothing he wouldn’t do, no lines he wouldn’t cross to protect her. And if any other wolves sought to join his adversaries, they’d learn firsthand the fury of the gray wolf.
“Kade.” Worry clouded her beautiful eyes. They might be the same color as his, but hers fascinated him. She was better than most humans at hiding her emotions, but he was a lone wolf. He could read her true feelings in the minutest dilation of her pupils or a slight tightening of her lips. Right now, she wasn’t even trying to conceal them, was an open book.
Her concern was a balm for his battered soul. If he was a better man, he’d put her to bed…alone. She was exhausted, had been pushed beyond anything she should ever have been expected to deal with. Yet she wanted him. It was humbling.
“Last chance. I can tuck you in bed and leave.” His voice was rougher than normal. The stakes were higher than they’d ever been. He’d lived a long time. He enjoyed women, had taken many lovers in the earlier years. That had petered off over the past couple of decades, becoming hollow. This was what he’d hungered for—true connection.
Luna knew what he was, but could she truly accept all of him?
Her soft hands cupped his face. “There’s no way to know if what we’re feeling is real or a byproduct of a spell.” He braced, waiting for her to reject him. “I’m not sure I care. The future is unpredictable. I could have died today. You could have been captured. What I do know is I’ve never wanted a man the way I want you.” She peered deep into his eyes and repeated, “I want you.”
Overcome with emotion, he briefly closed his eyes. Three tiny words sealed both their fates. Lungs expanding, he took a deep breath and released it.
