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A roar comes from outside.
“Holy crap.” I jump off the sofa. “What the heck is that?” Stars play over my eyes from the sudden movement, and I catch myself before I fall and sit back down.
“That is the sound a lycan alpha makes when someone steals his mate.”
“It sounds like a dragon.”
“Trust me.” Lenox grabs a blanket from his bed and wraps it around my shoulders. He walks me onto the terrace.
“If Seith could breathe fire right now, he would,” Lenox says.
“Will someone get hurt?”
Lenox doesn’t answer me.
I look at his profile. He’s Gloriana’s mate, and I wish him all the best in the world. “Please, don’t fight him, Lenox.”
He side-eyes me. “I won’t let him have Duane. No matter what. Duane is the future Alpha of our pack. You can tell Seith I said so. Tell him Duane saved your life. And Marybell?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m counting on you.”
I swallow and nod. “I’ve got this.” Before I rush outside to meet Seith, I rub my body with Gloriana’s blanket again as if it were a towel and I had just come out of the bath. Better her scent on me than Duane’s. I don’t wish for Seith to think ill of me when he’s my one and only person.
Lenox goes back out onto the terrace while I exit the room, round the corner of the hallway and walk outside.
The sun is rising, its light making it easier for me to see that there’s not a single lycan male anywhere in the meadow, by the forest entrance across the meadow, or near the stables or the dining hall.
The den appears empty.
Quiet.
Anticipating the coming storm that is my mate, who is roaring like a dragon as he comes for me.
It’s a new span and quite chilly out for the summer season. I pull the blanket more tightly around my body and pad softly on bare feet across the grass. It’s soft and wet, the cold ground raising goose bumps on my skin.
The trees start bending at odd angles, and before I can wonder what odd wind makes that happen, a massive white-furred werewolf flies through the air, the distance of his leap seemingly impossible even for a lycan male. From the top of a tree, he drops to land in a crouch and roars, all his sharp teeth bared. My steps halt.
On two legs in his werewolf warrior form, Seith is twice my size, with a muzzle as long as my arm. With his upper lip peeled away to reveal huge flesh-tearing canines, he appears terrifying.
But I can’t be afraid of him.
A lycan can’t hurt his mate. He’s here to protect me and steal me back.
I stand before him, my eyes locked with his silver ones. I would know those eyes anywhere. They’re magical, bright, and if those eyes could speak, they’d say how relieved he is to see me.
Seith sniffs my shoulder, his nose wet and cold. Still growling and agitated from hunting me down, he circles me a few times, sniffing here and there, rubbing his fur against my skin. It’s primal and aggressive, and I feel like a tree, like he’ll lift a leg and pee on me any moment now.
Once he’s a bit calmer, Seith scoops me up, and I wind my legs around his hips. Goddess, he smells so good. Evergreen forest, wolf, and male.
Since he can’t seem to stop growling, I comfort him. “I’m fine, wolf,” I say. “I’m so happy to see you are too. I was afraid I’d lost you. It felt terrible. I’m sure you felt terrible about losing me too. It means we’re in love, you see?”
Seith grunts and turns toward the forest.
Lenox stands at the terrace. I give him a thumbs-up. This time, I mean it. It’ll all be well.
EPILOGUE
