Kyle held out his hand, only a few feet between them now. “Come with me. I know this isn’t what you want.”
Her eyes burned and she blinked repeatedly. “I can’t, Kyle. It isn’t… allowed.” Her eyes darted around the room. She expected Cameron to say something, but instead he was looking quite dreamily at Kyle.
Kyle held out his arms and turned in a circle, the light catching on the scar on his face. Alex had put that there. It was a scar he’d earned defending her, a brutal-looking memento of the sacrifice he’d made for her.
“I am Kyle Kingsley. My mother was part shifter but I am human. I fought Alex Ravien Bloodright with my own two human hands and lived to tell the tale.”
There was a collective gasp from the crowd.
“If anyone challenges my right to marry this woman—should it be her will to have me—please stand and allow me the opportunity to change your mind.” He spread his arms wider, his head cocked at an angle that clearly said, I dare you.
No one stood. There were a few muffled whispers, but no one dared challenge the imposing presence among them. Laina’s heart galloped faster in her chest. Her wolf panted excitedly in her head. Her eyes fell on Silas.
“Ah, the brother alpha,” Kyle said. “I remember saving your furry ass as well. Why are you looking at him, Laina? You’re as much alpha on the inside as he’ll ever be and you know it.”
Silence. A dozen grim faces stared at him with death in their eyes. A growl came from deep within the crowd.”
Silas’s lips pursed. “You don’t understand how it is, Kyle.”
“I understand that you’d be dead and most if not all of the people in this room would be bowing down to Alex if it weren’t for Laina and me. You can’t deny that.”
“I don’t,” Silas said through his teeth. The murmurs among the crowd grew louder.
Cameron shook his head and stepped down from the marital platform.
“What are you doing?” Laina asked.
“Helping you,” Cameron said. “I’m your friend. I won’t let you fall on your sword. If you’re going to sacrifice yourself for the pack, I won’t be the means. I couldn’t live with myself.” He strolled calmly down the aisle and disappeared through the glass doors.
Preotka Artemis sighed. “There is no law against binding a wolf and shifter, however dormant. He brings himself willingly to your door. The goddess will allow you to open it if you choose.”
Laina looked again to Silas.
Her alpha brother scratched the back of his head and scanned the staring faces of the crowd. After a long moment, Laina saw something come over him, a resolve, a softening of the shoulders. When he looked at her again, it wasn’t as her alpha; it was as her brother. “Kyle’s right. You’ve always found a way to do what you wanted to do. Your pack needs a brave and daring leader, a princess who knows her mind, not a mindless robot. As your alpha, I order you to choose for yourself, follow your heart, and do the thing that will bring you happiness.” Silas gave her a warm genuine smile. “He’s worthy of you.”
Kyle’s gaze turned back to Laina. “Not a single objection.” He took another step toward her and held out his hand.
“It isn’t safe for you to be with me.”
“It isn’t safe for anyone if I’m not with you,” he whispered.
At war with herself, she thought about being strong, about protecting him, about doing the right thing for her pack, and none of it mattered. None of it mattered if she couldn’t have Kyle.
Slowly, she slipped her fingers into his. And he promptly yanked her off her feet and threw her over his shoulder to the loud murmurs of the crowd. “Nice meeting you all. Hope to see you again real soon.” Kyle saluted as he carried her from the gardens, Laina bouncing on his shoulder.
Panting, Milo looked up at her from Kyle’s side. She didn’t protest. Kyle could have carried her back to Sable Creek for all she cared. Instead, she watched the marble floor morph into the velvety blue of the north parlor. Kyle shut the door behind them and set her down on a chaise in front of a crackling fireplace. He sat down next to her, crossing his legs at the ankle and staring into the flames.
He said nothing, but as the silence raged on, Laina thought she knew what he was waiting for. “I’m sorry I left you. I wanted to keep you safe and to give you room to do your work. I didn’t want to ruin your life,” Laina said.
“Oh, Laina, you didn’t ruin me. You saved me. I was a puppet. Do you think I enjoyed being traipsed out on the company’s whim with some beautiful stranger hell-bent on advancing her career at my expense? No. I was numb, not happy.”
“But, what now? I can’t leave here. Alex is still out there. I’m responsible for my pack.”
Kyle leaned on his elbows. “As it turns out, I’ve been let go from my position at Hunt Club.”
