Page 161 of Claimed

I’ve seen a few suspicious male faces and some seem like they’re merely observing the mood in the mess hall overall, but some of the others are talking amongst themselves with excitement. Any remaining loyalty to Wyatt is, I suspect, diminishing.

While me and a handful of other women are cleaning up, Grey tugs my hand to get me outside.

“Thank you for this. For all of this,” I say, swinging his arm with our fingers woven together as we walk toward the fence. “It’sbeen a really good night. I can’t get over the overall mood around here right now. It’s so hopeful. This is what I dreamed for them.”

He kisses my fingers with light in his eyes, but that switches to seriousness, which makes my expression fall.

“I’m goin’ with Jase and Jared to see if your brother turns up to collect more money.”

“Oh.” I deflate.

“Sorry he’s a cloud on what’s otherwise been a good night for you, and I hate the idea of leaving you here, but I can’t sit here while they go deal with that, Blossom. I need to be dealing with him myself.”

“I understand.”

“I’m leaving you under Linc’s care. Linc, Brody, and Gus along with the betas will look after things here. You stay in Linc’s line of sight at all times. Yeah?”

I bite my lip as fear thrums inside my veins.

But Grey’s fingers dive into my hair and as he lowers to get us nose to nose, he says, “It’s gonna be okay, wife. Have you got faith in me?”

My breath hitches and I can’t help the flood of emotion or the tears that flow. I manage to say, with conviction, “I have all the faith in you, husband. All of it.”

He gifts me with a wide smile.

“Real glad to hear that, Stacy Blackwood.” He presses his lips to my mate mark, pulling a shiver from me.

Though my nipples are now tingling, I manage to continue, “Everything is going so well. Everyone is on the mend. That’s because of you. There’s hope for the pack. I have you and also,I know the rest of the people I care about are going to be okay. That’s everything to me.”

“But?” he asks, seeing the weight of all this still on me.

“But Wyatt… he’s still out there and I can’t help but still be afraid that he’s going to rip it all away. After living my life seeing how he just burns everything to ash… I can’t help but feel fear, still.”

“He doesn’t have the power, sweetheart,” Grey says with conviction. “He’s a weak, foolish, greedy asshole and he’s no match for what he’s up against. Believe that.”

“I’ll feel so much better when he’s no longer out there making his hideous plans. But you’re right,” I whisper, feeling confidence swell inside me. We’ve been through so much on this road. Seeing is believing and seeing the determined look in my mate’s eyes, Ishouldbelieve. Idobelieve. All he’s shown me, how dramatically my life has changed in the short time since Wyatt ordered I shoot Tyson…

It will be okay. No, better than okay. All I really dreamed of wasokay. And what I’ll have with this wonderful mate I’ve been gifted with blows everything I could’ve hoped for out of the water.

“You’re right. You’ve got this, baby,” I say. “Do what you need to do so you can hurry back, okay? I want a run in the woods with you tonight. Like… a lot.”

His eyes change as he pulls me tighter to him and I feel his erection as he growls into my ear, making my panties become saturated. “Mm, if only I had the time to take you now…”

I kiss him and repeat, “Hurry back, then.”

He caresses my face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

46

Grey

“So what’ll we do to him?” Jase asks.

“Take him back to Silver Hills and let the folks he fucked over decide.”

We’re sitting in my car in the red-light district on the fringe of the industrial section of a shitty small city that doesn’t smell all that much better than the Silver Hills scrapyard.

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