Heart of the Wolf

Chapter Nineteen

THE SOUND OF VOLAN’S HOWL NEARLY MADE BELLA’S heart stop. Devlyn’s ears pulled back and he narrowed his eyes. His tail pointed straight out, parallel to the ground. Undoubtedly, he sensed the added danger when he caught the sound, too.

It just couldn’t be Volan. Not when Devlyn had so many reds to fight. Bella continued to recline on the ground, pretending not to be bothered, to show Devlyn that she believed in him with all of her heart. But she couldn’t smooth down the hair standing erect on the nape of her neck or tail. She couldn’t relax her tail, fixed straight as a spear, her body on full alert, ready to react if Volan made a sudden appearance.

Then she reminded herself that she had her gun and it could give him a lot of heartburn for a while.

Ross ran toward Devlyn with his teeth bared. Fire burned in the depths of his brown eyes. Devlyn responded, his leg and back muscles moving like a waterfall, fluid and powerful. Grabbing Ross by the throat, he snapped his neck in two.

Ross fell limply to the ground; Bella stopped panting. For now, Devlyn had proved himself once again the winner. Taking a deep breath of pride, she admired her mate for his skill and ingeniousness. She thought of how Ross and the other wolves had killed those helpless women and how, if they’d had a chance, they would have killed Devlyn. For those reasons, she had no regret. It was the way of the wolf, the only reason they had survived as long as they had.

Still, her anxiety heightened, worrying that Devlyn’s energy would dwindle.

Nicol lunged at him. No rest in between, calculated to wear the gray down.

Most of the wolves still stood. A couple of the older ones, their red fur now graying, lay down, but all kept their eyes fixed on the fighters.

Nicol got a lucky strike—because she couldn’t concede it was anything else—and grazed Devlyn’s neck with his wicked canines. Devlyn snapped and growled with his teeth bared, the sound deep and base-like, extremely menacing. Nicol quickly retreated from Devlyn’s killer canines.

Bella squelched the urge to dash into the battle and bite the red back. She sat up instantly, unable to pretend any further to be so relaxed about the fight.

Nicol pounced on him again, but Devlyn snapped his jaw at him, nearly catching the red’s leg. Hearing the sound of Devlyn’s powerful jaws clamping together so close to his body, Nicol yelped.

Bella searched the crowd again, looking for a male wolf about the right age that might be Simon. Her eye caught that of a red who was watching her, not the fight. He stood taller than Alfred had, but certainly not as big as a gray. But he looked as if he could have put Alfred down. Her stomach tightened.

She faced Devlyn, who sprung at Nicol and pinned him down by the throat.

Nicol whined and squirmed. Devlyn had the best of him. Why didn’t he finish him off? Not to do so was cowardly, and it was not the wolf way ... not the lupus garou way. Not when the red had murdered a human woman and risked exposing all of the lupus garous.

Devlyn’s chest heaved with exhaustion. Worn out, he rested before the kill, knowing that Simon would attack as soon as he let go of Nicol. Bella settled back down, glad she’d figured out his reluctance to finish Nicol off.

The wolves grew restless as he continued to wait. Several wolves held their tails straight out behind them, indicating their apprehension. Then, with resolve, Devlyn clamped his jaws down on Nicol’s throat, crushing the neck bone with a powerful snap, ending the fourth-generation big game hunter’s life instantly.

The one who’d been watching Bella immediately leapt for Devlyn, nearly sixteen feet through the air, the longest distance a wolf could leap. This time, Devlyn didn’t react quickly enough. Simon knocked him on his hip.

Bella lunged forward, but two of the other males blocked her from interceding. Females fought females, never males—the unwritten rule passed down from generation to generation.

She growled at them. They bowed their heads to her, showing that they had no intention of fighting her but wouldn’t move out of her path.

Again she growled, baring her teeth at one and then the other, preparing herself to attack. She couldn’t watch Simon hurt her mate. The strain of the fighting and the tension that had built up in her system keyed her higher than an active volcano built up steam, ready to explode.

When neither of the reds would move out of her path, she snarled and snapped at the one to her right, intent on having her way. Immediately, the one to her left pounced on her. He pinned her to her side against the pine needle floor. She wriggled with frustration but couldn’t free herself because of his heavier weight and bigger size.

Devlyn caught her eye and snarled. Angered that another male would force her down if he hadn’t had to fight Simon, she knew he would have taken care of the male that now dominated her. Devlyn whipped around and battled with the red, his teeth connecting with Simon’s right front leg.

