by Gwen Knight
“Take me home.”
He nodded, brushed a light kiss against her brow, then led her away from her mother’s cabin. It could burn, for all she cared.
Epilogue
Skylar brushed her hands down her borrowed skirt and blouse and stole a quick glimpse into Wyatt’s recovery room. “How is he?”
“Irritable,” Amberly said with a wry smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a wretched patient before. Are you sure he’ll be a good mate?”
“Yes,” Sky murmured. “Without a doubt.”
“It was pretty impressive how he shot out of here to find you, even riddled with silver as he was.”
Sky ducked her head and hid the blush that chased across her cheeks. Sawyer had gone to great lengths to tell her exactly how rude her mate had been. Amberly had simply chuckled and patted her brother on his head.
“How was Gavin’s funeral?”
Tears sprang to her eyes, but Sky nodded. “As to be expected. No funeral is ever easy.”
Her sister-in-law released a slow breath and wrapped her arms around Sky. “No, I suppose not.”
“I’m sorry you couldn’t attend.”
Amberly nodded and rested her head in the crook of Sky’s shoulder. “Someone had to stay and make sure your man stayed in bed. I swear, the moment you left the house, I had to threaten to sedate him.”
“He’s worried.”
“Tell him to stop,” Amberly murmured. “The bad guy has been defeated. The day is saved.”
Skylar chuckled.
“You two can stop talking about me like I’m not here.”
The two women dissolved into giggles at the sound of Wyatt’s dejected voice. Poor man had been bedridden for two days while his system worked out the silver. It had made him one unhappy alpha.
“When can he leave?” Sky asked once she caught her breath.
“Ah, he’s good to go. Take it easy. No more chasing villains through the hills, and don’t forget to visit with Noah before you leave.”
Brushing her lips across Amberly’s cheek, Sky stepped into the room and met Wyatt’s stern gaze. “Feeling better?” she asked as she crossed toward him.
His jaw muscle leaped. “How’s Noah?”
She would have laughed, if not for his serious tone. For two days, he’d been inquiring after Noah, requesting updates every hour. It’d been touch-and-go for a while, but Amberly had finally deemed him stable.
“He’s going to be fine. The blade missed his heart, but it was silver. He had some troubles purging it from his system.”
Relief loosened his jaw. “Good. Come here.”
With a sheepish grin, Sky took his hand and allowed him to pull her onto the bed with him. As horrible as the past two days had been, Wyatt had been her one shining star. Her family’s pack had much to deal with. The loss of an alpha was never easy, and the power struggle had already begun. Not to mention one of their youngest males was bedridden, his life almost lost to trouble that she had brought with her. It had made for some awkward dinners.
“You need to stop looking at me like that,” Sky murmured before brushing a kiss against his lips.
“Like what?” He blinked puppy-dog eyes at her.
“Like you’re going to lose me. James is dead, and we’re alive. You can’t be with me every minute of the day, you know.”
“I can try.”
She shook her head. “Then don’t blame me when I kick you in the nuts again.”
Wyatt laughed and then groaned. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“Still hurts?” The silver bullets had shredded his insides. It was a miracle he’d survived.
“Nah.”
Which meant yes. Big, bad alpha, afraid to admit how much pain he was in.
“When do you want to leave?” Sky asked.
“Tomorrow morning. Bale called while you were at Gavin’s funeral. The hospital is releasing Trinity in three days. I’d like to be there for her.”
“So would I.” It broke her heart knowing that she had brought such tragedy into Trinity’s life. The woman had only wanted to be her friend, and now her life would never be the same. The bastard had torn out her eyes and left her for dead. If she could kill James again, she would.
“He and Harley have been looking into James’ past. Seems the Appalachian Pack had exiled him about four years ago. He was more concerned with making a name for himself than he was involved with his pack. If his house was any indication, he’d locked onto you almost immediately afterward.”
Sky shivered. She didn’t want to think about James ever again. Her life was finally her own again, and she intended on spending it with her very prickly alpha.
The same prickly alpha who was studying her with a serious air.
“What’s wrong?”
“Absolutely nothing,” he assured her. “Reassuring myself that you’re still here with me.”
