Page 22 of The Wolf Prince’s Mate (Marked Beneath the Moon #2)

twenty-two

NOVA

I was up most of the night reading the book Hunter had left. It detailed specifics about mate bonds between a male werewolf and the ever-elusive female werewolf. Along with the facts, it included stories about how they were discovered. Some of the information seemed pretty obvious, but some of it was a surprise.

Their scents soothed each other in times of physical pain and emotional distress.

They healed faster when they were together.

They could communicate through their pack link, even if they weren’t part of the Alpha trio.

They would know innately when their mate was in danger, no matter how much distance was between them.

Their children would always be born wolves, regardless of gender.

There was more, too, but most of the facts were interspersed with so many stories that it was hard to pry the actual information out.

Shortly before I fell asleep, I found a story about a female werewolf that made me put a bookmark in and curl up.

I’d need to read it again to process it. At least once. Maybe more.

It was noon when I woke up, as usual. I heard Olive in the kitchen, talking to Sydney, and I smelled pancakes.

Yum.

After a trip to the bathroom, I carried my book out to the barstools and plopped down in one of them. My eyes were bleary, and my book was already open.

“Did you forget to sleep?” Syd checked. Her voice was playful, but also a little concerned.

“Kinda. I needed to find proof for Clay more than sleep.” I rubbed my eyes.

“What’s the proof?” Olive asked.

“It’s only sort of proof, and it’s a long story.” I gestured toward the book. “There was a born female werewolf whose wolf was like mine. Quiet. Small. Scared. The pack called her their Omega. Opposite of the Alpha, I guess.”

Both women blinked at me.

“I know it sounds insane. She didn’t actually have any power, but she was the Alpha’s daughter, and everyone adored her. One of his rivals snuck in to steal her away, but when he met her, his wolf was so protective of the Omega that he joined her father’s pack and mated with her.”

“And if your wolf is like hers…” Olive trailed off.

“It doesn’t mean Clay can’t hurt me, but wolves can’t hurt their mates. He just doesn’t really believe that. I think I’m going to have to talk to his brothers.” I raked a hand through the top of my hair, dragging the tangled strands out of my eyes and away from my face.

“Those bastards are terrifying,” Olive remarked. “Glad it’s you, not me.”

I didn’t blame her.

I didn’t want it to be me either.

After breakfast, I texted Hunter to ask him if I could meet with him and Enzo to have a conversation about Clay. He told me they could do it at 8 PM, which seemed late, but I’d take what I could get.

There was something else I needed to do first, anyway.

A delivery of Olive’s new things was coming, so I dropped her and Sydney off at her new house. Syd had offered to help, and Oli seemed excited.

I turned my music up as I drove into Crimson River and to the studio that had basically been my home for so long.

The receptionist, Kianna, smiled and nodded when she saw me. I did the same, though mine didn’t reach my eyes.

I went up the stairs and into Silas’s workspace for the hundredth time. He was sitting in a chair, sprawled out, with his digital drawing pad resting on his knee.

He’d known I was coming, and cancelled his other appointments.

I guess that was one perk of being who and what I was.

I sat down on the edge of the tattoo table, peering over the stencil he’d made for me. I had sent him a picture of my throat a few weeks earlier, along with a sketch of exactly what I wanted so he’d had time to look it over.

Clay hadn’t been warned that it was about to happen, but he had seen the sketch while I worked on it. And I would’ve brought him with me if he was there.

“Is one of the Savage brothers going to break my door down and try to kill me after this?” Silas drawled, after I approved the copy of my work.

“No. But you’re dying to receive another one of Enzo’s gift baskets, huh?” I teased him. The humor didn’t really come through to my voice, though.

The moment wasn’t funny.

I wasn’t there for fun. I was there to cover the physical scars from a hellish experience that I would never be entirely free from.

Silas snorted. “Yeah, I need some more cellophane in my life.”

“Called it.”

I closed my eyes as Silas began working, and we both fell silent.

That evening, I hugged Silas fiercely in thanks before dropping some cash with the receptionist and leaving. He always tried not to take my money, but I wasn’t about to owe him anything.

I made it back to the Lodge in time to grab food with Sydney and Olive, who oohed and ahhed over my new ink. Then, it was time to meet with Clay’s brothers.

I knocked on the door to Enzo’s office at 8 PM on the dot. I’d never been there before, but the room was near Clay’s office.

Hunter called for me to come in, and when I opened the door, I realized the office was almost exactly the same as Clay’s.

The furniture was just slightly different.

I padded into the room and found Enzo sitting behind the desk. Hunter sat across from him. There was a chair on the side of the desk, putting me halfway between both of them, so I took it.

Neither of them said a word when I sat down.

I guess that was why Clay was in charge of everything that required socializing.

“Clay’s wolf claimed me, but the man is determined that the beast will kill me if we act on it,” I said. “He won’t tell me what happened to make his wolf violent, but he told me I can ask you two.”

Both brothers’ bodies went stiff with my words.

A moment of silence followed.

Finally, Enzo let out a harsh breath. “The bastard is trying to protect us. It’s our fault.”

I frowned.

Hunter dragged a hand through his hair. “Our dad was fucked up. He told you that, right?”

“Yeah, I definitely got that.”

“When we were kids, he used his dominance to force us to fight. He always wanted to know who was the strongest, like that fucking mattered. Clay beat us both separately once, and dad thought it would be funny to put both of us against him. We were seven. Our wolves pinned Clay’s, and dad forced us to draw blood. We tried to fight the command, and failed. When we hurt him, his wolf snapped. Tore into us. Enzo’s dominance finally came in when our dad couldn’t stop laughing—and Enzo put an end to the fights.”

