Page 93 of His to Possess

As I heard the rumble of a motorcycle coming up the driveway, I wanted nothing more than to retreat to the cabin, but it wasn’t something I’d been able to do. I was alpha after all. Besides, there could be some news about my father. He lay close to dying, the strongest wolf I’d ever known reduced to a shell of himself from the frailties of a disease I thought only humans were capable of getting.

Cancer was really the ugliest beast.

I’d laughed more than once at the irony. There was no rogue wolf, no disease lying in wait, at least from what I’d been able to ascertain with the help of the leaders of other packs.

Including the Lycans.

Perhaps my idea of a summit meeting of sorts was too conventional, but I didn’t believe there was a Wolfen prepared for life on the run. There would be peace among us as long as I was in charge. I felt sorry for Brody, his taste for blood preventing him from being reformed. There was no chance he could walk life as a human again. For now, he was imprisoned in a safe location until I made the determination what to do with him.

As far as the rest of the Wolfen, they’d returned to normal, going about their day to day lives as if an actual war hadn’t almost ensued.

It was only their new leader who would never see life again in the same way.

As Stone eased out of the cab of his truck, he shoved his hands into his pockets. “You just going to sulk for the rest of your life?”

“It doesn’t appear I actually have a life,” I said, half smiling. I had my work, still maintaining a presence as a special agent. Still pissing off my boss. I was also working with the local police in the investigation that had ensued on Kelly Industries. Tyler’s blackmail scheme and his threats had been fairly widespread. At least I’d been able to protect Kathleen’s father from criminal charges. The poor man had merely been worried about his daughter’s life.

In other words, there was a hell of a lot of work yet to do in cleaning up the mess. At least it would keep me busy for a few weeks if not months. That would protect my mind to some degree from thinking about Kathleen, the heartache keeping me awake at night.

“You need to move on with your life,” Stone said as he glanced up at the sun. While I couldn’t see his eyes given the thick, dark shades, I already knew what he was thinking, the admonishment clear.

“Not that easy, my friend. You’ve never been in love.”

He laughed, kicked his boot against the dirt. “You don’t know that, Max. In fact, you don’t know me at all.”

I offered him the bottle of whiskey, half surprised he grabbed it out of my hand, taking a long swig. “When I was in medical school, I was a playboy at first, until the sweetest girl dragged me to my knees with a single look one day in class. That was it for me.”

“And what happened?”

He took another long pull before answering. “I realized that she was far too fragile for a man like me. She deserved a hell of a lot better.”

His words troubled me, another forced realization that we were truly animals in our own eyes. “I wish I could offer words of wisdom.”

“Yeah, well…” He allowed the words to linger before yanking off his sunglasses. “That’s why I’m here. You just got to get over this.”

“But she was my mate.”

He took a swagger closer, planting his steel-toed boot on the bottom stair. “Then you do what any wolf must do.”

I yanked the bottle out of his hand, taking a hard swig myself. This wasn’t the good stuff my father had bought. This was rotgut shit, the only thing I was in the mood for. The burn was exactly what I needed to feel. “And what’s that?”

He fisted his hand, holding his arm in front of me. “You fight. You take what belongs to you.”

I sucked in my breath, barely hearing his words, the wolf inside of me clawing at the surface once again.

“You. Are. Wolfen. The alpha. And she belongs to you.”

* * *

Kathleen

“You belong to me.”

The word, his words lingered in my mind. I hadn’t been able to get them or the man out of my thoughts for days. I stood at the window of my apartment, holding out both arms. By all rights, I should be dead, the fire nearly consuming me, stealing away a life I’d fought so hard to save. But I was healed. No scars. No burn marks of any kind.

And the only reason?

Because I was a wolf.

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