Page 111 of Locke

“Congratulations on your success, Alpha. Your efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Gods. Continue your valiant efforts, and in the afterlife, you will be justly rewarded.”

My lip curled, and I crumbled the letter in my hands. I changed back into my human form. My mate and I were dirty, but I was too exhausted to care to clean either of us, or the cabin. Instead, I wrapped my body around my mate, my purr resonating loudly in the room. My wolf stopped his pacing, and he curled up in the back of my mind.

He remained unsatisfied. His thirst for blood was forever stronger. We still could not rest, would not rest.

Because we did not believe that Duke Idris was dead.

Thoughts of him remaining alive swirled in my mind as I held onto my mate. My hand slithered up her chest and onto her right breast, to remain calm.

I growled, my nose nuzzling into her mark.“My mate, my pack. We will destroy all who dare threaten them.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Emm

Istretched on the plush bed, sinking into its softness and relishing the sensation of the fuzzy pillow against my face, gently stroking it up and down. The pillow carried the lingering scent of Locke, filling my lungs and instantly soothing me. As I nestled deeper into the cozy blankets, my skin warmed, prompting me to burrow further, seeking maximum comfort.

The cabin was smaller than the master bedroom of the pack-house and I almost preferred it. I felt safer here, more confined. Especially when Locke would join me on the bed and wrap me up in his arms.

I never thought I would be a cuddler, but he has made me a cuddle slut.

I’ve lost count how many days we have been at the cabin. I’m guessing about a week, only because our scents haveintermingled with the nest and the cabin, which is a stark difference from what it was in the beginning.

When I first woke, the floor was covered in dirt, leaves and twigs. An animal may have lived here, because there were hunks of fur, rats, nests and old blankets on the floor. The bed, however, was new, as were the mattress, blankets and pillows.

Inside was a small kitchen, a bathroom with a toilet and a generator that gave us just enough electricity to fuel the lights. We mostly used candles, and the ambiance of that was comforting.

Despite the desolate cabin, I found solace in Locke’s embrace. Tears were constant when I lay awake. Even as I wrestled with my emotions and attempted to distance myself, he remained steadfast by my side.

He let out growls of protest when I tried to push him away. He would pull me to his chest and pet my hair. His purrs grew so loud that the entire bed would shake and it echoed in the room. But it was what I needed. I was stubborn, and he knew what I needed even more than I knew myself.

“You need comfort. I’m here for that,” he would say.

I’d sniff and cry, telling him to leave and to go help his pack. He never would, told me his beta, Grim, would be in charge until he returned. His gamma was Hawke, and his delta would be Sizzle, once his dragon returned.

I was still getting used to the lingo and what all of those terms meant, but it was just a social ladder of who was in charge when one was not present.

Locke left periodically, mostly when I slept and wasn’t thrashing through the night. The guilt ate at me; tore at me, not just because of Abuela’s death, but because I couldn’t get up and help the newly formed pack.

I had sunk into a depression, and I worried if I would ever get out.

Locke cleaned up the cabin as I lay in bed sleeping. I’ve never seen a man clean in my life, but Locke wasn’t just a man. He was an alpha and I believe he was making do with the den we had because he had set it up quickly. The next time I woke from a nap, it was a cozy cottage in the woods, near the bar.

He even hung up the damn curtains.

A small bouquet of flowers sat on the table. There was always a loaf of bread and food in a small icebox. It was so fucking endearing that it would make me cry all over again.

And that would set him off.

He went from my psycho stalker, gnawing off my enemy’s hand and leaving it at my doorstep, to an over-brooding mother hen. He picked me up, held me in his arms and rocked me, petting my cheek with his thumb, letting his thick musk scent envelope me and crush me until I was a big pile of goo.

How this scenting thing worked, I wasn’t sure. Could women do it? I wanted to do it to him when he got upset.

But he wasn’t even upset, right now. He was holding onto me, keeping me grounded. It was almost annoying.

“It’s alright, baby. I gotcha.” He heard me sniffing. With my back turned to him, he immediately came over to the bed and scooped me up. I was naked; that way the entire time I’d been here, and I hadn’t minded it at all.

“Hey, how’s my princess doing today?”