Page 31 of Broken Wolf Heart
I don’t move as his hands cup my cheeks. His touch isn’t gentle, but it’s not rough either. More…determined. Impassioned. Desperate.
“You’re more than a pack member. You’re mymate.My bonded. My heart. That’s not some rank to hand out. Or a pledge to make, hex blade or not. That’s everything.”
My eyes sting. I hate that it still sounds like a consolation prize.
“But I’m not part of your pack,” I whisper.
He looks at me like he’s trying to will away my hurt.
“No,” he says quietly. “You’re not. Because I don’t want you beneath me. Or behind me. I want youbesideme.”
“That sounds nice,” I say. “But it’s not the same as feeling it. Being in it. And it’s not like I can just drop my own pack and join yours. If we do that, who will rule the city? Your father?”
He doesn’t have a response for that.
I turn away before the ache in my chest makes my legs give out. This day feels centuries long.
“So, you have a pack bond. And that’s how Crow knew where you were?”
He nods. “It doesn’t happen to every pack. My father doesn’t... Anyway, it happened after Franco. After I inherited his power. We felt the boost in our bond immediately.”
“So, you bonded to your pack,” I say flatly. “And I didn’t.”
He flinches, and I hate that my reaction is hurting him—but not enough to take it back. It’s the truth. But so is the bite mark I gave him. And our marriage. This is not me losing him. It’s us building the next part of our future. That’s what I tell myself, at least. And maybe if I repeat it enough, I’ll start to believe it.
“I’m not angry,” I say after a beat. “I’m just… I’ve spent my whole life not belonging to anyone. And now that I have a mate, and maybe a pack of my own, I still feel like I’m orbiting something I’ll never quite land inside.”
He steps closer again. This time, I let him. His hand brushes mine, fingers tentative.
“You’re not orbiting, Lex. You’re thecenter. They’re circlingyou.”
I blink hard, my eyes suddenly burning.
He grabs my hand and presses it over his heart. “Feel this. Feel me. Our mate bond. It means more to me than anything.Youare my entire reason for existing. And that’s how I know it’s all going to work out. Because we have each other.”
I nod once, swallowing around the lump in my throat.
“I hope you’re right,” I say.
He leans in, pressing a kiss to my forehead like a vow.
“I usually am,” he murmurs.
And for the first time in a long time, I wish I could believe that without hesitation. Rather than let him see my worries, I change the subject as we begin walking toward the edge of the woods again.
“Can you tell through your connection whether Razor’sokay? I think I might have nicked him on my way out of the meeting earlier.”
“He’s fine. Already healed,” Grey assures me. At my worried expression, he holds my gaze and says, “I sent him with the others to find out what my father will do next, now that you’ve been crowned. Otherwise, they’d be here too.”
At the mention of Grey’s father, I tense all over again. It’s only a matter of time before he calls in my end of the deal. And that’s if Ramsey hasn’t already told him I was a spy for Franco. But before I can think too hard about Vincenzo’s wrath, we reach the edge of the tree cover, and I remember that I’m very, very naked right now.
When I hesitate, Grey tucks me behind a tree knowingly. “Wait here,” he says and then jogs to the car.
He returns a moment later with a blanket and wraps it around my shoulders, pulling it tight. Then he leads me to the SUV and helps me inside. I marvel at how he seems to know what I need before I can say a word. He’s always been driven to give me what he thinks will make me happy. But he hasn’t always been good at knowing what that is.
Another perk of our bond.
“Hello, love birds. There’s a pair of shorts on the seat for you, Grey. Lexi, sorry, my orders are to stay away from the penthouse, so I couldn’t get you anything.”
