Page 8 of Broken Wolf Heart (Mafia Pack #3)

“She’s still mine.”

I push past them both and run up the aisle, two steps at a time. I hit the exit doors, race down the stairs behind the meeting chamber, and shove through the back exit.

All I can think about is how Ramsey was here. And now he’s not. And neither is Lexi. If he tries to hurt her, fuck our history together. I’ll kill him.

Outside, the alley is steeped in early twilight. Trash bins line the brick walls. The sky overhead is smeared with purple and gold, the edges of night creeping in.

Her scent hits me like a punch.

Bright. Wild. Tangled with panic.

Lexi.

I rip at my clothes as I move, yanking off my jacket, shoving my pants down as I stumble into the shadowed alley. The moment I’m clear of sightlines, I drop to my knees, calling on the beast inside me.

The shift tears through me like fire and ice, my bones snapping and stretching, my skin splitting open to let my true nature emerge.

My wolf erupts, thick grey fur spreading across powerful limbs, paws hitting the ground hard.

My nose lifts, catching the trail Lexi left behind like a flaming torch against the darkness.

She ran northeast. Toward the industrial district. Toward the river.

I leap forward, claws scraping concrete, muscles burning as I sprint after her. I don’t know how far she’s gone. I don’t know what state she’s in.

I only know I need to find her before someone else does.

I will not lose her.

Not now.

Not ever.

I push harder, my paws blurring beneath me. My heartbeat is a war drum in my chest.

I’m coming for you, Lexi. Just hold on.

The city fades behind me, swallowed by asphalt and distance.

The air shifts as I hit the tree line on the southwestern border—cooler, sharper, rich with the scent of pine and moss.

The last of the sun slants through the thick canopy overhead, dappling golden light across the forest floor.

Birds scatter as I charge past, the world blurring into a mess of trees and shadows and the ever-stronger pull of her .

I know these woods like the back of my hand.

From here, it’s a straight shot northwest to the lake house my family owns.

I’ve done countless pack runs between here and there.

Some with Dutch and the others. Some with my mother.

Good memories still linger among these trees.

But I don’t think about any of that now.

I think only of her.

Lexi’s scent is thick now. Blood, sweat, fear. But underneath it all is her . Wild. Raw. Unmistakably mine.

She ran here to hide. To breathe. To fall apart where no one could see.

But I see her. I feel her.

And I’m not leaving until I bring her home.

My paws hit damp leaves and roots, kicking up the earthy perfume of loam and fallen pine needles. This place has always felt peaceful—there’s a clearing to the right that opens onto a soft patch of moss, and the quiet there feels ancient, sacred.

Indigo Hills was created with the magic of a hexerei witch coven.

That fact is never more obvious than inside the western part of the forest. Like the city has managed to wash it away with its own veneer but nature remains coated in that ancient alchemy.

The trees rise overhead like cathedral walls, tall and patient, whispering stories only wolves can hear.

But tonight, even this beautiful place isn’t enough to calm my mate .

I see a flash of white fur ahead.

She’s fast—fuck, she’s fast—but not faster than me.

Lexi glances over her shoulder, large green eyes glinting in the dark.

Her fur is streaked in blood, dried and dark across her chest and front legs.

But even so, her wolf is stunning—long-limbed and built for speed, her white-blonde coat glowing in the moonlight, despite the carnage that’s matted her fur.

She’s like something out of a dream. A dangerous, broken, beautiful dream.

Our eyes lock, and my wolf recognizes Lexi instantly for what she is to us: mate. If I’d ever doubted it, I don’t anymore. For a second, I think maybe the sight of my wolf will be enough to settle her—but then she bolts.

I surge after her, my heart slamming into my ribs. The predator in me growls in pleasure. Despite the blood coating her fur and the reasons that drove us out here, my wolf howls with lust and need and raw instinct.

Chase her. Catch her. Bite her. Make her yours.

My alpha instincts ride the edge of control, pushing me faster, harder. The mate-bond is a wildfire in my veins, and everything inside me is screaming for me to chase her down and claim her with my bite.

But I can’t forget the look in her eyes. The fear. The pain.

She’s not running from me.

She’s running from herself.

Still, I chase. I have to.

I keep her in my sights as we wind through the trees, leap fallen logs, splash through a shallow ravine. She’s not heading anywhere. She’s just trying to escape the weight of what she did.

