Page 53 of The Werewolf Cowboy
Chapter 14
Two weeks after returning to the Mitchell pack, Katy wasn’t certain she’d ever find joy again.
Everyone had been kind to her, and her adoptive parents showered her with affection. But it wasn’t the same.
Grayson wasn’t riding alongside her to wrangle calves or sitting with her at a pack dinner, eating her buttered biscuits. The big cowboy with the ice blue eyes and the ruthless sensuality was gone.
Now he ruled as alpha in another land, a place she did not dare go.
Aiden told her that Kyle had tracked down Charles and delivered him to her adoptive father for justice for daring to kidnap Katy. Charles was torn to pieces.
“We buried his remains outside pack territory,” the alpha told her.
Now, as she rode with the other Lupines in the western pasture, her face lifted to the warm sunshine, Katy felt a pang of keen sorrow over the thought of never seeing Grayson again.
She missed him terribly. Finding another mate was out of the question. How could she, when her heart belonged only to one wolf?
Aiden galloped up beside her. “You okay, Katy?”
She tilted down her hat and nodded. “Just pensive.”
“You miss him.”
The alpha was perceptive. Or maybe her quietness had been noticed, and word spread how Grayson had left his ranch and it was doubtful he’d ever return. Aiden and the others had taken it upon themselves to visit, feed his stock and care for the land. It was the neighborly thing to do until Grayson returned.
“He’s not coming back,” she told the alpha. “He can’t. He’s alpha of his own pack now.”
“I know. Tristan told me. He also told me to keep a close eye on you, because you lost the love of your life.”
Stunned, she glanced at the bearded, solemn Lupine. “He did?”
A brief smile. “He’s a good person, Katy, even if he is a wizard.” Then Aiden leaned forward in his saddle. “It’s a tough thing when you lose the love of your life.”
Tears clogged her throat. “It would have been even tougher for me to stay and know that one day I might kill Grayson because of all that power I had. I had to give it up, Aiden.”
“I know, honey. I wish I could tell you it’ll get better, but I’m proud of you for making the right decision for him.”
Katy blinked. “For him?”
Aiden pushed back his Stetson. “If you had stayed, chances are you would have destroyed him. Or he would have destroyed you. Hard enough being alpha in a pack, but having a mate with double the magick you have, and trying to keep order? That would tax the strongest male.”
She’d never thought of it that way. Katy scrubbed at her face, wishing things could be different. If she had been born a normal Lupine, and Grayson as well, maybe they could have a fighting chance.
Aiden rode off to give her privacy. Katy stared into the horizon, thinking of her love. The Lupine who’d surrendered his place in the Dark Kingdom to keep her safe, watch over her as she came into her powers.
He loved her.
She loved him.
Maybe if she closed her eyes and imagined him, Grayson would appear. There was plenty of magick in this world, too.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she saw Grayson, his quiet smile and his ice blue eyes, and his mouth that had delivered such exquisite pleasure to her body. The male who risked all to keep her safe.
Katy opened her eyes.
It could not be…was her magick that powerful still?
Squinting into the sunlight, she gave a joyful whoop and slid off her gelding. The cowboy galloped up to her, and pulled to an expert stop and then they were both off their horses, and finally she was in Grayson’s arms.