Simon yelped and dodged backward.

The two tore into each other again, snarling and biting with wicked intent.

Bella squirmed to get free again and then growled low. More enraged than she’d ever been, if she could have freed herself, she would have torn to shreds the red who pinned her down.

To her horror, Devlyn tucked his tail, bowed his head, flattened his ears, and lay down on his belly. Her heart nearly quit when she saw his defeated posture. His neck and mouth bled, but he didn’t seem to have any serious injuries. If he didn’t fight and kill the red, a known murderer ...

A male, maybe in his late fifties, moved forward cautiously, baring his canines at Simon. The younger wolf turned to face the new threat.

Devlyn remained in his subservient position, watching the reds fight, avoiding looking at Bella.

It finally dawned on Bella. Devlyn couldn’t kill the last renegade red. He had to force one of the reds of the pack to do it. The one who did would become the new leader. They couldn’t have a gray best the last red and take over the pack.

Just like the gray devil wolf that had infiltrated Alfred’s red pack so long ago. The leadership had become stagnant and corrupt just as Alfred’s was. She’d never considered that Devlyn’s great-grandfather had forced change—not by taking over as he could have easily done, but by helping them rid themselves of the cancer in their pack—and then left. That another red wolf had taken over. But she bet his great-grandfather hadn’t had to fight four reds, one after another, either.

The older male charged and tackled Simon. The younger wolf seemed surprised the older one would challenge him. They bit each other, snarled, and snapped their mighty jaws. They dodged and charged and bloodied each other’s pelts. Then Simon made the fatal move. He turned the wrong way, exposing his throat at the inappropriate instant, leaving himself open to the kill.

The older wolf took him by surprise. Without hesitation, he ripped out Simon’s throat, and the younger wolf was instantly killed.

Then something drew their attention toward the woods, and everyone turned to look. Standing in the mist of the forest, a red male wolf considered Bella with unspoken longing, but his neck and leg were bleeding, his tongue hanging from his bloodied mouth, as though he’d tangled with a much bigger beast and lost. Had he come to fight for the leadership but been thwarted? And now was he too torn up to fight well?

He glanced at Devlyn and bared his bloodied teeth. The new leader bowed his head to the loner. The two stared at each for a moment and then the wolf turned and dove back into the forest, disappearing in a heartbeat.

“It’s him, Leidolf,” one of the older women said, already having turned back into her human form. “He’ll be back.” She smiled with admiration. “He has the look of leadership in his eyes, his stance. And he would’ve taken on the others if he hadn’t been injured and that delayed him. He’ll be back.”

There was no time for jubilation, or for the wolves to show their allegiance to their new pack leader. Sirens sounded from a distance, creating a panic. The wolf that pinned Bella down jumped off her. She snapped at him, missing biting his leg by inches.

Devlyn rushed to join her as the other wolves scattered, quickly changing into their human forms. Some dove into the vehicles and donned their clothes. Some grabbed the lifeless, bloodied bodies of the reds, once again turned into human form, and deposited them in the trunks of their vehicles.

Only the new red alpha male leader remained for a moment, staring at Devlyn, not challenging him, but instead giving him thanks.

Devlyn bowed his head and then raised it in acknowledgement.

The wolf dashed for one of the vehicles, but before Bella and Devlyn could return to the SUV that had brought them there, the driver tore off. She realized then they’d never have taken the gray and her back with them to the city. Only if the gray had died would they have taken her into the pack.

She touched her nose to Devlyn’s, and he licked her face. They pressed their muzzles against each other. They had only one option available to them, now—run like the wind and seek shelter in her cabin.

At short spurts, they could run as fast as twenty-eight miles per hour, but because of Devlyn’s fight, they ran at a trot. Her cabin was located only a couple of miles away. They’d make it. As long as zoo man Thompson didn’t find Rosa running with the injured gray male, or they didn’t cross paths with Volan. Involuntarily, a shiver ran through her.

With the cool breeze in her face and the two of them trotting nearly shoulder to shoulder, she suddenly realized that the gun she’d so carefully hidden in her clothes still rested under the seat in the black SUV. Her security blanket was ripped away from her. Now they had nothing but to fight Volan the way the wolf would. Even wounding Volan temporarily would have been to her advantage—until she could find another old-time smithy who could fashion silver bullets.

