Page 66 of Untamed

“Come here,” Jonah says, beckoning me toward him. He sits on the edge of the bed, looking every bit the alpha right now with his stern, hard jaw and serious face. I walk to him, and he yanks me between his legs, pinning me there with a hard grip on my hips. “You’re my family, and my family’s family. We’ll do everything we can, but I meant what I said yesterday. We’ll leave here if we have to. I’m not letting Lydia get her hands on you.”

“We can’t go Feral, Jonah. We’ll die.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“They won’t kill you,” I protest. “They’re only after me.”

The low growl that starts in his chest curls my toes. “If they touch you, it’ll kill me. When are you going to learn that?” His bite into my hips increases.

I place a steady hand on his. “I do get it. But if they hurt you, it’s the same for me. If one of us can come out of this, it’s you.”

Before I know it, I’m flat on the mattress, and Jonah’s wolf eyes lock me in place. He’s still mostly in his human form, but sharp teeth have elongated past his lips, showing off his fierceness.

I don’t care what he says about me being a Greystone, he’s obviously the alpha in this family, and I’m just fine with that.

“Don’t make me punish you, Kinsey.”

I smile at that, but this is so not the place. My hand finds his chest, resting just above his heart. “Fine. I’ll stop trying to save you.”

He gives me a cocksure smile. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

He can say that, but it’s not going to change my mind. Dread pools in my stomach. I feel so damn helpless. “I’m scared.”

Pulling away, he moves us side-by-side and cradles me to his chest again. “Let me take care of you, Little Mate. You don’t have to worry when I’m here.”

He threads his fingers through my hair. Before long, the day catches up with me, and I start to doze. I’m not used to running in my wolf form. Hell, I’m not even used to shifting yet.

In his arms, I don’t have to worry about what my true lineage means for my mom and dad. Or for me. I know we’ll handle it together. And with the Livestrongs completely on our side, I have more family than I’ve ever had.

28

The sun’s rays warm my face. For a moment, I think I’m lying in the garden, soaking up nature’s energy source. But everything comes crashing down on me again when I move my arm and find the bed empty next to me.

I sit straight up, heart pounding, sniffing the air, but my surroundings are so unfamiliar that I can’t sort through the different scents to find Jonah. He was so adamant about saving me yesterday that I wouldn’t put it past him to run out, leave me here, and do just that. I hop out of bed, and lunge for the door. When the knob turns freely in my hand, I breathe a sigh of relief. At least he hasn’t tried to lock me in here.

Stepping out into the long hallway, I pause to search for any sign of him. The house is calm; quiet. My wolf comes to attention since she knows we’re searching for Jonah, and it’s the first time I’ve felt her since she gave up control yesterday. I let her lead the way, picking up his delicious aroma as we make our way through the foreign house. In the kitchen, I find a closed door. I turn the knob and reveal a set of steps that lead down to the basement. His scent is potent here, so I follow the footsteps and begin to relax when I hear his low murmur.

The basement is nothing like the upstairs. Instead of boasting a washer and dryer or a dank, mildewy smell like most houses, this downstairs is set up like a high-tech detective’s office. Several TV monitors run footage of the house’s surroundings. A locker filled with guns sits along the opposite wall, and on a corkboard to the right of that, a map of Lunar and the other pack territories is pinned down.

Jonah turns toward me, brow furrowing as I make myself known. He motions me to him, and I come closer. He places his arm around my hips while he leans against a counter, a landline phone in his hand. “When is this going to be?” he questions, staring at me but talking into the receiver.

His tone makes my wolf scratch to the surface. It’s as if she’s reacting to Jonah’s wolf on some other level. “What’s going on?” I whisper.

He squeezes my hip but ignores my question. Instead, he says, “Yeah, it’s Kinsey. She just woke up.” He pauses for a moment. “She’s okay.”

I rest my head on his chest. Being close to him helps soothe me, and I need a whole lot of that.

“We’ll stay here and wait this out,” Jonah remarks. My shoulders straighten. Whatever he’s referencing, I don’t think I’m going to like it. He grips the phone tighter. “Talk soon,” he says before hanging up.

I pull away. “What’s going on?”

He sits on a stool, tugging me into his embrace. “It’s Lydia. She’s putting your parents on trial.”

I breathe out through my nose as trepidation sings through my veins. It’s what we expected, but it doesn’t make it any easier to hear.

“She has the DNA results in hand, so she can punish them for their transgressions.”

I stare at him straight in the eye. “We can’t let her do that, Jonah.”

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