Terry Spear - Heart of the Wolf

he hit him, but the wolf ran off. We’ve got men trying to track him down. A wounded wolf shouldn’t get far, but he will be a lot more dangerous,” Thompson said.

So a rancher had wounded Volan after all. But it didn’t explain his bloody mouth, and she wondered again if he’d torn into Leidolf. Then he could watch from a distance and see if Devlyn could handle four reds on his own? She wouldn’t put it past the bastard. Then what? Fight Devlyn when he was worn out? Only he got shot. She smiled. Good one on him—the snake.

Hoping the police believed Devlyn’s story, Bella returned to the bedroom to retrieve her gun. Her heart did a flip when she saw the braided rug that normally kept her secret cache hidden had been overturned, and she quickly lifted a loose floor plank.

Nothing but a scribbled message. Naughty, Bella. Another gun? Threats work better if you back them up with real menace—silver bullets. I see you got it right this time. But you won’t be needing this gun. Not anymore. Soon, your mate, Volan

Sniffing the air, she smelled Volan’s faint odor. She glanced at the window; the cotton curtains rippled in the breeze. She dropped the crumpled note into her hiding hole and wanted to scream. Crossing the floor, she parted the curtains. He’d broken the window. Sniffing her shirt, she realized he must have touched her clothes on the porch and recognized that the place was hers. Had Devlyn seen the note?

She checked the bed. Volan’s odor clung to the sheets. She wanted to throw up.

“Bella?” Devlyn called to her from the living room. “Coming!” She hurried out of the bedroom, hating what she’d have to do next.

On the way home, Bella tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel and then finally glanced at Devlyn, his eyes drowsy, as he leaned his head against the passenger’s window. He must have seen the upturned rug. “Volan slept in my bed,” she growled low.

“Yeah.” He stared out the window.

Did he find Volan’s note or not? Oh hell, no sense in keeping the situation secret. She squeezed the steering wheel and then loosened her hold. “He left a note.”

Devlyn looked at her.

“Underneath the floorboard.”

He didn’t say a word, just watched her with a stern look.

“I ... I had another gun; the bullets were meant for him.”

“I know, Bella honey.”

“You did?” Tears pricked her eyes. “Yeah.”

“But you didn’t say anything.”

“I didn’t want to worry you that he’d found the gun.”

“Would you have let me keep it?”

He ground his teeth and looked away. “Yeah. Even though I didn’t ever intend for you to have to use it.”

She took a steadying breath. “Thanks, Devlyn.”

“What I have to know is why he knew about the other gun—the one you threatened the reds with at your home—and why did you intimate that the bullets were silver when they weren’t?” His eyes were hard, compelling her to tell the truth.

“I ...” Oh, hell, she couldn’t keep the secret from her mate even if he hated her for it. “I shot him.”

Devlyn’s eyes widened.

“Twice,” she added. “In the chest. Both times. And he fell. And he looked dead. But he wasn’t. Only knocked out. But I didn’t know that. You know, real bullets cause damage, too, except it’s not permanent. But then he contacted me. And I didn’t know if he’d sent the email before or after he died.”

Devlyn raised a brow, his mouth almost curving up. “So, I didn’t know if the bullets weren’t really silver or if Volan was really dead. Then we got the news that Volan was taken into custody, and that confirmed that he was alive.” She glanced at Devlyn. “I don’t blame you if you hate me for it.”

“It’s not our way, but, for your protection ... I understand, Bella honey.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek and then it seemed like the fight, the sex, and the adrenaline seeping out of every cell of his body finally hit him. He closed his eyes, and his head leaned against the cold glass window, where he slept for the two-hour drive home while the police escorted them the whole way.

When Bella finally parked in front of her house, Chrissie dashed out of her place to greet them. As soon as Bella and Devlyn climbed out of her Escape, Chrissie’s gaze shifted from Devlyn’s injury to the pink sweatshirt stretched taut across his chest and the green blanket wrapped around his waist. Her eyes grew wide. Bella gave her a hug. “Thanks, Chrissie, for sending Henry to our rescue.”

Chrissie looked at Henry, whose ears turned slightly red. He rubbed his chin. “Yeah, we’ll talk about it later.” He disappeared into Chrissie’s house with her, but she cast a backward glance at Devlyn’s blanket one more time, her eyes still huge.

Thank heavens the police took off, and Bella could do what she knew she had to, to keep Devlyn safe.

Devlyn stalked into the bedroom, intent on changing and then returning to Colorado, while Bella paced in the living room.

She listened to him zipping his bag. Grinding her teeth, she glanced out the window at her compact SUV. Now or never.

She pulled out her keys and headed outside. “Bella!” Devlyn roared from her front porch. She whipped around.

His brown eyes turned coal black; his mouth formed a thin grim line. “What are you doing?”

Unable to form the words she knew she had to say, she stood mute.

Devlyn ran his hands through his tangled hair, locking her gaze with an angry glare. “Looking for something, Bella? Need to pick up some more gas? Groceries before we leave? What?”

Annoyed, she tilted her chin up and said what she had to before she changed her mind. “I made a mistake. I’ve changed my mind ... about us.” She hated the quaver in her voice, but she couldn’t squash it no matter how hard she tried.

“So you thought what? You’d just sneak off? Skulk away without a word to me?”

Those were wolf fighting words.

Folding her arms, she returned his glower. “I’m leaving you, and that’s that. You can’t make me—”

He lunged forward.

“No!” she screamed, but he yanked her into his arms and held on tight. “Let me go, Devlyn! He’ll kill you and I’ll just die!”

“You’re mine, Bella. You agreed. Wolfmates don’t dissolve relationships like that.”

She struggled to get free, but he lifted her over his shoulder and strode into the house. “All right, we do it my way. Got some rope handy?” His words were gruff, but a hint of playfulness took the edge off.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wouldn’t I? If I have to, I will.”

“I didn’t know you were into bondage,” she snarled, fighting to free herself.

“If it works, why not?”

“I don’t have any rope.”

“You’re not leaving me, Bella, and that’s final.”

“Fine,” she snapped, not liking it, but for the moment, she had no choice.

For now, Colorado and the pack beckoned for their return.

After giving Chrissie the picture of pressed Colorado flowers as a keepsake and assuring her she would keep in touch, Bella and Chrissie said their good-byes. Devlyn helped Bella load everything she could fit into her Escape, not letting her out of his sight for an instant. Within the hour, and with Bella’s heart in her throat, they were on their way, with Chrissie and her kids and Henry waving good-bye in the misting rain.

It took nearly the whole trip back to Colorado for Bella to realize that, although she wanted to show her independence and to run her life her own way, she wanted Devlyn more. She knew in her heart that he was meant to be an alpha male. Now that Devlyn was part of her life, her mate, and bound by wolf law to protect her, she had to give him the chance to prove himself worthy, or else she would forever damage his pride. She loved and admired him for being a male lupus garou. The good and the bad. For humans, male pride only went so far, but for wolves, it was the whole basis of their familial existence. A part of Devlyn would never be satisfied unless he took over the pack in the wolf way, through brute force and resourcefulness, ousting Volan forever.