Then she recalled the gun in her cabin. Different smithy, and maybe real silver bullets. If they could just reach it in time.

Analyzing the rustle of the wind through the trees, birds’ sweet whistling tunes, and the sound of Devlyn’s and her pads tromping on the needled floor, she listened for Volan. Tilting her nose up, she breathed in the air, smelling a deer nearby, the scent of a raccoon, the fragrance of pine ... no Volan.

Devlyn acted as wary, his ears twitching back and forth, channeling in on the sounds, sniffing the air.

When the cabin came into view, she filled her lungs with air and wanted to shout for joy. Instead, she whimpered in her most happy wolf way. Devlyn rubbed her face with his, sharing her tentative liberation.

As soon as they reached the front steps, they changed into their human form. Standing on the porch, Devlyn pulled Bella into his arms and kissed her thoroughly.

The tension drained from her body. Devlyn had won. He’d shown his cleverness, superiority, and prowess as a born leader by allowing the older male to take down the final rogue wolf. She wondered if the mystery red wolf would give up his loner ways and take over the pack. But then she speculated again about whether she could convince Devlyn to start a new pack.

A lone wolf could do so, with his mate, and then he wouldn’t have to fight Volan. How she wished he’d agree with her, but his heart was set on returning to the family that had taken him in. She had to admit that the notion of being with the pack again filled her with longing.

Taking an exasperated breath, she asked, “Did you hear Volan’s howl?”

“Yeah.” Devlyn rubbed her arms. “Telling us he knows where we are and that we have no choice but to return home to the pack.”

“We don’t have to, you know. We could start our own.” Devlyn’s eyes hardened, and she knew then that she’d never be able to convince him to stay away from Volan.

“I told you years ago, Bella. He would come after you and our children. I can’t risk it.” He glanced down at her clothes still lying on the chair on the porch.

“I took a run and ended up in the zoo.” And, once she was back in Portland, she’d take a run again, away from the wolf she loved most in the world, like before, to protect him.

“I remember it well, although it seems like eons ago.” Grabbing her clothes, she headed inside the two room cabin.

Devlyn dashed around her. “Let me take a look around first.”

She smelled it then. The slight odor that was Volan. Her skin chilled, but it had nothing to do with the cold cabin.

Devlyn quickly inspected the bedroom and bath and rejoined Bella in the living area. “He’s not here.”

“But he’s been here.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think he’ll come back?”

“No. He’ll want to prove to the pack you’re his. Trying to kill me here and then returning you to the pack wouldn’t be enough.”

She dumped her clothes on a tweed-covered couch and took Devlyn’s hand. “Let’s get you washed up then. I’ll take care of those bites and ...”

He leaned over and licked her neck. “I need something else. I’m a bit ... tense.”

Glancing down at his full-blown erection, she lifted a brow. “After all you’ve been through?”

He wiggled his brows.

She laughed. “I know just how to handle it.” He growled softly. “How well I know.”

They made it halfway across the living area when the front door slammed open, banging against the wall.

Volan stood in the entryway, his mouth red with blood, and she wondered if Leidolf, the loner red, had tangled with the demon. He was dressed in denims and a sweatshirt that were as black as his mood. His black hair hung loosely at his shoulders, and he looked as if he’d fallen out of bed in a hurry and hadn’t had his first cup of coffee yet. But the demonic look in Volan’s black eyes had nothing to do with missing a mug of caffeine. His unfulfilled lust for Bella showed in every angry line creasing his stern face.

Volan took in Bella’s nakedness, inhaled a deep breath, smelling the air, or rather, her—trying to tell if Devlyn had mated with her already. His look couldn’t get any harder; then he shifted his attention to Devlyn. “I gather you were straightening out a matter with a pack of red wolves in the area, which delayed your bringing Bella home to me.”

“She’s mine, Volan,” Devlyn said, moving Bella behind him. “You can’t have her.”

Volan tsked. “You can’t have her. Pack laws. She’s my choice.”

“Those aren’t wolf laws. She chose me. You’re out of luck.”

“My rules then. Come on, Bella.” Volan stretched his meaty hand out to her. “I’ll let him live if you come with me now.”

Devlyn gripped her arm tighter, worried she might agree to be Volan’s mate.

“However, Bella sweet, I’ll have to teach you a thing or two about wolf law. Seems you’ve forgotten some of them while living among the humans.”Volan touched his chest lightly; then she noticed his skin still seemed paler than usual.

