AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He just held me, the pressure of his massive arms giving me a security that only he could give. My panic ebbed, and I slowly let him be what I needed.
“I love you,” I said, and this time I knew what it meant. Being the one person I thought of in panic. The one man that I wanted to come home to. The one person that I knew was worth trusting. The one who owned my heart.
CHAPTER16
Devon
One got away.
I wanted to scream, but instead I stayed here and held my mate. Her entire body trembled, and I didn’t know how to stop it.
Trail him.
Anger coursed through me like a freight train. Every muscle in my body was ready to fight something or someone. On my own fucking lands. She hadn’t been safe on my own fucking lands.
She shook in my arms. I couldn’t go after the one that got away. Instead, I had to watch as four of my best men were all now being drawn away to find a fucking wolf who was now rogue. There would be no exile or chance for him to go join ranks though. No. He would be dead the moment we caught up to him.
“Shh. Calm, Kiara. I am here. No one will harm you; I swear to it. Please.”
I was begging her to trust that I would keep her safe and yet here I was, fucking up again. This time, though, it hadn’t been because I’d put the pack over her. It didn’t matter though. The guilt and anger ripped through me.
She seemed to nod, or maybe that was a strange reflex as she allowed herself to calm into my touch.
“Are they even able to be saved?” she asked.
I chuckled, but not because what she said was funny.
“No. They aren’t. We are aware some of the Cripple Creek pack are not willing to assimilate no matter what they say. There are now four less.”
It wasn’t just the feel of her exhale or the way her body almost went limp in my arms that had me realizing my delicate little flower wasn’t nearly as delicate.
“You aren’t bothered by their death?”
She slid a hand around my bicep and then another over my cheek.
“You have a little blood,” she said.
I motioned to put her down, and she stopped me.
“No. Don’t leave me. The blood. It doesn’t matter. I’m bothered that it was quick. I hate them.”
My wolf growled in agreement.
“There is still one more. He will pay once they catch him. The rest will be laid out as an example.”
Now that I had her in my arms, I had to face a different terror. One that I didn’t think of while I ripped out their throats.
“Are you hurt?”
Kiara straddled me, wrapping her legs around me. She was already weightless in the water, but this allowed me to feel every inch of her. Allowed me to see the torn shirt.
The rumble of my anger was like an out-of-control train. Except when she put her hand on my cheek, I stopped. The anger dissipating like the heat of her hand was a base to its acid. She was washing away the blood one cup of water at a time.
“They wanted to hurt me, but you came for me. I tried to fight them, but there were too many.”
I clenched my jaw.
“You have a damn target on your back, and I don’t seem to protect you when you need me to.”
