Page 17 of Bullied Wolf Mate

“She doesn’t want to help anymore,” I told him. “She changed her mind. I took her somewhere so she didn’t have to deal with you and Jameson pestering her about it.”

“I don’t believe that for a second,” he said dismissively.

“Believe it or don’t. It doesn’t change the fact that she isn’t going to help.”

Declan snarled, his fingers flexing. I had no doubt he wanted to wrap them around my throat and shake me until I told him what he wanted.

“Even if she has changed her mind, I want to talk to her.”

I folded my arms, flashing teeth that had lengthened into fangs. Just the idea of Declan talking to her set my wolf on edge.At the moment, despite how inadvisable it would be, he wanted nothing more than to tear Declan to shreds for even considering putting her in danger.

“No,” I said. “You’re not getting to her.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, jaw clenching. When he opened them again, he had his frustration back under control.

“Listen,” he said. “We have sources keeping an eye on the situation, but Inara isn’t going to give up, and she’s smart enough to work around our defenses. I can promise you that Inara’s already preparing her coven for their next move. They haven’t given up on Lorelei or The Trove. They’re going to come after her again, and it’s going to be a lot messier the second time around. Inara’s clever,” he added. “She’ll have learned from her mistakes. Whatever her next step is, we’re going to have a world of shit on our hands. Training Lorelei is our best chance at stopping her.”

“Then find another way,” I said. “Don’t you think she’s been through enough already? Did you know Inara starved her?”

“I guessed as much,” he admitted. “She had signs of malnourishment. But that’s going to be a vacation compared to whatever Inara will do if she gets her hands on Lorelei again. We need her to find out how to access The Trove if we’re to have any chance of stopping her.”

The worst part was, I knew he had a point. If it had been anyone else, anyone other than Lorelei, I would have been with him one hundred percent.

“They won’t just go after Lorelei,” Declan said. “They’ll go after the whole town. Do you have kids?”

“No,” I answered.

“I’ve got one. Her mom and I are split.” He stared at me. “If we don’t stop Inara soon, or she doesn’t get her way, there’s a chance she’ll go after my daughter along with this entire town and any other family members she can get her hands on. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let that happen.”

The conviction in his eyes told me he wasn’t going to back down, no matter what I said.

“She’s safe,” I growled, then reluctantly added, “She’s at my house. Before you ask, I’m not going to let you talk to her, and I have no intention of letting her out of my sight. I’m not going to let her put herself in danger.”

“Even if it’s her choice?”

“Yes.”

He took a deep breath and kept his gaze on mine. “I hope she—or you—decide otherwise soon. Because without that diadem, we have nothing to use against Inara. She’ll steamroll right over us.”

“Find another option,” I insisted. “One that doesn’t involve putting Lorelei in danger.”

“We’re looking into it,” Declan growled. “And so far, destroying the diadem and using the magic in that hoard is our best chance against Inara.”

“You’ve made that perfectly clear,” I said.

“Then let me make it clearer,” he said. “Lorelei not wanting to help is one thing. You keeping her from helping is something else altogether. And if you keep this up and Inara gets what she wants because you were too selfish to let Lorelei make her own decisions, that’s on you. By trying to shelter her, you might be condemning Lorelei to death instead. Think about it.”

He walked away without another word, leaving me to mull over his words. For the first time, a real nugget of hesitation began to nestle in my stomach.

Chapter 7 - Lorelei

I ate my cereal as I watched television. As far as prisons went, Mark’s basement was far more luxurious than Inara’s cell. And watching TV was a lot more entertaining than throwing rocks against a wall. But I was still bored as hell.

Over the past few days, Mark had checked in regularly. I had seen him often enough now that seeing him didn’t send the same jolts of dislike and anger as before. But that didn’t change my boredom or frustration with him. Whenever I asked him to let me go, he simply tuned me out.

I got up and walked over to pour myself a second bowl. As I did, I stared at the cardboard flap of the cereal box, tilting my head with interest as an idea crossed my mind.

I knew how to unlock doors with a credit card. I had never done it with a piece of cardboard. It might be too flimsy, but the thickness looked about right. If I could use it, though…

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