Had she injured him after all? Why hadn’t the silver killed him?

Drops of blood trickled down his sneakers onto the wood floor. She looked up at him.

Volan turned his attention to Devlyn. “Lover boy’s too spent to fight me. Wouldn’t be a fair battle. Besides, we fight in front of the pack, end this once and for all. I challenge you to bring her home and battle me for her, Devlyn.”

“I’ll be there,” Devlyn growled.

Volan turned and stalked out of the cabin, a slight limp to his gait.

Releasing her, Devlyn stormed to the door and watched Volan disappear into the woods. Bella joined him and bent over to inspect the blood.

“He’s been wounded,” Devlyn said. “That’s why he wouldn’t fight me yet.”

“In the leg?” she guessed, wondering how her bullets managed to hit him in the leg when she was damn sure both bullets had hit his chest.

“Yeah, probably when he was in wolf form someone got a shot off.”

“It’s not hunting season.”

“Right, but some wouldn’t care if he was wearing his wolf pelt and got near their livestock.”

For now, all Bella could think of was getting Devlyn back to her home in Portland and then slipping away again so he wouldn’t ever have to fight the devil wolf.

Before long, warm water filled the tub, and Devlyn reclined on his back as she climbed on top of him.

He kissed her lips and ran his hands over her breasts, heating her deep inside. “I have to say, Bella, you made me proud.”

“I was afraid you’d be angry with me because I tried to help you.”

He leisurely licked the bathwater off her cheek. “You love me and wanted to protect me. You didn’t do it because you felt I couldn’t handle him. It was just instinctive. An alpha female quality.”

She washed his bloodied neck with care. Referring to her as having alpha qualities was the greatest compliment he could ever give. “I was so proud of you to submit to another red, to allow him to fight Simon for the right to be the leader of the pack.” Knowing how difficult it was not only to pretend to cower before a red, but in front of his mate—it had to have been the hardest thing he’d ever done. Her chest swelled with pride to think such a great gray wanted her for his very own.

“I only did what my great-grandfather had done before me.”

“Don’t be so modest. I doubt he had to fight four reds, one after another. You created a new legend for this clan in your own right.”

“And you, Bella. The red wolf that the gray fought for.”

She leaned over and kissed his bristly cheek. His fingers touched her nipples, making her whole body tingle. He sighed deeply. “With only one to battle instead of four, I hoped one of the older wolves would have the courage to tackle him.”

“My clever wolf.” She ran her hand over his length in loving strokes. Finally, he’d allowed her to touch him, without stopping her. She would have rested with him instead, anything, to feel his heart beating against her breast, to have his skin touching hers, warm and alive, to feel his breath against her cheek, to taste his salty skin, and to smell him, feral and all male. Her gray, for the most part uninjured and safe with her again.

His eyes clouded with passion as he studied her with admiration, his hands massaging the small of her back. When it appeared he couldn’t handle another of her strokes, he slipped his hands down to her thighs, his fingertips drawing closer to her folds.

“You’re still awfully tense,” she said, her gaze taking in every inch of his glistening body, hard, muscled, and every bit hers.

He chuckled, the throaty sound triggering an ache between her legs. He lifted her and worked his way inside her folds. “This will definitely help.”

Her nipples brushed against the hair on his chest, sending delicious chills of desire coursing through every nerve. He cupped her face and lifted it, claiming her mouth with a deep, sizzling kiss. Their bodies slid against each other while his erection penetrated her deeply. Up and down she rose on top of him, creating tidal waves in the bathtub. Water splashed over the edge of the tub and spilled onto the tile floor. They kissed and touched each other’s skin with greed, giving not a care to anything else in the world.

Just as she envisioned climbing to the top of the snow-covered Wolf Rock, she rose higher with every plunge he made deep inside her. When she felt she couldn’t take any more, he groaned out her name, filling her with his warm seed, and as she reached the peak of pleasure, her insides pulsated with orgasmic delight.

“You’re too right for me,” he whispered against her mouth, tenderly, lovingly, the sound of a lusty, satiated mate.

Their tongues tangled, and she combed her fingers through his damp hair. “For each other,” she said, still seated on top of him, never wanting to let go.

But something in his eyes told her he was concerned about some matter. It didn’t take her long to learn what still troubled him.

He cleared his throat. “I always wondered, Bella, in the old days when your friend drowned—”

“Elizabeth?”

