Page 56 of Moon Destiny

But he also refused to leave my side. He’d moved all his work stuff into the bedroom, which was kind of adorable. However, I was going to plot his demise if he tried carrying me to the bathroom again.

“It wasn’t SEAL Team Six,” he said now, his face tinged with exasperation. “Thank goodness. I can only imagine the Council’s collective aneurysm if that were the case.”

I swung my legs off the bed.

Right away, his brows drew together. “Brooke, you shouldn’t—”

“Hush, Alpha.” I went to him and held out my arms. “See? Totally fine.” I could see the battle raging in his head. On the one hand, he wanted to order me back into bed. But as his gaze moved down my body, an unmistakable spark of lust fired in his green eyes.

I pounced on that, turning in a slow circle. The boy short panties I wore hugged my ass, and I could feel the heat of Hugh’s gaze like a brand on my backside. I stopped and cast an innocent look over my shoulder. “Do you think I’ve gained any weight from eating like a middle aged soccer dad on vacation?”

“No,” Hugh said absently. He didn’t seem to realize he’d leaned forward, or that his computer was in danger of sliding off his lap. “But even if you had, I wouldn’t give a shit. You’re perfect.”

Happiness bubbled inside me—but then I remembered what we’d been talking about and faced him. “I know it wasn’t SEAL Team Six, but those were Navy SEALs.”

“Former.” He roused himself, righting his laptop in the process. “Logan and his guys have been out of the service for a while.”

“But they’re humans. Won’t that cause problems?”

He started to shake his head. Then he stopped, and his bare shoulders lifted as he sighed. “It’s not ideal. It helps that Jordan survived the moon fever. I would have never forgiven myself if he died because of me. Of course, now he has Malcolm for a sire, so he might have preferred death now that I think about it.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Yes. Mostly.”

I plucked the laptop from him and set it carefully on the floor. Then I knelt between his knees. “It wouldn’t have been your fault if Jordan died. You were trying to save me and the pack and possibly all the other packs.” I shivered. “I looked into Rourke’s eyes. He’s a monster.”

Hugh grimaced. “And now he’s allied with the mageborn. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen Seren in that room.”

Memories of having my oxygen cut off surfaced. Hugh had explained that Seren was Carrick Hart’s beta—and the second most powerful mageborn wolf in the world. There was no way Seren would have appeared in that motel room without Carrick’s approval. That meant Rourke had all the mageborn on his side. The Council might not have wanted a war, but they were getting one anyway.

“Hey,” Hugh said softly, interrupting my troubled thoughts. He slid a warm hand under my jaw and rubbed his thumb over my lower lip. “Don’t worry about this, sweetheart. We’re going to fight back, and we’re going to win.”

My voice trembled. “I just don’t want you doing this alone.”

“I’m not. Dylan is reclaiming his pack. He’s a strong alpha. There are other strong alphas among the packs. We have seats on the Council. Don’t forget that. And if we can get the sorcerers on our side—and I think we can—we can stop Rourke from hurting anyone else.” He brushed his thumb across my lips again, sending tingles through my body. “Do you believe in me?” he murmured.

My eyes widened. “Of course I do.”

“Good.” He gave me a tremulous smile, his gorgeous eyes full of emotion. “Because that’s all that matters.” He caressed my cheek, then pulled his hand away. “I, uh, I have something for you.” I watched, mystified, as he withdrew a piece of paper from a stack on a little work table he’d positioned next to his chair. He hesitated, then shyly held it out.

I took it and scanned it, unsure what I was reading.

“It’s a list of journalism jobs with remote work options,” he said. “I want to make it clear, though, that I understand if you’d rather return to the Dispatch. I mean, I won’t love it because I’ll worry like hell, but I don’t have a right to stop you from pursuing your dreams. I just…the one thing I ask is that you let me give you a security detail. Just a couple—well, like a group, I guess—of enforcers to keep you safe while you’re working.”

“Hugh…”

“I know you probably aren’t thrilled about it, and I won’t force the issue if you say no, but—”

I grabbed his leg. “Hugh.”

He sucked in a breath. “Yeah?”

“I don’t need a security detail.”

He closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them they were stark. “Please, baby. I failed you when it came to Tanner. A-And he’s still out there—”

“No,” I said quickly, and I seized his hand. “You misunderstand me. I don’t need a security detail because I’m not going back to the Dispatch.”

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