She lifted his hand to her mouth and brushed her lips against the tips of his fingers. Had he arrived a few moments later, who knew the condition he would have found her in. Her recent nightmares had given her many scenarios to ponder. In the dark of night, she still felt James’ rank breath against her skin, felt his claws slicing at her eyes.
Clearing her throat, she guided her thoughts down a more pleasant avenue. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Relief softened his face.
“Have I thanked you, yet?” she asked. “You know, for risking your own life to save mine?”
“You’ll never have to. I couldn’t let him…” He brushed his fingers down her cheek, drawing a purr from deep within her throat. Since that night, he hadn’t gone longer than an hour without touching her. And she hadn’t objected. She wanted James’ touch stricken from her body. Unfortunately, the cuts on either side of her eyes would leave permanent scars. “I’m grateful I found you in time.”
Sky smiled and wound their fingers together. “Thank you. I wish we could have saved my grandfather.”
A dark emotion crossed Wyatt’s face. “He loved you. You know that, now. It’s too bad you hadn’t heard it from him.”
She shrugged, her mouth turning down.
“Skylar, I love you.”
She blinked. They were mates, but neither had uttered those three little words yet. Honestly, she’d never expected to hear them from Wyatt—she’d known from the start that he wasn’t one to broadcast his emotions. He kept everything so close to his chest, protected by his tough exterior.
“I never want you to go through life wondering if I do. And I never want to be taken from you without you knowing—”
“Wyatt.”
“—let me finish. I’ve never told anyone I loved them before. But I love you. And when we get home, I want you with me forever, as my mate and my wife.”
Sky’s head spun. Just when she thought she knew him, he changed the game. She met his steeled gaze, her mouth suddenly dry. “I love you too,” she finally whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
“Yeah?”
She nodded, blinking back the silly tears that had sprung to her eyes.
“Good.” He gave a nervous laugh. “That’s really good. It won’t be easy. I know that. You hate having an alpha and reject all form of dominance, but I think—”
“We’ll make it work,” she said, her voice stronger. “There’s bound to be a little clashing between two dominant wolves, but we can make it work.”
He chuckled under his breath. “I have to admit, I was expecting a little resistance. Maybe a little hair pulling, some biting…”
With a playful smile, she leaned forward and said in a husky voice, “Happy to oblige.”
She laid her parted mouth against his neck and gave a little nip as her fingers slid through his hair. Wyatt growled against her, his grip tightening on her ass and wrenching her flush against him.
“Sky…”
“Wyatt,” she teased. Her tongue flicked out and licked his neck as she made her way to his ear.
“Christ, Sky. You’re playing with fi
re, here.”
“Mm, the doctor cleared you, so, light me up.”
His grip turned to steel, and with a savage growl, he brought her mouth down on his. Sky sank into him, her arms slipping around his neck as she awaited the ride of her life.
This was how it would always be with Wyatt, and she wouldn’t have had it any other way. He might be the dangerous alpha who always got his way, but she’d claimed him, and that was all that mattered.
*****
About the Author
Canadian girl Gwen Knight first began to delve into the realm of the paranormal at the age of ten, when she wrote her first horror, starring a clawed monster that hid beneath her bed. Since then, her tastes have expanded into many genres. Though addicted to reading and writing, she managed to achieve a degree in archaeology, geography and mapping.
Currently, she lives in the Great White North with her husband, two collies and a black cat.
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Adam Beaumont hadn’t been the alpha of the Cleveland pack for long before he felt the pressure to take a mate. When he sees a beautiful Wiccan talking to one of his wolves, he knows exactly what to do to make her his. The only problem? Cinder isn’t receptive to him at all. Everything he tries to do to make her his only seems to push her away, and neither he nor his wolf can handle it much longer.
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Copyright
REACH FOR THE SKY
Copyright © 2015 by Gwen Knight
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. By purchasing this book, you have been granted the non-exclusive and non-transferable right to access and read it. No part of this text may be duplicated, reproduced, reverse engineered, transmitted, downloaded, or stored without the author’s permission. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Disclaimer: The material in this book is for mature audiences only and contains graphic sexual content and is intended for those older than the age of 18 only.