“Yes. Why didn’t you let me console you?”

“Volan saw you with me. I bit you to get you to leave me alone. He hated when you got near me, especially after I became a teen.”

“But you let him comfort you! I thought you wanted him.”

“Right. That’s why I ran away so many times.”

“Then why?”

She glowered at him. “He threatened to kill you! He told me if I let you touch me, he’d end your life. Damn it, Devlyn, you weren’t full grown then. He’d killed men more his size. I couldn’t let him hurt you.”

Then tension left his body, but only for a second. She cocked her head, thinking she heard a sound outside the cabin. Devlyn’s whole body grew rigid. He’d heard it, too.

Before they could disengage themselves from each other, humans stormed into the house, their heavy cologne preceding them. Zoo man Thompson forged ahead at the lead and began to enter the bathroom first but stopped when he saw Bella sitting on Devlyn, naked in the tub.

He wheeled around, shoving uniformed cops out of the doorway, and then hollered back to Devlyn and Bella, “Sorry, folks. We had word the two of you had been kidnapped.”

Devlyn smiled at Bella and shook his head. Henry cleared his throat. “Chrissie will be glad to hear that you’re both ... uh, well.”

Bella chuckled under her breath and handed Devlyn a bath towel. “I only have the one.” She pointed to a hand towel. “That wouldn’t work I don’t think.”

He wrapped the towel around his waist. “I’ll bring your clothes to you. I don’t have any,” he whispered in her ear. “The towel will have to suffice for now.”

He walked out of the bathroom and returned with her clothes. He said for her ear only, “I’ll give them the story.”

“I’ll listen to make sure our versions are the same,” she said, her voice hushed.

Devlyn left the bathroom and shut the door. “Henry.” He pointed to the couch. “Have a seat.”

Henry sat down while the police milled around on the front porch. “When Chrissie called to say you were kidnapped, I had to take measures into my own hands. We hadn’t reacted fast enough to follow the SUV that took you, so I broke into your home ...”

Devlyn raised his brows.

Henry shook his head. “I’m sorry. I only wanted to get to you quickly before Volan killed you.”

“And?”

“I found the email stating that someone wanted to meet you at Wolf Rock. You wouldn’t take Bella with you to meet him for fear she’d get hurt. I figured he thought you wouldn’t come, so he ensured that you would by kidnapping you. Luckily, I was able to get the police’s help, and we hurried to Wolf Rock as fast as we could.”

His gaze fastened on the bite marks on Devlyn’s neck. Although they’d been severe, the wound had already started to fade, the intensity of the pain lessening by the hour. Of course, some of the healing had to do with Bella’s distracting him. Still, he was sure the wound looked pretty angry.

“We found a lot of blood, but no bodies. I’d come across Bella’s cabin a few days ago, checked the license tags of the Escape parked out back, and verified that she owned the place. Anyway, I’d hoped, if you were still alive and able, that you’d made it here safely, as close as it is to Wolf Rock. We found traces of blood along a trail leading directly here, too.”

Devlyn nodded. Either Henry assumed that more had happened and he was keeping it a secret, or he’d given them the best out they could have. “Yes, well, luckily her place was close enough.”

Henry pointed to his wound. “A doctor needs to take a look at that.”

Bella entered the room wearing her turtleneck and jeans. Her wet curls still dangled over her shoulders, and the dripping water darkened the blue turtleneck in spots. She joined Devlyn, and he pulled her onto his toweled lap. She smelled like lavender and female, and he had to fight burying his nose in her wet hair. What the heck? He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against her hair, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes.

A hint of amusement flashed across Henry’s face. “With Bella’s care, I’ll be better in no time.”

“Yeah, with care like that ...” Henry cleared his throat.

“I guess I’d better let you give the police a statement about what happened then. We’ll give you an escort home?”

Devlyn deferred the decision to Bella. She nodded. “We’d like that. We’re going back to Colorado for a while. Let Devlyn heal up there.”

Henry stared at her for a moment. “But that’s where this Volan character is from.”

“We’ll inform the police when we get there about the situation,” Devlyn said. “And listen, Henry, we sure do thank you for trying to rescue us.”

Henry glanced back at the bathroom. “I didn’t expect ... well, I’m just damned glad we found the two of you alive and in pretty good shape.”

“We’ll need one more thing, however,” Bella said, with a twinkle in her eye and a dimple in her cheek.

