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Ella was soft in all the right places—places he wanted to unwrap and taste.

Fuck.

Mack couldn’t let himself slip. While he’d accepted his wolf, if Ella died or was harmed because he couldn’t keep his cock and fangs to himself, he’d never forgive himself.

She was too important.

He would have to love her from afar.

You can’t love her.

No matter which way he looked at it, there was no possibility for them to be together. God knows he’d laid awake day after day, hour after hour, thinking of a way around it.

He’d even blamed his father.

Then again, they had no idea what could’ve happened to their bond once Callan had infected him. None of the infected were bonded prior.

His cock throbbed as it pressed against Ella, and Mack gripped her upper arms and shifted her off him. He saw the flicker of rejection in her eyes.

“Come on.” Taking her hand, he tugged her up the stairs toward the entrance. “She’s with me,” he told the guards.

They stepped aside.

Very few in the castle had that type of influence, but as an honorary SLC—for the time being—Mack did.

“Wow.” Ella grinned up at him. “Look at you.”

She was turned on and he liked it...way too much. His heart did a little skippy thing, knowing he’d impressed her. This was why she couldn’t be here. It would be so easy to slip and next minute have his mouth on hers.

Her panties off...

His mouth on her flesh.

Mack stopped dead in the middle of the lobby. “Why are you here?”

Ella’s mouth parted, and she swallowed audibly. “I... you...what do you mean?”

“I told you to go to the house.” He snapped, angry at himself. Angry at her. Did she not realize how dangerous this was? One bite and...

“I did go. I dropped my bags off. I wanted to see you.” Her frown did not disguise the hurt, and Mack wanted to punch himself in the face.

When his eyes dipped to her mouth, the desire to kiss her and tell her he’d never been happier to see anyone in his life, her lips parted.

Goddamn it.

She was like that little pack of white powder that an addict was staring at while their mouth watered.

Impossible to resist.

Yet he was doing this for her.

“You ca—”

“Mack daddy!” Three warriors raced past him at speed, one of them whacking him over the head.

The hell?

Mack turned and let out a growl as he watched Ben, Tristan, and Logan, all wearing black Moretti sweatpants, head outside for a run.