Page 30 of Broken Wolf Heart
“The leadership voted you in. Now you have to convince the rest of the pack to pledge their loyalty to you. Then, it’s official.”
Shit.
No one said anything about pledges of loyalty.
“Will you help convince them?” I ask nervously.
“Wife,” he says, pulling me to my feet and stroking a hand down my cheek. “I’ll be by your side every step of the way.”
An older modelsedan is already parked on the side of the road when we finally make our way out of the woods. I squint through the darkness and am surprised to realize I can makeout the figure inside. Enhanced eyesight. Endurance. Scent. I’m still trying to process all of the abilities my wolf has given me.
“Is that Crow’s?” I ask, faltering. “How did he know we were here?”
Grey hesitates.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, instantly on alert.
He blows out a breath. “Nothing. It’s just… a pack thing.”
“Pack?” I repeat, frowning. They’ve been in the same wolf pack since I met them, and he’s never mentioned they can sense one another’s location like this. I don’t even think our mate bond will let me do that. “I don’t understand.”
“When my father took you, we knew we’d have to be ready to fight to get you back.”
“What does that have to do with?—”
“The night before the wedding, Dutch and the others pledged their loyalty to me, using a hex blade.”
A pledge of loyalty. To him.
“Does that mean?—?”
“I’m a full alpha now.”
“Oh.” I glance away, emotions swirling too fast for me to hang onto any single one.
An alpha. Of his own pack. A pack that doesn’t include me. How can we be mates but belong to two different packs?
“Say something.” His voice edges toward a plea.
“Is that how you were able to kill Franco? Because you had alpha power already?”
Honestly, discussing murder was preferred to the stupid hole in my heart his words caused. How could I still feel abandoned and alone after being marriedandmated to this man? Ugh.
“Yes. We’d taken the oath only hours before that. If we hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been strong enough.”
I bite my lip, concentrating on that. Without the pack oath, he might have been hurt. Or worse. Franco might have?—
I don’t let myself go that far.
When I look up, Grey is still watching me warily. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. I wanted to,” he adds quickly. “But things have been moving fast, and I didn’t want you to feel like you were?—”
“What?” I snap harsher than intended. “On the outside?”
His jaw tightens. “You’re not on the outside with me, ever.”
“But I am,” I say, quieter now. “You’ve got your pack. The ones whochoseyou. The ones whobelongto you. I’m just an impostor demanding total strangers accept me or else, apparently, I’ll rip them apart.”
“You’re notjustanything,” he says fiercely, closing the distance between us.
