Page 25

Ivy’s face colors when my mother and Shayna hear her tell me her body is mine later on. She buries her face in my neck, kissing it, and giggles from embarrassment.

Shayna says to Ivy.

“Hey! What are you embarrassed about? You’re the one getting action.”

Everyone erupts into laughter, and I snuggle Ivy closer. Talking about Ben raises my hackles, so Ivy’s warmth and body touching my skin tempers the inferno inside me. I love this woman. My mate. Waiting for my mate was a burden, but Ivy made it worthwhile. I’d wait a million years as long as Ivy is there at the end. Her laugh is like a rainbow after a storm. A multicolored streak of love, busting through the clouds.

Kyle takes over grilling the steaks while the rest of us talk about lighter subjects. Maggie gossips about the young couple expecting a baby. Ivy mentions Reed and Tara’s romance, and Shayna mentions a dentist from the other pack, which fuels Maggie and Ivy into asking her about him.

Maggie wiggles closer to Shayna.

“A werewolf dentist?”

Shayna can’t hide her interest in him.

“Yes. He showed up the last time I was there. It seems he was traveling through Europe for six months after assisting a pack in Italy.”

Ivy shifts in my arms, resting her back against me.

“Ooh, Italy. I bet it’s beautiful there.”

Her toe nudges Shayna.

“Is he cute?”

I growl behind her, causing Shayna to laugh.

“He’s handsome. And…”

Ivy wiggles free, squeezing her small butt between Maggie and Shayna.

“…he’s your mate?”

Shayna’s head bobs as she says, “Yes!”

Ivy tackles her, squealing about how happy she is for Shayna. And also, how mad she is at her for not telling her sooner, but her smile contradicts her statement. I let the women talk about Shayna’s mate and join Kyle by the grill. We click beer bottles and suck down the remaining content. I head inside for a couple more beers along with chips.

Handing Kyle a beer, I say softly.

“We haven’t talked about the shooting. Did you see Ben?”

“No. But he was there. I smelled him. We still have the bullet. Doc wore gloves when he pulled it out. We kept it for your instructions.”

“I’m fairly convinced it was Ben. Later this evening, I’ll call Declan to set up a meeting. Maybe he can get a print off it.”

I look over my shoulder to see if the women are listening in, but they’re too excited about Shayna’s mate. My eyes meet Kyle’s.

“No matter what the women say, I’m going to find Ben and go after him.”

Kyle glances over at the women.

“Good luck with convincing Ivy. Your mate is tough.”

A grin catches on my face. It’s the first time Kyle has said something positive and nice about Ivy other than at the fight.

I’m meeting Declan by the cabin area and we’re taking a boat out on the lake to talk. The summer season has exploded, selling out all the cabins, which doesn’t provide us much privacy to talk. Since I don’t want anyone else involved, I lie to Ivy and the others, telling them the boat needs cleaning and a fuel refill. Ivy begs to come along, but I ask her to go into town and work at the store for a few hours. Her sculpted eyebrow rises, suspicious of not wanting her around me, which is understandable. There’s never been a time I didn’t want to be with Ivy. Her amethyst eyes draw me in.

She fists my shirt, pulling me down to give her a kiss, and angles her forehead against mine.

“Is anyone helping you, Larc? You’re still weak.”

I stand, breathing through my nose.

“I’m not weak. Don’t call me weak.”

“Excuse me. Your energy isn’t up to par.”

My eyes land on the sliding glass door to avert her gaze. The lie is starting to eat away at me. My amazing, battered mate doesn’t deserve lies, but she doesn’t deserve war either. It’s my job to protect her. To keep her safe from the world, especially from people like Ben. I assigned Felix, Rudy, and Parker to escort her into town and remain there. It’s best she’s not here to accidentally run into Declan.

“My energy is fine.”

Her hand slides down my chest, stroking my cock over my jeans, and my eyes meet hers when she says.

“This little guy grew tired yesterday.”

I cock my eyebrow up. “Little?”

My dick hardens under her touch, so I place my hand on top of hers to stop anything from happening. I’d love to be balls deep in Ivy, except we don’t have much time.

She sighs.

“Your beast.”

Her fingers slip inside the waistband of my jeans as she delivers an unbelievably seductive smile.

“Let me give you something to remember me by.”

My blood rages through my ears, drowning out everything other than the sound of my zipper. Ivy works my jeans down to mid-thigh, and I stare down at her hand pumping my shaft.

