Page 91 of To Hunt A Wolf
“Let me protect you now,” he says.
And I can only nod and give in. I’ve never been any good at telling Levi no.
* * *
We shiftand walk until dawn as wolves. Mostly to access our senses more fully, avoiding patrols and getting through the boundary line undetected, but it also keeps me from saying or doing something drastic. My wolf whines at being told to keep her paws to herself, but giving myself over to Levi now will only make everything harder. I can’t afford to give in to my emotions, no matter how badly I want to. Once we have Kari back, maybe then I can figure out where I really stand with the man beside me.
The journey to Blackstone isn’t far, but it’s painfully slow. We stick to the high ground and the thickets, using all our senses to be sure we aren’t tracked or spotted by scouts. I have no doubt Thiago’s got all of the pack lands on high alert after that video he sent us.
The closer we get, the more I start to wonder if the others were right; this plan is insane. We’re so far past outnumbered, it’s pathetic.
But it’s not about numbers, I remind myself. Not when it comes to Thiago.
Levi sticks close, his fur brushing mine often as we make our way. I can feel his worry, but more than that, I feel his resolve. He’s all in. With this plan. With me.
I think of what Jadick said to him last night. About me clouding his judgment. And I cross my fingers I’m not leading him to his doom.
The outskirts of town come into view just as the sun clears the treetops. We crest the final hill overlooking the valley of Blackstone, and Levi stops. He nods at a stand of trees, and we shift back to our human forms and put on the clothes we’ve carried in our mouths.
“Here.” Levi holds out a length of rope.
“What’s this?”
“I’m your prisoner,” he says. “We have to make it believable.”
“Levi…”
“Don’t overthink it, Mac.” He comes to stand in front of me, his hands squeezing my upper arms. “This will work. Kari will be safe.”
“What about you?”
“We talked about this.” His voice is gentle, reassuring. And I hate it. “Wait until you and Kari are safely away, and then we’ll figure something out.”
“I can’t do this,” I say, my voice breaking. “I already got enough people killed—”
“No,” he says. “Those deaths are not your fault, Mac. Thiago did that.”
“I was the one who hunted you—”
“And he used that to hurt the people around us. Thiago’s fucked up choices are his, not yours.”
I sigh.
He cups my cheeks, wiping at the place where tears would have fallen if I’d only let them. “Stop blaming yourself,” he whispers. “Besides, I was a dick for rejecting you. Being tortured by Thiago is the least of what I deserve, right?”
His lips curve at his own horrible joke, and I feel a smile tugging at my mouth in spite of it all.
“Actually, in my revenge plot, I’m the one torturing you.”
“Oh, that sounds way more sexy,” he says, leaning in to trail kisses along my throat.
“Exactly.” I close my eyes at the intensity of pleasure but force my voice to remain light. “Torture’s only sexy if you let your prisoner go to the bathroom before things get messy.”
“Noted. I will try my best to remember that for next time,” he says, breath tickling my neck as he continues to kiss his way closer to my mouth.
“And maybe consider a menu other than drugged lasagna,” I tell him.
He pulls back to frown at me. “What are you talking about?”
