Authors: Heather Long

Tags: #wolf, #strong, #heroes, #heroines, #shifters, #interracial, #wolves, #alpha

Rogue Wolf (26 page)

“You are a generous host, Mason. I leave him in your capable hands.”

“My pleasure, truly.” Mason inclined his head, then glanced at Margo. “He beats his wife?”

“Regularly. I got her out again, dropped her at a shelter and got ahold of her parents. They’ll do their best…”

“Good.” Mason glanced at the man in his grip, and his eyes glittered pure gold. “No one attacks those in my territory or under my protection.” He crushed the bones in his neck. One moment living, the next dead.

“Killing humans is forbidden Mason.” Margo said, leaving her spot at the car and leaning against Salvatore’s back. The weight of her a comfort she could not imagine.

“True.” He glanced down at the body. “But not in self-defense or when an execution fits the crime.”

“You’re splitting hairs.” Yet a smile wreathed her voice.

“Some bitch taught me that. She was really good at splitting hairs and disguising kindness with brutality. I consider us even now.”

Salvatore glanced down at his mate, and she nodded slowly. “I’m really happy for you and Alexis, you know.”

“I do know. Enjoy your stay—the house we made available is yours for as long as you like. My Hunters are going to be busy, but I will have someone check in on you.”

“Mason?” Salvatore stopped him when the Alpha would have left.

“Yes?”

“If my sister gives you a reason not to kill her, I will be in your debt.”

“If she gives me a reason, I’ll consider it.” Mason Clayborne disappeared back into the darkness, taking the body with him.

Margo wrapped her arms around his waist, her cheek pressed to his shoulder. “I’m tired.”

“Si,
bella.
As am I.” Rubbing her hands on his stomach, he smiled. “You should take a nap in the car, and let me drive. You will get no other sleep tonight.”

“Promises promises…”

Yes, for Margo, all the promises. His gaze tracked Mason through the darkness. His sister’s fate was no longer in his hands. Turning, he lifted Margo into his arms and buried his face against her throat. “I don’t want to wait.” Impatience had never been a battle for him, but he’d already waited decades for the wolf in his arms.

“Then don’t.” She tipped her head back, baring her throat to him in willing surrender and he struck.

Mine.

Epilogue

One week later…

Margo stared at the expansive apartment—penthouse, technically. Salvatore said he’d kept a place in Rome for himself and she’d pictured a couple of rooms, not five bedrooms, a sitting room, a game room, and a rooftop balcony overlooking one of the oldest cities in the world.

A private plane.

Multiple homes.

Vineyards.

A company he actually ran. He’d said he handled finance, not that he owned one of Italy’s top finance companies, with investments all over the world. Beyond all of those material possessions—he had packs, not one, but many. All of Italy.

All the oxygen seemed to back up in her lungs. It was too much.

She could feel them, if she closed her eyes, she could feel the bonds stretching out, radiating across the country. Deeper, beneath all of those, was the burn in her chest linking her heart to his. His strength. His will.

His love.

“
Bella
?” he whispered against her ear and slid his arms around her. “You don’t have to be afraid.” The confidence and assurance, she’d never needed them before. She didn’t think she needed it now, yet she craved hearing the words and feeling him hold her. “They will love you, because I love you.”

“Uh huh.” She chewed the inside of her lip. From the white carpet to the broad fireplace to the lushly upholstered furniture—the penthouse was a fusion of old-world elegance and modern comfort. A lot like the wolf she’d mated. “You know you never mentioned the multiple packs, or the Alphas who answer to you, or the money.” She was so used to being alone…

Salvatore was never alone.

“No,” he said, turning her around and catching her gaze. The intensity in his eyes captivated her. “Because they are who I was before I met you, all I was. You think me constantly surrounded and, yes, I am. Their needs. Their desires. Them. Always about them. But, for you, I am your mate.”

Her skin tingled at the declaration. “I seem to recall you biting me more than once.” She carried his mark everywhere, imprinted on her soul. Oddly, the flare of his power wrapped around her, and didn’t roll her over. She’d managed to hold his gaze before, but it was easier and the longer she stared into his eyes, the easier her breathing grew.

“Again and again,” he promised, sensuality licking each word. “I will never be your Alpha, Margo. Only ever your mate.”