I would do anything to carry it for her.

Hell, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do by giving her the credit for Franco’s kill.

Finally, she stumbles into a small clearing at the edge of a narrow stream. The water is dark in the fading light, flowing over smooth stones and between banks covered in moss.

Lexi skids to a stop at the water’s edge, sides heaving, blood still streaked across her fur. Her ears flick back, and she turns as I slowly approach, her paws sinking into the soft moss.

She’s watching me.

Waiting.

Mate.

The word clangs through me, making it hard to take this slow. When I get close, her hackles rise, and her wolf bares its teeth, so I do the least threatening thing I can think of.

I shift, the change rippling through me with heat and fire and a burst of pain. Bones snap, flesh warps, and then I’m standing upright again, naked and breathless, chest rising with exertion.

“Lexi,” I say softly.

She growls low.

“It’s me,” I continue, cautious, calm, crouching slightly to make myself smaller, less threatening. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”

She takes a step back, her back paw dipping into the stream. A soft whine escapes her throat. I hold my breath, hoping like hell she doesn’t run again but ready to chase if she does.

“I know you’re scared. But you don’t have to be.” I take a slow step forward. “You didn’t do anything wrong. They forced your hand. You defended yourself.”

She growls low in her throat, a sound more broken than angry.

“Lexi… I need to talk to you.” I let my own desperation creep into my voice. “I need to touch you. But I can’t do that while you’re like this.”

She lowers her head, ears pinned back. Her breath rasps in and out in short, panicked bursts.

“Can you shift back?” I ask gently .

She whines again. Tosses her head side to side.

“Hey,” I say, voice low and steady. “Just listen to me. That’s all you have to do.

” I press a hand to my chest, right over my heart.

“Listen to the sound of my voice. The beat of my heart. Really listen. It’s all for you, Lexi.

I exist for you. And my wolf…” My throat tightens.

“My wolf belongs to yours. Always. Feel the truth of that inside your wolf. She already knows I’m your mate. ”

Her breath hitches.

“Find our connection. Let it ground you. Let it bring you back to me.”

The recognition that she’s my mate is nothing more than a vague, tenuous connection between us. But I wait, hoping it’s enough.

She trembles. Her paws shift on the grass, claws digging in. She lets out a strangled whimper, eyes flashing as her body begins to twist, bones cracking, fur rippling.

Her shift takes longer than mine. It’s rougher, like she’s fighting it—or doesn’t know how to surrender to it. And it’s clear how much pain she’s in.

But she does it.

By the time her knees hit the ground and her human form settles into place, I’m already moving. I cross the clearing in three strides and lift her up, wrapping my arms around her before she collapses. She’s trembling violently, slick with sweat and blood and river water.

“Grey,” she gasps, her voice raw and broken. She clutches at me, her fingers digging into my shoulders, her body shaking like she’ll shatter if I let go.

“I’m here,” I whisper fiercely, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other anchoring her to my chest. “I’ve got you.”

She sobs against my neck, her body bare and battered and so goddamn precious I could fall apart just from holding her .

“I didn’t mean to,” she chokes out. “I didn’t know— My wolf?—”

“Shh,” I breathe into her hair. “You did what you had to do. They would’ve killed you.”

“But I-I wanted to kill them. I didn’t even think. I just let her—” Her breath hitches again. “I’m a monster.”

I pull back just enough to cup her face, forcing her to look at me. Her green eyes are wide and tear-filled, glassy with guilt.

“No,” I say, voice rough with emotion. “You’re not a monster.

You’re a wolf. A leader. An alpha. You did what they pushed you to do.

What your wolf was made to do. You survived.

You let her protect you. And I love every part of you, including the one that fought for yourself today. Including the one that killed today.”

She shakes her head, tears slipping free. “They were going to vote against me.”

“I know.”

“They would have killed me.”

I hold her tighter, wishing I could change that moment for her. But so damn proud of her for letting her wolf out. “You are not alone in this, Lexi. You never will be again.”

And with that, I pull her back to me and wrap her in my arms. She presses her face into my chest and lets the tears fall, and I hold her tighter, whispering words I don’t even realize I’m saying, stroking her hair.

I don’t care that we’re sitting naked in the woods. Or that someone might find us here. All I care about is the girl in my arms.

My mate.

My alpha.

And I will burn this whole fucking city to the ground before I let anyone take her from me again.