Page 24 of Broken Wolf Heart
He carries me to a mossy patch on the bank and sits down with me in his lap, tucking me into his chest like he’s afraid I’ll vanish if he lets go.
I sit with my arms around his neck, breathing him in.
The night air is laced with pine and moss and moonlight. His skin is warm against mine, his hands splayed over my hips, grounding me. It’s not sexual, but somehow, that makes it even more meaningful. I’ve never been held like this in my life. My heart shudders and then clicks into place with the full and complete knowledge that no one else ever will. It’s only Grey.
And now, I’m finally a wolf like him.
“I didn’t know,” I murmur.
“Didn’t know what?”
“What it would feel like. To shift.”
He waits, giving me space.
“I was scared,” I admit. “But when it happened, it was… like waking up. Like I’d been half-asleep my whole life and didn’t realize it until I opened my eyes as her.” I pull back just enough to meet his gaze. “I felt powerful. Not just strong—free.Like nothing and no one could ever touch me again.”
A slow smile spreads across his face. “That’s what it’s supposed to feel like.”
“And the rest of it, the attack…”
He tenses slightly but doesn’t look away.
“It wasn’t like defending myself as a human,” I say. “It was some kind of animal instinct. My wolf—she’s… brutal. And I had no control. That scares me.”
“You protected yourself,” he says firmly. “And you didn’t just survive—you claimed your place as alpha. Dutch says they all bowed to you at the end.”
“At which point, I continued to take chunks of flesh out of them as I fought my way out.” I cringe at the memory of all that blood. Not to mention what I’m pretty sure is tissue and maybe even organs. Gross. I had someone’s skin in my mouth. “I don’t know if they’ll still see me as alpha after that.”
“They will. Or else.”
I arch a brow. “Or else what?”
He shrugs. “Or I’ll make them.”
I laugh softly, resting my forehead against his. “You really are a menace.”
He shrugs. “Only for you.”
My smile fades as his words trigger my memory.
“What is it?” he asks, instantly alert. And I can feel it in a way I never did before. His animal side rising up, ready to fight.
“At the church, when they took me away… You let them.” The last part comes out a little strangled as I remember what it felt like to be carried away from my husband. To see him watching it unfold and do nothing to stop it. Even though I see now why he did it.
“I know. Fuck, I know.” He runs a hand through his hair,the anguish in his eyes evident. “I’m sorry. It was the only way to make sure my father didn’t get his hands on you or kill you before I had the chance to?—”
“I know.”
He blinks, clearly expecting me to be furious.
I lay a hand on his chest. “I know,” I say again, watching the words sink in. “You did it for me. So that I’d be safe. I understand now.”
He huffs. “I don’t deserve your understanding. I let our enemy take you from me, and I stood there.”
“You believed I could fight for myself long enough for us to find our way here,” I tell him. And the conviction of that knowledge has me tearing up. “No one’s ever believed in me like that. People have treated me like I’m stupid or helpless or defenseless my entire life. You’re the first person to let me fight for myself—and to know I’m capable of surviving. Thank you.”
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he says, his voice scraping my skin with its rawness.