Sliding her arms around his neck, she chuckled. “You are the only one I’ll ever get on my knees for, ever bow to, ever anything…now you tell me you’re not my Alpha?”

Amusement softened his expression. Too often in the last week, she’d borne witness to his pain over losing his sister—when he spoke with Mason, when he’d told his mother, even while they celebrated with her family. Her mother was beside herself, her only objection was Margo leaving the country. Salvatore’s loneliness called to her, his disappointment, and his regrets.

“I am content with being the wolf you choose.” He cradled her face in his hands. “Do you miss your freedom,
bella
?”

“Freedom is being where you want, with whom you want.” Though she’d chosen the life of Lone Wolf and Enforcer, she’d never found what she’d wanted until him. “I’m exactly where I want to be…but I’m not a lap of luxury girl. I like to work.”

“And take care of other wolves.” The man did understand her. “Fortunately for you, I have many wolves who will benefit from your strength.” He guided her to the doors, then out to the balcony. They stared over the city where the ancient and modern worlds struggled for supremacy. “All of this,
bella
, is ours. Will you help me take care of them?”

“Only if you promise to let me take care of you.” Because he was Alpha, he’d taken care of her from the moment they’d met. It took her a while to recognize the signs. Even her touch hunger seemed sated as long as she remained in his arms, her world a brighter, steadier place. More, he respected her and didn’t try to change her.

“You already do,
bella mia
.” Though he held her and whispered to her, his gaze took on the distant look—the same one he wore when he thought of his sister.

“She’s going to be okay,” Margo told him. “Mason’s calling for a conference of Alphas, a pretty historical move, when you think about it. Maybe it’s time for a change there—six packs instead of five. More homes for Lone Wolves, less loneliness for them all.”

“Perhaps.” He didn’t sound convinced. “A part of me wishes to meddle, to negotiate, to smooth the way.”

“And a part of you knows that you can’t, because she chose this path for herself. Sometimes taking care of others is not giving them what you need, but letting them find it for themselves.”

He returned from that distant place and cupped her chin. “What is it that I need, hmm?”

“Me.” It was the right answer. The only answer. They needed each other. Freedom was Salvatore. “But will you do something for me?”

“Name it,
bella mia
.”

He needed to be out of his head for a while. She grasped his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss. The hot, open-mouthed exchange left her breathless, and bought her the necessary distraction. Shoving him, she dropped and swept his legs out from under him. Then she hurtled to her feet, already running. “Catch me, if you can…”

His laughter chased her, and she darted through the penthouse and up the stairs. He caught her in one swift move, lifting her off her feet, and then she was flat on her back in the middle of a king-sized bed. Salvatore pinned her, his eyes glittering.

“I told you I would catch you.”

Yes, he did.

Belonging never felt so sweet.

If you enjoyed Rogue Wolf, please leave a review!

Coming next in the Wolves of Willow Bend

Bayou Wolf

The rise of so many lone wolves into a prospective sixth pack brings the Alphas of all the North American packs to Willow Bend for a summit meeting. Having so many powerful dominants in one place brings challenges and hazards. No protocol can be abandoned and none feels the pressure more than Lincoln Buckley. Linc is charged by his Alpha to act as liaison with the Delta Crescent Alpha, the fierce and wildly beautiful Serafina Andre.

Serafina stands apart from her ‘fellow’ Alphas. The only female to hold such sway over a Northern American pack, she has only the Delta Crescent’s interests in mind and expects challenges from the other male Alphas, dominants all, in their
need
to protect the females. It doesn’t surprise her in the least to find the wolf assigned to her as liaison has also been tasked with her protection. What does startle her is the interest she experiences with him.

An Alpha doesn’t submit, no matter how much the woman craves to do just that. Her pack must come first, especially since what Willow Bend proposes is insanity

About the Author

National bestselling author, Heather Long, likes long walks in the park, science fiction, superheroes, Marines, and men who aren’t douche bags. Her books are filled with heroes and heroines tangled in romance as hot as Texas summertime. From paranormal historical westerns to contemporary military romance, Heather might switch genres, but one thing is true in all of her stories—her characters drive the books. When she’s not wrangling her menagerie of animals, she devotes her time to family and friends she considers family. She believes if you like your heroes so real you could lick the grit off their chest, and your heroines so likable, you’re sure you’ve been friends with women just like them, you’ll enjoy her worlds as much as she does.

www.heatherlong.net

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