Filed to story: The Wolf Prince’s Fated Love
Ileaned against the door and exhaled hard. She was going to kill me. I had to get away from her, or I was going to do something really stupid, like shove her up against the wall and kiss her until she forgot the other guy’s name.
And if it was just us, I might have done it anyway. But I couldn’t keep another man from his child. That would be wrong, and I sure as shit couldn’t watch her be with another man. I meant what I’d said, and if she was pregnant with anyone else’s baby, I was going to leave the pack. I couldn’t ask her to leave, and I couldn’t stay and watch. It would kill me.
We’d do the blood work tomorrow, find out the paternity, and then my fate would be set. If it was someone else’s, I couldn’t change that, but if she was mine…
My fingertips itched as my claws descended. My jaw ached as my fangs lowered in a half shift.
Fuck.
I paced away from the door, trying to get myself back under control. I couldn’t bite her just because she was pregnant. It was bad enough I’d knotted her in the heat of the moment. That wasn’t something you did outside of a mate bond, outside of a heat.
And I’d never been even close to having it happen like that, accidentally.
Not that she’d believed me.
I raked a hand through my hair, temporarily forgetting my claws and scoring my scalp with a curse in the process.
I needed to talk to Kane. Or Dirge. He was older and knew about the family dynamics in this part of the world.
He’d understand why I couldn’t claim Leigh without mate marks. That would be better, because Kane already had too much on his plate.
Even if he didn’t, if I didn’t talk to someone, I was going to explode. But he was on guard, and I didn’t want to air my family’s dirty laundry in the hall for anyone to walk by and hear.
No, it would have to wait, and I’d have to get myself under control. I needed a run. A long, hard, exhausting run, until my sides heaved and there were no thoughts or what-ifs left in my head.
I quickly shucked off my nightshirt, leaving myself in just a pair of cut-off sweatpants, and let myself into the hall barefoot.
Dirge nodded at me as I headed out, quietly shutting my door and walking on silent feet out of the family wing and into the knights’ hall.
It was trippy, this castle. A strange mix of old and new, and the arched ceilings with the brightly colored pennants distracted me temporarily from my woes. How many men had stood here over the centuries? How many had fought great battles?
I could almost feel them looking down on me with judgment from the empty suits of armor, and it shone a spotlight on how far off the rails my life had gone.
Nothing was how it was supposed to be, and I was a helpless pup in the center of the mess. But not for much longer.
I opened up the back door, sucking in a steadying lungful of the clean, night air, and then let my wolf burst from my skin.
The next morning,
I stood against the wall in the breakfast room, where Kane and Reed were in deep discussion about the politics on the ground among the local packs that I wasn’t listening to.
I held the little cotton ball to the crook of my arm where Brielle had just drawn my blood. I was a little surprised when she knocked on my door with the testing supplies in hand, but apparently, she traveled with blood draw kits.
Normally, I’d find it weird as hell, but I’d decided not to ask why and just be glad I didn’t have to wait longer to know the truth. Granted, I didn’t know how long it would take her to get a sample from Leigh.
Limbo was a circle of hell. I was sure of it.
A piece of English muffin bounced off my forehead, and I snarled at Reed and his too-damn-amused smirk.
“You aren’t even listening. And don’t glare at me like that. Dirge threw the bread.” He gestured to his twin brother, who wore a wide grin on the other side of the table.
“Somebody had to.” He winked at me, then went back to tucking into his plate with relish.
“What?” I asked, more tersely than I should have given I had been ignoring pack business, which was a bad look for the second.
“We asked if you’d gotten the arrangements made for Karissma’s arrival. She doesn’t want it to become widely known she’s here with the pack.”
Oh.
“Yes, she’s coming in a few weeks, unmarked pack transportation, and we’re putting her up just outside the village in private lodging that meets her specifications.”
Kane nodded, looking relieved at the idea of having her close. Personally, she made my fur itch. I had no desire to spend time in the powerful witch’s sphere of influence. But it was different for him, given the curse and the family connection.
So, I kept my feelings to myself and said a small prayer of thanks to the Goddess that Karissma didn’t want to stay in the castle with the rest of us.
“Great. Care to share what you’re thinking that’s got you so tied up in knots?”
Reed held my gaze steadily, allowed among friends of equal dominance, but given the circumstances… my wolf could only see it as a challenge. I felt when he pressed forward, my eyes glowing with his displeasure.
“Shit, you really are upset. What’s wrong? Is Leigh okay with the baby? I assumed with Bri living under the same roof, she’d be fine.” Reed straightened his collar, a nervous habit of his.
Somehow, her name on his lips just pissed me off further.
I hadn’t felt myself stalk forward, but I almost tore Kane’s hand off when he put it on my shoulder, stopping me before I ran into the long, mahogany table that had probably been in his family a thousand years.
“You don’t have to sit down, but you will not attack a member of our pack. Tell us,” he urged, but it wasn’t lost on me that he didn’t force the words like he could have. He was a good Alpha, and I could feel the concern through our pack bond, right below my sternum.
I sighed, scrubbing both hands over my face before spinning away from his touch, turning my back to my pack before I could utter the damning words.
“My wolf wants her, but we don’t have marks, and…”
Waiting wasn’t going to make it better, but still, I paused. The words were like bile on my tongue.