“It was too little, too late,” Enzo growled. “His wolf has been insane ever since.”

“He’s not insane. I see him in Clay’s eyes all the time. Even when we’re just talking and laughing,” I countered.

Both men looked stunned by the information.

Or at least as stunned as two stoic males who rarely showed any emotion could look.

“That can’t be true,” Hunter finally said.

“It is. He’s not insane. He might be convinced you two are out to get him, but he’s just a normal wolf. If I try to convince him to meet you guys without attacking you, I think it could work.”

The creases deepened.

Enzo shook his head. “Clay is never going to let that happen. He doesn’t even want you near him. If the wolf hurt you, it would kill him.”

“Clay is terrified, and it’s ruining his life.” I set the book Hunter had left for my man on the desk, open to the chapter. “He can’t hurt me if we seal a bond. Wolves can’t hurt their mates.”

Two sets of eyebrows lifted.

Hunter snagged the book off the desk and started skimming the page I’d put it on. It was the page that listed the benefits of a mate bond.

Enzo just watched me. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, I’m positive his wolf won’t hurt me.”

“Not the injuries. The bond. If you do something about Clay’s fear and it works, you can’t back out. Even if he would let you, we won’t.”

My face warmed slightly.

They were protective of him, as they should’ve been. I just didn’t want to discuss sealing a mate bond with them . Especially when I hadn’t even talked about it with Clay.

“I don’t want to back out. I don’t know if he’s really going to want to be stuck with me forever, but I care too much about him to let him hide away. He deserves better. Whether he wants me long-term or not, I can’t leave him to keep falling apart. He looks like shit, and I’m sure he feels even worse.”

Both men studied me.

The silence wasn’t comfortable, but I tried not to fidget.

Finally, Hunter said, “He’s not going to let you go.”

I lifted my fingers, crossing them. “I can hope.”

Enzo snorted, and the Alpha finally relaxed. “If you think you can get his wolf to be around us without trying to kill us, we’ll try as many times as we need to.”

I nodded. “We can try it after I get things figured out with Clay. The full moon is in two weeks, so maybe everything will be settled by then.”

“Keep us updated,” Hunter agreed.

“Your wolf seems to have given up,” I remarked, eyeing him.

He nodded. “Seeing Clay with you while you recovered killed any lingering possessiveness. Even in the most intense part of his claiming, he wasn’t as protective of you as Clay and his wolf are. There just weren’t any feelings between us.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

Hunter and Enzo both chuckled, and I stood up. “I’m going to head to Stray in the morning. Sydney’s going to keep an eye on Olive, but if she needs anything…” I trailed off.

“We’ve got it,” Enzo agreed. “Take care of Clay, and we’ll watch out for your sister.”

Gratitude swept through me. “Thanks.”

“Good luck.” The Alpha’s words were genuine.

“One last thing,” Hunter said, before I slipped out of the room.

I paused, looking backward.

“We looked through everything on your stalker’s phone and checked with his pack. Went through his house, too. He designed the encryption himself, and worked alone. None of his people knew he was obsessed with you. It looks like he realized what you were the first time you tattooed him and started stalking you right after. We burned down his house and killed the few people who were skittish when we asked questions about his actions. You’re safe. Or as safe as a born-female werewolf can be.”

Relief hit me so hard, it felt more like shock. “I’m free?”

Hunter nodded.

I clutched the door for a moment, so many emotions rolling through me.

“Thank you,” I finally managed.

The words didn’t properly portray my gratitude, but they were all I had.

I felt like I was floating as I went through the Lodge, back to Olive and Sydney.

We picked up Aspen too before heading back to my place. There, the four of us stayed up late chatting and devouring the multiple different batches of coffee ice cream in my freezer. We tossed ideas back and forth about how I should explain my presence to Clay the next day. Fletcher got home around 1 AM, so Syd headed out then. Aspen went with her, leaving me and Olive alone.

Clay had texted me about a video call earlier, but since it was my last night with the ladies for a while, I messaged back that we could talk tomorrow.

I took one last bite of ice cream, stretching my legs out in front of me. “I should probably get to bed.”

“Probably. You have a wolf to woo,” Olive teased.

I snorted. “If it comes down to my wooing capabilities, I’m screwed.”

She laughed. “You’ll be fine. You wooed him once already.”

“With tattoos,” I pointed out.

“You have a new tattoo.” She gestured to my throat. “Perfect to woo him with.”

“Stop saying woo.” I pointed at her with my spoon.

“Woooo.” She dragged the word out, and I sighed dramatically, tilting my head back and closing my eyes.

“I hope he doesn’t reject me.”

“He won’t.” Olive sounded a lot more certain than I felt.

“What are you going to do while I’m gone?”

She shrugged. “Finish setting up my house. Get a job. Spend time in my wolf form.”

“I can send you Silas’s number. I’m sure he’d let you work in his studio,” I offered.

“Nah, I’m done with tattoos for a while. Maybe forever. I only did them because of dad, you know? I’ve never been passionate about ink like you are.”

“Where do you want to work, then?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe a bar? I bartended part time when I first moved away, and I liked it alright.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

“Exactly.” She flashed me a grin.

We chatted for a few more minutes before finally going to bed. My excitement made sleep hard to come by—but eventually, morning did come around.