Page 107 of Savage Games

The bite of food turns to lead in my mouth as my nerves kick into gear.

Fuck.

Wyatt doesn't press.He just sets his mug down and reaches for my hand, rubbing slow circles over my knuckles with his thumb.

"I'm not going to make you," he says."But I think it'll be better if they hear your story from you.With Maddie, on your terms.Before Brad gets to spout his bullshit, if he hasn’t already."

I swallow hard."What if they don't believe us?"

"Blake will believe you," he says, not a moment of hesitation."And I'll be right outside.They already know something happened.Hell, Jax probably told them everything he had scented on Brad.You're not going to shock them, Naomi.You're just going to fill in the missing pieces.They’d be able to scent if you were lying, and Blake will command you to speak the truth if he has any doubts."

My chest tightens."She's scared, Wyatt.Maddie's been scared for so long.And I told her I'd protect her.What if this just makes it worse?What if she ends up getting sent away?What if I do?"

He shifts in his chair and leans forward until our foreheads touch, his hands sliding around to cradle my jaw.

"You protected her," he says quietly."She’s alive.You didn't act out of cruelty, you acted out of fear.And no wolf, alpha or otherwise, should be punished for surviving, or choosing to help her sister first, and the man that was threatening to kill her last."

I close my eyes and lean into his touch.His voice steadies me the way his body did last night, grounding.Anchoring.

A lump forms in my throat as I recall the night Rowan died.The blood on her hands and the terror in Maddie's eyes.The desperate choice I made to help her instead of him.I'd played that moment over in my mind a thousand times, wondering if there had been another way.But Wyatt's right.Rowan would have killed her.Would have killed me too, eventually, for interfering.

The mate bond tightens between us, warm and solid.This man is already my everything.

"You don't need to be afraid anymore," he murmurs."And neither does Maddie.I’m going to make sure everything’s okay."

I exhale slowly.He’s right.We’ve already spent too long living in limbo.Enough is enough.

"I'll do it," I whisper."Will you be with me?"

"I'll wait outside.This is your story to tell, not mine."

I nod, but my heart is hammering again.Still, I feel steadier with his voice in my ears and his scent wrapped around me.And he’s right.Everything I’ve seen of Dean and Blake leads me to believe they won’t accept Brad’s lies just because he’s an alpha.

Wyatt reaches for my plate and takes a bite of my toast without asking.I nudge his foot under the table, and he just grins.

"Thief," I mutter, but can't keep the smile from my face.

"Well, you are mated to a feral rogue.What did you expect?"He winks, and it's so ridiculous, I can't help but laugh.

I lean forward and steal a sip of his coffee.His eyes follow the movement, darkening slightly as I lick my lips.

"You're really not upset?"I ask after a long pause."About being knocked out of the competition?About Brad trying to pretend you attacked him?"

Wyatt's expression turns thoughtful, his fingers absently tracing the scar forming on his back where the wolfsbane knife had pierced him."I won't pretend it doesn't sting.I came here to prove myself, to show everyone I wasn't just a dangerous rogue.That I deserved a chance."

He looks at me then, his dark eyes intense."But maybe this is my chance, just not the way I expected."

I grin at him, this gentle giant who knows exactly the right thing to say to ease my worries.

“And… maybe it isn’t so bad if my mate becomes the leader, and I get to be a kept man instead."

I blink at him."But…"

He can’t mean that.He had plans, lots of plans, to open the doors to other rogues who are homeless through no fault of their own.Wyatt wanted to help bring the Anderson pack back into the fold after the previous ruling family ruined their reputation.

"I've already got everything I want.The rest will come."

His tone is simple.Honest.There's no bitterness in it, just certainty that everything will work out fine in the end.Amazing for someone who’s had the bad luck and harsh treatment that he has.

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