by Kimber White
“I didn’t. I swear to God. Mr. Thorp said he just had some questions. He said the congressman sent him. I didn’t know what he was.”
Bas rose to his full height, towering over the dean. He was strong and sure, his muscles coiled, ready to strike again. But, he also didn’t have a stitch of clothing on. I think that terrified the dean as much as what he’d just seen.
I grabbed the wrecked bookshelf and pulled myself to my feet. Alec came to my side. I reached down and sunk my hand into the soft fur of his neck, drawing strength from his powerful presence as much as Bas’s. My wolves. My protectors.
“Well,” I said. “It seems now you know what he was. And now you know what you sent me into at the congressman’s office. Like you said. You’ve spent years cultivating a relationship between your program and his office. You’re lucky I survived it. From what I understand, there’s another student who ended up ruined by his experiences there. I think Lud Morris might like to give a statement as well once I track him down.”
Bas’s eyebrow raised as he followed my line of thought. He folded his arms and looked back at poor Stockard trembling on the floor.
“I didn’t. My God. I haven’t . . .”
“Mr. Stockard, do you like your lungs?” My legs were still shaky, but with Alec keeping me steady, I took a step forward. He bared his fangs for effect as we got closer to the dean. Bas’s lip twitched as I knew he suppressed a smile.
“What?”
I leaned down, keeping my hand on Alec’s neck as if I had to strain to hold him back. A fat drop of saliva fell from one of his fangs and landed on the dean’s shoe.
“I said, do you like your lungs?”
The dean looked from Alec to Bas to me again. Then he nodded like a bobblehead doll.
“Good. So. If you’d like to keep them today, and if you’d like to keep me from exposing the risk you put me in by sending me to Foster’s, I think maybe you’ll want to reconsider that letter of reprimand.”
Stockard kept on nodding, his mouth gaping.
“In fact, I think you might do well to replace it with a glowing recommendation both from you and the congressman. I’m sure when he hears about what happened here today, he might see me in an entirely new light.”
Stockard swallowed and forced a smile. “Of course. Anything. Yes. We . . . we were quite wrong.”
Bas put out a hand, sensing my unsteadiness. He helped me rise to my feet.
“I think we’re done here,” I said, linking my right arm with Bas’s and keeping my left hand on Alec’s back as the three of us stepped over the dean and walked out of his office.
I made it a half a dozen steps down the hallway, then neatly threw up into one of Stockard’s potted plants.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Alec mimicked me puking into the plant for about the tenth time as they regaled the rest of the pack with everything that happened back at Stockard’s office. I sat in Bas’s lap, resting my head against his shoulder. My hand flew up to my mouth as I tried to stifle a yawn.
We’d gathered back at the Wild Lake lodge. Seth had prepared a huge wild game dinner, and my wolves had gorged themselves for hours. The pack was together, happy, healthy, whole.
“That’s all well and good,” I said. “But I’m still out of a job.”
“Oh, I’m fairly certain there’s an opening at W.L.O. How do you feel about corporate law after you graduate?” Bas said. I shook my head and lobbed a roll at him. The effort of doing it brought an ache across my back from my injured shoulder.
Sensing my growing exhaustion, Bas smiled, nipped my ear, and carried me up the stairs to the master bedroom.
“Oh, no,” I said as he stretched me out on the bed. “I’m spent. Wrecked. You can’t possibly think I’ve got anything left.”
Bas smiled as he peeled off his shirt and shed his jeans. I couldn’t even think about doing the same. My shoulder was wrapped in a sling, but still throbbed. Bas hooked his fingers through the loops of my jeans and pulled me gently forward. Wordlessly, he unfastened them and slid them off me. Mercifully, he left my t-shirt alone.
He spread my legs and entered me slowly, gently, but filling me completely.
“Hush,” he said as he smoothed the hair away from my face.
And he was right. I was tired, but I still needed him like this as much as air in my lungs.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked. “Things got a little intense back there.”
“I’m more than all right. You came for me, Bas.”
“Always, my love. And God, Abby, you were incredible afterward. You sure you don’t have a little bit of wolf in you?”
I laughed then winced at the pain shooting through my shoulder. “Well, Mr. Lanier, don’t sell yourself short. Just at the moment, I have quite a lot of wolf in me.”
He buried his face in my hair and snorted with laughter.
“I love you,” he said. His eyes flashed silver when he looked into mine again.
“I love you, too.”
“Are you sure you want this? Granted, the last couple of weeks have been a little more intense than usual, but I’m not going to lie to you and say life with a pack of werewolves will ever be dull. And I wasn’t kidding about the corporate job. And don’t think I’m doing you any favors. It’s a tough gig. But, I think you’re suited for it. Plus, I’ll fire your ass in a heartbeat if you slack off.”
He leaned down and nipped my uninjured shoulder.
“Mmm.” I carved my fingers through his hair and tilted his head down so I could lean up and kiss him. “I think I can get used to it you and your wolves. But, maybe we could take it easy, at least for a little while.”
“I’ll try.” Bas moved in me, sending a wave of pleasure through me.
I smoothed my hand down his back. “It’s not all the way over though, is it?”
I’d seen looks pass between Alec and Bas all night. Something had him on edge still. He’d tried to shield me from it.
Bas stayed inside of me, but he brought his weight up on his elbows. “It’s Kane,” he said.