Henry rose from the couch. “Anything.”

“He stole Devlyn’s clothes. Well, mine, too, but luckily I had some clothes here already.”

“You ran in this cold, stark ...” Henry shook his head. “That sick bastard.”

“I have an oversized pink sweatshirt Devlyn can wear, but the extra pair of denims I have won’t fit him.” She ran her hand over his thigh.

His muscle flexed with her stirring touch. Just a little higher, more centered, and she could touch something else she’d stirred.

“Let me talk with the officers. Maybe we can come up with something.”

Henry walked outside and conversed with the officers. Devlyn kissed Bella on the mouth. “Hmm, a pink sweatshirt, eh?”

“Yeah, I dare you to wear it.”

“I’ll take you up on it. Nothing I’d like better than to wear the smell of you, up close and personal.”

She chuckled. “I’m glad you don’t have a problem with it. Because I imagine that’s all we’re going to be able to come up with.”

Although one of the officers offered his jacket to Devlyn, he couldn’t be dissuaded from wearing Bella’s sweatshirt back to her house. With a blanket wrapped around his waist, he walked outside to talk to the police officers. She overheard Devlyn say, “Volan brought a killer wolf with him and ordered it to attack me. When we heard the police sirens, he fled with his wolf in a black SUV, but we didn’t get a look at his license plate. Concerned about Bella and my condition in the frigid weather without clothes, we headed for the warmth and safety of her cabin.”

“Hell, I wonder if that’s the same wolf that rancher Evans shot?” one of the men said.

“Someone shot a wolf?” Devlyn asked.

“Yeah,” Thompson said. “At first we thought it was Rosa, but he described the wolf as a bigger gray.”

Bella barely breathed. Volan.

“Did the rancher kill him?” Devlyn asked. “Nope, that was the thing. He yelped, so Evans knew

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.

No matter how hard that was for her to concede, she had to give him the chance to show he could do it. To her, it didn’t matter if he was the alpha male. It only mattered that they loved one another, but he needed more. The reassurance that he had the legitimate claim to her, that she was his and no one else’s. He had to prove he could do this—to protect her from Volan, ultimately, to kill him, and to lead their pack.

And she prayed he’d survive.

Devlyn and Bella finally arrived in the Southern Rockies, midday. The pinyon junipers and pines scented the air, calling to them to take their fill and romp through the woods as they had done as youngsters.

Bella’s eyes moistened to be home finally. She stared at the log cabin home, with its steep roof and wraparound porch. “This is your place, Devlyn?”

“Plenty of room for a bunch of kiddos,” he said, reaching over to pat her belly. “Five bedrooms and three hundred fifty acres of prime wolf land. A stream runs right through the middle of it.”

“The stream where we fished when we were little?”

“Yep. About a mile from here, my leather goods factory sits on two acres. Tanner and some of my other cousins are running things while I’m away.”

“Oh, I should have asked before if you could support me in the fashion I’ve been accustomed to.”

“Yeah, Bella, and all the little ones, too.”

“Good.” She climbed out of the Escape, weary of all of the traveling, glad to stretch her legs and to be home. “That means I don’t have to spend my money.”

He joined her on the porch and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re independently wealthy?”

“Are you sure you didn’t already know?”

He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Here I thought I knew all about you.”

“Not everything. Some secrets should be left that way, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely not.”

She smiled and then noticed a note fluttering on the door. “Someone left you a message.” Already dread filled the pit of her stomach.

Didn’t think you’d have the nerve to bring her to me after all. Argos said you were coming home. See you soon. Volan

She touched Devlyn’s neck where the red’s canines had wounded him. Thank heavens, the area was completely healed, with not even a trace of a scar.

“Come on. We’ve tried your bed, the couch, the rental SUV, motel rooms, bathtubs, and showers. It’s time to christen my place now. Plus rest up for tonight’s big adventure,” Devlyn said, crumpling Volan’s note in his fist.

“Fighting Volan.”

“Yep. The time has come. Well, in a few hours, but the notion is making me a little tense. Got something to relieve the tension?” The glint of devil flashed in his eyes. “Now who’s got a one-track mind?”

“Only ... when you’re around.”

They’d barely walked into the house when Devlyn’s phone rang. Answering it, he glanced at Bella.

She knew from the look on his face, Volan had called the pack to meet in the glade. The time had come to decide the leadership of the pack once again.