Page 160 of Untamed

"I still am, yeah?" Uncertainty flashes in Sarj's eyes.

"Fucking hell," I snap. I release Willa's hand and step towards Sarj. Grasping his thinner shoulders, I pull him into my chest and wrap my arms around him. My little brother. Sarj snakes his arms around me and returns the hug. We slap each other's backs, male style, trying to hide how hard we're holding onto each other.

My alpha-wolf howls in sorrow, the monster silenced for now.

We hug for a long time while Lyri cries even more. When I finally let go, Sarj's face is red with tears. His eyes find Willa.

"Will you see the ocean, Pup?" she asks him softly, trying to find something good in this.

He smiles weakly at her. "I'll see a lot of cool stuff, Kitty-cat."

"Don't call her that," I croak automatically. It breaks some of the grief in the room, everyone chuckling through their tears.

"Can I show you something?" Sarj says suddenly. He pulls out a thin box from a bag in the corner of the room and approaches my mate.

When he's standing within arm's reach, I see Willa inhale as if she's imprinting his scent in her memory. Jealousy stirs, but I bat it away, impatient. My brother is leaving.

"Here. It's a phone. You've seen these?"

Willa looks at the phone with no emotion. Even the ridiculous cover Sarj picked, a picture of a grumpy kitten tangled in yarn, doesn't seem to pique her interest.

"Watch." Sarj takes out his phone. The phone in her hand starts to vibrate. The tinny sound of bells fills the room. Sarj reaches out and slides his finger over the phone. "See the green button? It's how you answer. Now, put the phone up to your ear like this." His hand folds over Willa's, and he lifts the phone to the position he wants.

"OK, now listen," he says. He lifts his phone to his ear. "Hi, Kitty-cat."

She jumps when she hears the echo of Pup's voice coming from the box next to my ear. Everyone in the room chuckles. Except me, I'm too heartsore, watching my brother teach my mate what a phone is so that he can talk to her. Because he's leaving.

"I can call you from really far away on this. You answer, and we can talk, yeah?" Sarj says. He's smiling through his tears.

"I can't hug a phone," Willa sucks the laughter out of the air with her well-placed words.

Lyri starts to cry again.

Sarj breaks. He steps forward and enfolds my mate in his arms. My mate and my brother. I love them both so much.

I enclose them both in my arms. "Don't cry," I murmur into my mate's hair. "You'll come back to us when I tell you to, Sarj. Don't think to make a life away from us and stay forever. It won't happen."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Sarj says with tearful sarcasm.

"Don't call me that," I say, my voice rough from holding back tears.

"I already programmed it into my phone. Too late."

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47 - The Coven

Inuit

"Let's tie this a little tighter, kitten." I kiss her forehead, then her nose, then her red, sexy-as-fuck mouth, as my fingers loop the hat ties under her chin. Her golden eyes stare up at me in amusement. She's laughing at me, but I love this, taking care of her. Coddling her. My tough, wild, little cat didn't get coddled much growing up.

It's chilly today. Early fall, some days will be colder, some will still feel like summer. Right now, just after dawn, the world is shrouded in fog, and it's a good twenty degrees cooler than it will be in just a few hours. We're all dressed in layers, my family andQitsuk'sfamily.

Her sweet taste pulls me in, and our kiss grows. Tongues and lips meld together. Hands start to travel.Qitsukstarts to purr while my monster rumbles in satisfaction.

"We need to get to the Lake early," Jax says quietly next to us. He's subdued, his eyes flitting to his new mate every few seconds as if to reassure himself that she is still there. Still OK. I don't know if being able to kill Blout would have made a difference or if Anya would still be struggling to come to terms with everything.

"Yeah, Adsun isn't going anywhere," I grouse as I lift my head away from my mate. Jax hmphs and moves toward Anya.

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