Page 36 of Freed Wolfsbane

He’s the one to finally break the silence. Lifting onto his hands so he can see me better, he presses a quick kiss to my lips. Pulling back, he gives me the most carefree smile I’ve ever seen on him. “That was fucking intense. I’ve never come in my pants like that, even when I was a horny-ass teenager.”

My eyes widen in surprise because I didn’t even touch him, other than the bite. “You came?”

He nods and brushes his nose against mine affectionately. “Mm-hmm. As soon as your little teeth clamped down on my neck, I didn’t really have a choice.”

“Um, I’m sorry? Or you’re welcome?” My voice gets squeaky at the end as I try to figure out what to say.

He snorts. “Nothing to be sorry about, baby girl. It felt pretty fucking amazing. Let’s get cleaned up and in bed. I think you’ve exerted yourself more than enough for today.”

I roll my eyes at how bossy he is but don’t complain as he carries me to get clean clothes for both of us and then to the bathroom. After we change into comfy sleep clothes, we head back out to his bedroom to find my other mates waiting for us.

No one comments on the bonding Xander and Bastian can probably smell and Saint might be able to feel. Instead, they wordlessly arrange themselves around me. Malachi holds me from behind and Bastian presses himself against my front. Xander and Saint reach a hand over the other two to rest on my hip as the four of them surround me in their comforting scents.

As I drift off into an exhausted sleep, I try not to worry about the havoc Ryker is probably causing right now or think about how in the hell I’m supposed to stop it.

CHAPTER18

BRIAR

“Ineed to get out of here,” I growl as I hop up from the bed and pause “Supernova” by Nic D.

I’ve been stuck in Malachi’s bedroom for the past three days, and I’m going stir-crazy. Even Rory visiting me two days ago only temporarily alleviated the monotony. As soon as she left, I was right back to being so bored I could scream.

The jagged slash on my torso has healed to nothing more than a silvery scar. It still hurts every once in a while, but I’m pretty much good as new.

Yet, Malachi still thinks I need to be bedbound. While he and Saint get to go out on recon missions with the mages, I’m stuck here with Bastian or Xander as a babysitter. Bastian drew the short straw today and has been keeping me company. While he’s been doing everything he can to keep me entertained, there’s only so much to do in one room.

Bastian’s eyebrows rise. “Where do you wanna go, pretty girl?”

“I don’t care. Just somewhere. Anywhere that isn’t here.” I throw my hands up in exasperation.

“Hmm, I’m pretty sure I can make that happen.” His full lips tilt up into an amused smile. “While Malachi would kill me if I took you outside of the house without him, he’ll only be mildly furious about us roaming around the mansion.”

I roll my eyes at Bastian. “Ask me how much I care about his opinion right now.”

“I’d guess somewhere around not even slightly.” His quip earns him a laugh. Bastian’s eyes soften with affection as he watches me. “I know Dad’s been wanting to see you, so you wanna take a field trip to his office?”

“Sure.” I shrug, because anywhere is fine with me. Plus, I do want a chance to catch up with Uncle Vale. He’s been by to check on me a few times, but he never stays long. He’s pretty busy and hasn’t wanted to cut into my recovery time.

Practically running over to the closet I share with Malachi, I grab the first pair of pants and crewneck I find. I pull on my faded jeans, black sweatshirt, and matching boots in record time.

When I emerge from the closet, I see Bastian standing by the door, ready to go. He doesn’t bother changing out of his sweats or faded light blue tee. He’s more comfortable wandering around in casual clothes than I am. I feel so underdressed being in public in sweatpants or a sleep shirt.

Taking his offered hand, I walk out of the room for what feels like the first time in forever, even though it’s only been a few days. While I can admit that Malachi was right that I needed to rest to heal, he seriously overestimated how long was necessary. The jerk won’t believe me that I’m fine now and left me behind when he went out to find Ryker today.

“So, I assume you’re not about to faint or anything if you’re wanting to walk around?” Bastian looks down at me, his emerald eyes shining with concern.

Huffing a laugh, I shake my head. “As I told Malachi, I’m fine. I don’t need any more time to rest. What I need is to get out there and start fixing the shit show I caused.”

Bastian’s jaw tightens, and he squeezes my hand in reassurance. “We’ve been over this, pretty girl. It’s not your fault that you shifted for Ryker. It was a shitty situation, and you did the best you could.”

Shrugging, I look away from him, not wanting to talk about it right now. He doesn’t push the issue as we walk in companionable silence down the grand staircase and through the Wyldhart keep. We wind through a maze of hallways before coming to a stop in front of a reddish wood door with “Alpha Wyldhart” engraved in gold across the center.

Bastian raps his knuckles on the wood twice.

“Come in,” Vale’s deep voice calls.

Bastian pushes open the door and leads me into Vale’s office. We walk across dark floors past a large window that looks out at the pine forest to an imposing natural wood desk in the corner. Sinking into one of the green velvet armchairs in front of the desk, Bastian gestures for me to sit down next to him.

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