Page 64 of Dark Wolf Soul
“There’s a shelter for runaway teens not far from the club. I spend a lot of time there. Spent,” she corrects.
I frown, wondering how I missed that detail. “I didn’t know.”
She glances at me then back at the water. “Yeah, well, I missed a few days of visits leading up to…well, you.”
“Why?” I ask, genuinely curious about her life. It’s not something we’ve talked about, and I realize now that’s my fault. I assumed I knew her just from watching her for two days and letting her grind herself against me once.
I’m an asshole.
“I know what it’s like to be alone in the world,” she says. “And I think it’s important to be there for the kids who had it like me or even worse.”
I stare at her, struck by how simple she makes it sound. Once upon a time, I felt that way too. Until dealing with my father overshadowed my compassion, and I ran. Just like one of those kids in the shelter.
“And you miss them?”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t make it sound so pathetic. I don’t have a squad of friends who have my back, okay?”
“It’s not pathetic,” I tell her. “I think it’s incredible.”
She looks back at me, her gaze softening. When she bites her lip, I track the movement, wishing I could scrape my teeth along that exact spot. My senses pick up on her heart rate beginning to increase. My cock stirs.
“I was going to stay with him,” she blurts, and I blink, realizing her thoughts are nowhere near the direction of my own.
Her heart continues to pound, and I realize it’s from nerves, not lust.
Fuck, get it together, dude.
“With who?” I ask.
“Franco. At the meeting. I was going to choose his side and stay with him.”
I nearly smile at that. This is what she’s nervous about?
“I know,” I tell her.
She sits back, surprised. “You did?”
I shrug. “It’s what I would have done. And it wasn’t a terrible plan—well, if Franco had been a decent guy, anyway.”
“Yeah,” she agrees. “Too bad he’s a prick.”
I snort. “Too bad.”
She looks at me again, and my smile vanishes at the look she gives me. Her heart has calmed, but there’s a sadness in her eyes that pulls at me. For the first time since taking her out of her life, I feel like an asshole for not understanding what she lost.
“I guess I’m in,” she says.
“What?” My guilt swirls with Mia’s words echoing from earlier: This girl doesn’t deserve my hate. The problem is I never hated her at all.
“I’ll marry you,” she says, and my wolf is way too fucking thrilled to hear those words. “Or pretend to.” She waves a hand. “You know what I mean. But I’m making another condition.”
“What is it?” I ask, trying to hide the fact that I’ll agree to just about anything to make her choose me.
“When this is all over, I get to go home.”
I hesitate, and she narrows her eyes.
“If I help you become the leader of this city, that means Franco and your dad won’t have any power anymore,” she points out. “And that means no one will want to use me as a bargaining chip. We can pretend to get divorced or something. Come up with some story. I want your word.”
