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Chapter 22

Regan stepped out of the portal, flanked by Satan and Diablo. The two hounds had been incredibly needy since they’d returned the previous evening and refused to be left behind. She wasn’t sure how they would deal with a pack of werewolves, but she was about to find out.

The long day had been spent praying and brooding, worrying about Catrin, searching the library at the Council for anything about Sardi, and trying to think what his next move would be. She’d had seen the way he looked at Caleb and suspected he would somehow make her choose between Caleb and Catrin.

She’d thought about staying away tonight. Maybe if she distanced herself enough, then she could keep Caleb out of the inevitable showdown with her old boyfriend. But deep in her heart, she knew it was too late for that. Knew that Caleb was tied to this, and they had to play it out. Besides, she wanted to be here, her wolf wanted to be here, to see Caleb take his proper place in the pack.

The house loomed in front of her, huge and shadowed but empty, and she knew the wolves would be in the dark forest, waiting.

A waning moon hung in the clear sky, and the night hummed with magic. In the distance, a wolf howled, and she followed the sound. She paused at the edge of the forest and breathed in deeply, her nostrils filling with the musky scent of wolves. Among the many scents, she caught Caleb’s, and her heart lifted. Wolf woke within her and howled joyously at the thought she would soon be free.

If they were to die, then let them have this one night.

She stepped under the canopy of trees and made her way to where she could hear the noise of many people. Her hounds pressed close, whining softly, and she ran her hands over their heads, soothing them.

The forest opened into a wide clearing. Torches hung from the branches all around, casting a flickering orange light. A few wolves milled around, but most of the pack were still in human form. She recognized a number of them from the night before, but there were many more, close to a hundred. She hadn’t realized there were so many.

Her gaze was drawn across the clearing to where Caleb stood alone. His eyes lifted to meet hers, and she saw something close to relief in his expression, followed by a bright flare of joy.

Obviously, despite the fact that she’d promised, he hadn’t expected her to come. He didn’t trust her, and why should he? Still, this was his night; she would do nothing to spoil that. Their problems could wait. She walked across the clearing toward him, her eyes never leaving his.

He was dressed in black pants and a black button-down shirt. He was beautiful, his dark hair brushed back from his face; his skin pale with shadows beneath his eyes and in the hollows of his cheekbones. She had an urge to stroke away the shadows, tell him everything would be all right, but how could she when she didn’t believe it herself? She pushed the thought away.

She came to a halt in front of him. The relief was gone from his eyes—they were guarded once more, and she gave in to the need to touch him. Lifting her hand, she stroked along the line of his cheekbone. His skin was hot, and the faint rasp of whiskers scraped beneath her fingertips. She cupped his jaw in her palm, stood up on tiptoes, and placed her lips against his.

For a brief moment, he stood motionless, then his arms came around her, and he pulled her to him and deepened the kiss. It felt like coming home, and Regan allowed herself to melt into him. She opened her mouth, and the warm, wet velvet of his tongue slid against her own. One hand slipped into the silky hair at the nape of his neck, the other gripped his shoulder, her nails biting into the hard muscle, and she pressed herself to the long line of his body as though they could somehow become one.

He kissed her for endless minutes, then his mouth left hers, and they stood, foreheads touching.

Caleb took a step back, and Regan glanced up and around the clearing. The pack surrounded them. She caught sight of the blond werewolf, Sophie, watching them through narrowed eyes, and inside her wolf growled softly.

Under the watchful gaze of the pack, Regan pulled Caleb to her and kissed him again.

When he raised his head, his expression was rueful. “Staking your claim?”

That was exactly what she was doing. She nodded, and Caleb smiled.

“I think you’ve made your point,” he said.

“Well then,” she murmured, “this one is just for me.” She leaned up and kissed him quickly on the lips.

As she stepped back, he was watching her cautiously. “I wasn’t sure you would turn up.”

She shrugged. “I told you I would. Now let’s get on with this. What’s supposed to happen at a new pack leader meeting?”

“Actually, I’ve never been to one before. Neither, for that matter, has anyone else here.” He gestured to the surrounding pack. “My father murdered everyone who existed before he became pack leader. Tom was the last.”

“So what do we do?”

“They must swear an oath to the new leader. Anyone who doesn’t want to has the right to demand combat.”

“You have to fight?”

“Or I can let my mate fight in my stead.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Your mate?”

“Is that not what you just staked claim to?” He looked at her long and hard. “Are you willing to fight for me, Regan?”