I bit my lip. I’d been afraid he’d say that. “You think he knew Dale was coming after me?”
Bas pursed his lips together. “Dale should have been long gone and out of the state if Kane had done what he promised immediately. So, either Kane didn’t banish Dale. Or it was something worse. He gave him permission to stay. Either way, Dale never would have been there this morning if Kane had kept his promise. Best case scenario, it means I can’t trust him. Worst case scenario, he’s working with whoever Dale was.”
My heart stuttered. “God. You mean directly against the Wild Lake packs?”
“I don’t know for sure.”
“What are you going to do?”
Bas kissed my forehead. “Don’t worry, my love. You don’t have to take on all the pack problems on your first day.”
I slapped Bas’s ass. “Don’t do that. Tell me. I’m in this, Bas. All the way.”
He smiled and kissed me soundly. Then, he flipped me so I straddled him. It got harder and harder to concentrate on the conversation.
“If I challenge Kane outright, I have to be prepared for the consequences. I have to take him out. If I take him out, I inherit his pack. I’m not sure I want to do that. The dynamic of this pack is about as perfect as I can make it.”
“So what then?”
Bas went still. He looked at some far-off point over my shoulder. My heart hammered in my chest as I understood his thoughts clearly.
“Alec,” I said, swallowing past a dry throat.
His eyes flicked to mine. “You feel him?”
“What? No. Not like you. But, yes. He’s different than the others, isn’t he? Stronger?”
Bas nodded. “It’s been coming on for a while. He’s got Alpha in him, Abby. Eventually, it’s going to be a problem for the pack.”
It made me heartsick for a moment, thinking of Bas having to either send Alec away or fight him to keep his pack. It
couldn’t be what either of them wanted.
“So you’ll send him to deal with Kane?”
Bas nodded. “I don’t have a choice.”
I leaned down and kissed Bas’s shoulder. “When will you tell him?”
“He already knows. And the sooner the better. He might already be gone.”
I reared back. “Without saying goodbye?”
“Don’t worry. If Alec has the power inside of him I think he does, we haven’t seen the last of him. And, he’s part of this pack forever. He can’t really leave all the way.”
I took a breath and closed my eyes, stretching my mind and heart out. I felt the Bas’s steady pulse beating strong inside of me along with his love. I felt the others too. Strong, defiant Alec. Wise Seth. Young and rambunctious Aaron and Ben. Connor and Eli, my protectors. Sophisticated Curtis. Finn. Davis. Tobias. Fearless Callum. They were mine. I was theirs. My pack. My heart.
I looked down at Bas. My love.
“I think it’s time,” I whispered.
He smiled and cocked his head to the side. “Already? Do you think you’re up for it? You’ve had a day.”
I nodded. “Now more than ever.”
Bas arched his back, pressing himself into me even deeper. My sex throbbed. My heart hammered inside of me. Bas was heat and light. Desire and life. He was mine and I was his.
He sat up and moved my hair away from my neck. He licked me once, his skillful tongue edging the mark he’d made. But now, tonight, he’d make it even deeper. Sealing my connection to him. Making it stronger. As I thrust my hips against him, Bas sank his teeth into the mark, drawing blood and pain for a fraction of a second. Then, blossoming pleasure.
The pain was gone. From my shoulder. From my heart. My soul filled with Bas’s love and the strength of the pack. As he marked me a second time, my eyes caught the light of the moon. There on the ridge to the north of the lodge, bathed in silhouette, were eleven strong wolves. I cried out Bas’s name as the pack’s howls rent the air.
As I crested down, warmth flooded my heart, and I knew where I belonged.
THE END
A Note from Kimber White
Thank you so much for coming along for the ride with Abby and Bas. Writing their story was such a blast for me. Er . . except the part where Abby’s journey gave me flashbacks about my own first year law student days. Sure, I didn’t have to deal with a murderous, vengeful rogue werewolf wanting me dead, but Civil Procedure I and Contracts? Horrifying, you guys!
About half way through this book, I pretty much feel in love with Alec. He was one of those characters that came out of nowhere for me. Um . . . and then when I finished Primal Heat and started giving him my full attention? {fans self} Anyway, Alec’s book is next and it’s called Savage Moon. Kane still needs a reckoning after his naughty deeds and Alec’s inner-Alpha is ready to rise up and take charge! That is if he can figure out how to control himself around Kane’s sexy, sassy dark haired mate. Let’s just say she’s more than Alec’s match. You can catch Alec’s story in Savage Moon. Click here for more information.
If you’re new to the shifters of Wild Lake, you can find out some of the things Bas was up to before Abby rocked his world in Dark Wolf. He’s also got a part in my companion series, Claimed by the Pack which kicks off with The Alpha’s Mark.
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See you on the wild side!
Kimber
KimberWhite.com
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Books by Kimber White
Claimed by the Pack Series
The Alpha’s Mark
Sweet Submission
Rising Heat
Pack Wars
Choosing an Alpha
The Complete Series Box Set
Wild Lake Wolves Series
Rogue Alpha (featuring Mal)
Dark Wolf (featuring Luke)
Primal Heat (featuring Bas)
Savage Moon (featuring Alec)
More to Come! Check http://www.kimberwhite.com/wild-lake-wolves for the latest releases.
Mammoth Forest Wolves Series
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
A Note from Kimber White
Books by Kimber White