Page 58 of Hawke

But she rejected it.

My wolf howled, both in anger and humiliation.

“She didn’t know,” I tried to soothe.

But it was like a slap in the face.

Hell, I deserved it. I’d ignored all the signs for years, and this was payback. But the thought of her being gone, running away from me again, gave me a new mission. To find her, take care of her, and spank her ass so she would never do it again.

I let out a snarl of frustration before stomping off toward the bathroom. All of her things were gone, her clothing, her toiletries, but the sweet smell of sunshine lingered in the air. Everything was gone except one item that she knew I could trace—her shoes with the GPS tracking system.

She didn’t want me to find her.

A lightning bolt of pain ripped into my chest, my breath leaving my lungs as I crumpled to the floor. I had to get to Delilah, and fast. How the hell could she leave when she was in so much pain?

I grunted, pushing myself back onto my knees and using the bed to lean on. “Delilah!” I roared, grunting until I was fully standing.

I continued to scream her name, like she was hiding somewhere in the room, but my wolf and I knew she wasn’t here.

My wolf wrestled with me, trying to take control of my body. His efforts did not go in vain, and another wretched shock went from head to toe. He snarled, fangs elongating and his claws scratching through the walls as he used them to hold himself up. Once we stumbled out of the hotel room, we saw the sun was setting. It was too bright for our enhanced eyes, and it took time to adjust.

His nose went into the air, like he was smelling for the blood of his enemies. He was on his own mission while I tried to contain the pain that we were both feeling.

“She’s close,” he grumbled, stomping down the stairs.

He took every noise and scent into consideration. He sniffed down the hand rails leading to the front office. A female sat inside, checking other humans into their rooms.

But our nose caught another scent. It was sunshine twisted with shadows of darkness. A whimper that damn near broke my already bleeding heart was heard to the right of us.

“Close,”my wolf murmured.

I knew he was angry, I knew he was still hurt by Delilah ripping apart our nest. I wasn’t sure what he would do when he found her, so I continued to push, trying to retake control of my body.

“Let me out,”I pleaded, able to take control of my lips. “She doesn’t know, we can’t hurt her. She was upset we left.”That much I knew. If she left, it was because she felt like I had betrayed her.

If only my wolf didn’t fucking eat her out, we wouldn’t be like this.

“She wanted it; she wants us!”

“But we had to leave!”I argued back. “We had to make sure—”

“Fuck off, it’s all your fault! You are too much of a damned pussy!”

I huffed in annoyance.“I had to think of the future, not the here and now!”

“She’s mine!” he roared, finally coming to a door that smelled of her. Not just her, but pain, suffering. My soul reached out to latch onto hers and never let her go.

Before I could fully take over, my wolf kicked in the door. It slammed open, the handle now lodged into the wall. He yelled her name again, causing me to wince at his thunderous voice. “Delilah!”

The room was dark, but our eyes quickly adjusted. We didn’t find her anywhere on the bed. It didn’t smell like our room at all, just the sterile sheets and bleach.

“Delilah!” my wolf roared again, not bothering to shut the door.

We stomped to the bathroom, the little light that radiated from the crack in the door catching our eye. Once we opened it, it blinded us with a bright light that should have been heaven’s gates. But unfortunately, we found Delilah laying on the cold tile, whimpering as she clutched the bear we’d given her.

Delilah clutched the bear like it was her lifeline. Her nose was buried in its head, her body coiled into a fetal position. She was sweating, her skin clammy, and worst of all was her coloring. Instead of it being slightly tanned, it was grey and white.

“Oh, Dede.” My wolf relinquished control, and I went to pick her up. Her body shook as if she was freezing.

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