“What?”
“Nate reassigned me as groundskeeper of our Red Grove property.”
As if to back his favorite human up, Milo moved between them, nudging Laina’s hand with his sloppy wet nose.
“You’re moving here? Permanently?”
Kyle nodded. “I’ll be living in our father’s cabin where Gerty and Arthur’s trees are for the time being, but I am free to live wherever I want as long as I can maintain the grounds. I have a feeling, given the circumstances, that I could convince Gerty to provide us with a protection spell anywhere we wanted if I asked.”
There was no stopping the tears now. Laina let them flow down her face with abandon.
“Are you crying because you don’t like the idea?” Kyle asked hoarsely.
She shook her head. “No. I’m crying because I have everything, everything I ever wanted.”
He took her face in his hands and kissed her, as if there wasn’t a 160-pound mastiff watching, as if Alex was already dead, as if the entire world had melted away and left only them in a cocoon of their happiness. Love may not be enough to change the world, but maybe, at least for today, it was enough to change their circumstances.
Thirty-Three
Days later, Laina woke to the blissful sound of birds singing, the chatter of foraging animals, and a warm stream of sunlight through a frosty window that baked her naked body. She rolled over, right on top of Kyle, who woke enough to wrap one arm around her waist before closing his eyes again.
“Haven’t you had enough, woman?”
“Never.”
“Seriously. Give the human a break. Kyle. Need. Sleep. And maybe food.”
“There’s a combo grocery store and bait shop in Red Grove. Or we can drive into Carlton City for pancakes at Valentine’s.”
“Valentine’s. The almost site of our almost first date.” He bobbed his sleepy eyebrows.
“And maybe, while we’re there, between the syrup and the bacon, we can decide if we want our wedding reception there.”
This propped open his eyes and made him smile like he’d won the lottery. “I like the sound of that. So you’re still marrying me, eh? Despite my meager accommodations?”
She held up her left hand, allowing the sun to catch on the two-karat diamond he’d put on her finger the night before. “Your accommodations are nothing short of magical.” In fact, the cabin had turned out to be safer than expected. On top of an enchantment by Gerty to keep all evil supernatural creatures out, they were practically neighbors to Silas’s favorite witch, Grateful Knight, who it turned out, had helped Kyle get into Rivergate Manor. Kyle said she was a sucker when it came to love. Silas seemed to think that her presence would keep Laina safe. She wasn’t sure about that but was happy Silas approved of her new residence. Plus, it was close enough to Carlton City that she could commute to her animal clinic every day.
“I thought we could be married here in the spring, outside, between Gerty and Arthur’s trees. Is that too soon?”
“I’ve always wanted a spring wedding.” She traced his pectoral muscle with her finger. “You’ll have to get our phoenix symbol tattooed on your shoulder.”
“I’ve alway
s wanted a tattoo.” He flipped her over, positioning his hips between her thighs and entering her with a satisfied moan.
“I thought you were tired,” she whispered, her hands moving to the small of his back.
“Maybe there’s something of the shifter in me yet.” He stroked back her hair and met her satisfied gaze. “I love you, Laina.”
“What happened to ‘you are mine’?”
“Who was I kidding? You are your own.” His mouth curved into a lopsided grin.
“I am yours. And you are mine,” she whispered into his mouth. “But it’s good to remember I had a choice. I want to make sure our children, girls or boys, have the same choice.”
“Children? You’re thinking about children already?”
“Hypothetically,” she said with a laugh.
He shifted his hips, his lips a breath away from hers. “I meant what I said before. You can be the alpha.”
She dug her fingers into his hair. “We’ll take turns. You go first.” Laina’s head fell back over the edge of the bed, and she gave herself over to her love, her vice, as he proved once again how addicting he could be.
Coming Soon
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About the Author
Genevieve Jack is a registered nurse turned author of weird, witty, and wicked-hot paranormal romance. Coffee and wine are her biofuel: the love lives of vampires, shifters, and witches her favorite topic of conversation. She harbors a passion for old cemeteries and ghost tours thanks to her years of schooling at a high school rumored to be haunted. Although she calls the Midwest home, her heart belongs to the beaches of the Southeast, where she spends her days with her laptop and one lazy dog.
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Vice (Fireborn Wolves Book 1) Page 21