Page 27 of The Wolf and his Witch

Gabriel looked away.

“You haven’t told her yet, have you? That we’re different.”

Gabriel avoided Stef’s eyes.

Stef shook her head at him. “You haven’t told her she’s your mate, either.”

“Not in so many words.” He threw up his arms. “We were kind of busy last night. I planned to have that conversation with her this morning.”

Stef sighed and rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “Sometimes I wonder how you malesevermanage to get mated at all. Too busy thinking with the wrong head, that’s your problem.”

“Hey.” He pointed a finger at Stef. “You wait until you meet your mate. Then we’ll see how well you resist the call to fuck and fuck often. Trust me, talking is the last thing on your mind when you have them in your arms.”

Stef chuckled. “Believe me, I’m not in any hurry to mate. I have enough overbearing, overprotective wolf shifters hounding my every step. Between you and Maxime, I can barely breathe as it is.”

“Who says your mate will be a shifter? Maybe he’ll be human, like Annabelle. Then you’ll get to turn him and train him. You’ll get to mold him exactly the way you like him.”

Gabriel chuckled at the disgust on Stef’s face. No, a human male wouldn’t be strong enough to handle Stef. He pitied the poor shifter male who turned out to be her mate. He’d definitely have a challenge on his hands.

“Have you updated your brother yet?”

Stef grimaced. “I’m bound to get a lecture about keeping safe. I’m enjoying my bit of freedom right now, and I’m not keen to disturb my peace.”

It was hard enough being a she-wolf in an over-protective pack. Being the alpha’s little sister made it that much harder. Finding Nathalie, at Christmas three years ago, the youngest d’Louncrais long thought dead, had made things a little easier on Stef, but not much. “I’ll call him.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

“We should split up,” he said, following Stef into the living area and snagging his coat from the back of the sofa. “I’ll take Annabelle, you take Isobella. We’re going to need her prepped and ready to go when I take Annabelle out of the equation. The last thing we want is for Dutton to step forward and insist on going on the mission. If Isobella is already predisposed and prepared, we can send her back before he has a chance to argue.” He slipped on his coat and adjusted the collar. “Do you think itwasDutton or one of the Kings following you?”

Stef tilted her head to the side, considering his question. “Could have been. They weren’t exactly subtle. Or maybe someone wanting us to know they were there.”

“Possible. You never can tell with the DGSE.”

Stef quirked an eyebrow. “You think the DGSE are involved?”

The DGSE, the Directorate-General for External Security, France’s foreign intelligence agency, as a whole? Maybe not. But Gabriel firmly believed someone in their ranks was poking around in their business. And so did Maxime. As chief of security, it was his job to ensure the DGSE didn’t get too close.

The Langeais wolves weren’t a threat, not in the usual way, to national security, but like any paranormal entity, discovery by anyone, especially the government, was high on their list of things to avoid. Gabriel shook off the sudden chill that swept through his body. To become nothing more than a scienceexperiment, a lab rat, because of what they were, gave every shifter nightmares. With the Langeais wolves’ unique ability to turn people, there was every chance the government would want to weaponize them.

In the tenth century, Lothair, the Count of Anjou, had sought to do that very thing. Their ancestors had fought against it then, and they would do everything in their power to prevent it from happening now. Keeping the balance, ensuring Isobella went back in time, that they did nothing in the present that would affect the past, was the only way to ensure not only his continued existence, but the survival of the Langeais wolves.

“It could be the DGSE.” If Maxime hadn’t mentioned his concerns to Stef, Gabriel wasn’t going to either. “Whoever it is, be careful, Stef. It’s not like we can shift here to protect ourselves.”

An impish grin curled on her lips. “A wolf running down Market Street… That’d be a sight.”

Gabriel chuckled and wagged his finger at her. “Don’t. If you feel the need to shift, head out to Muir Woods one night.”

Stef nodded. “I might do that soon.”

Being in a city too long made their wolves restless. He was a regular visitor to the Meudon Forest outside of Paris. In the two months he’d spent with Annabelle three years ago, getting away had been difficult. It was a good thing being with Annabelle, being inside Annabelle, had eased his beast. He’d spent a lot of time inside Annabelle. His cock twitched at the memory.

He planned to be doing that again and as often as he could from now on. If she thought leaving before he woke would dissuade him, she was wrong. He’d spoken in French, and she may not have understood, but Annabelle was about to find out he’d meant it when he’d told her she was his forever.

* * * *

Waiting for a cab, Gabriel called Maxime.

“Where’s Stef? Why hasn’t she called in?”

---