She licks the tip of my cock, and a shaky breath releases from me. “Ivy…”

Her lips slide over the head of my cock and I’m done for. Cupping my balls in one hand while she works my cock with her mouth and other hand, I twist her hair through my fingers, slowly moving my pelvis toward her face. Things pick up. My grip tightens in her hair, and I shove my cock further down her throat, holding it for a second. Tears leak from the corners of her eyes as she grips my thighs. Her lips widen and flatten against my thickness as half my cock thrusts in and out. Balls lift and squeeze when I release cum inside her mouth. I stumble forward, catching myself by leaning on her shoulders. Ivy takes her time, cleaning me up as she watches my labored breathing. Once I recover, she helps me back into my jeans.

“Woman, you’re going to be the death of me.”

“I’m sure there are worse ways to go than me sucking your cock.”

I haul her into my arms, lifting her to eye-level. “Ivy…”

Just gazing into her eyes fractures my heart because of my dishonesty. We promised to be honest with one another, but this is one I can’t keep. Her safety and the safety of the pack is first and foremost. I cup her cheek.

“I love you.”

Her hands cup my face, and with a wistful smile, she asks.

“What’s wrong, Larc? Your demeanor has changed.”

I brush my lips across hers. “Nothing.”

My mouth captures hers, and everything I’m feeling pours into this kiss. Fear. Protectiveness. Possessiveness. An apology. We pull away, shortness of breath warming our faces, resting our foreheads together.

“I know you get frustrated having escorts when you go out of the community, but please listen to Felix, Rudy, and Parker. They’re there for your protection.”

Ivy pecks my cheek.

“I will. Promise me you’ll stop working and rest when exhaustion hits.”

“Promise.”

I leave Ivy and head to the boat by the cabins. The refrigerator was filled yesterday, so all I need is to bring a cooler for drinks. While pouring ice into the cooler, Declan steps onto the boat, tossing a small duffel bag to the side. We grasp forearms and shake. For privacy’s sake, he ducks down into the cabin while I start the boat and maneuver it from the dock and onto the lake. Once we’re far enough, I shut off the engine and call him up.

I ask.

“Beer, water, or soda?”

“Soda’s good for now.”

We sit in adjacent chairs, sip our drinks, and glance around the area. It’s peaceful right now, the water calm from little activity at this hour. Swallows swoop over the sparkly water reflected by the sun.

Declan breaks the quietness.

“You’re looking much better than the last time I saw you.”

“I’m feeling better. The silver bullet did its trick.”

“Any idea what happened?”

I lean back in the chair and stretch out my legs, crossing them at the ankle.

“Have you ever heard of Ben Conway?”

He lets out a full breath.

“Yeah. A young politician on a fast track to the White House.”

Finishing off his soda, he continues.

“If you ask me, he’s a cocky asshole. It’s so obvious he’s a narcissist. He’s not genuine in what he says or does.”

He hikes up an eyebrow at me.

“Why do you ask?”

My hand scrubs over my face.

“Ben is Ivy’s ex-boyfriend.”

I’m offering up bits and pieces since Declan isn’t aware of Ivy’s past. All he knows is that Ivy was in the human trafficking site, and my mate, but her horror has remained hushed. Until now.

“Ben shared Ivy with his friends, and when she got too old for him, he sold her to the skin trade.”

Declan falls forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

I shake my head as I say.

“He’s scum. When we infiltrated the site and saved the women, he lost three million and Ivy, so he wants his money and her back.”

His mouth opens, shocked by this revelation. This allows me to continue.

“Over a month ago, we ran into him while he was campaigning in town. I broke his hand, and he threatened us.”

I reach for a beer, because I need something stronger.

“Kyle told me he smelled Ben in the area when I was shot.”

He shakes his head to clear the confusion.

“You mean to tell me a man whose goal is the presidency is involved in human trafficking?”

I nod.

“And he shot you?”

“Declan, he did worse to Ivy. He beat her into submission. Groomed her as a slave.”

I swallow the bile rising in my throat.

“He allowed other men to do horrendous things to her, and it didn’t matter what kind of pain and injury they caused.”

My hands are shaking so bad, I have to place my bottle on the ground and fold them in my lap.

“Yes, he’s involved in human trafficking. Three million dollars isn’t anything to scoff at.”

He grabs a beer himself and guzzles half the bottle.

“He’s involved in politics, so he could easily have found out where we were headed. Plus, the bullet I was shot with is only government issued.”

“How do you know?”

“The FBI agents we were on the mission with. Besides, why would an average hunter use silver bullets?”

I drink my beer, letting everything I said settle. Declan gazes at nothing in particular. I can tell he’s mulling over everything I just said. Even though I’m going to discuss a plan with him, I’ll make sure he’s not involved, or nothing can circle back to him.

Declan rubs the scruff on his chin, and finally looks at me.

“What a piece of shit. I can’t believe people like him make it so far in politics. That the average person can’t detect the phoniness.”

He places his bottle down.

“We need to expose him.”

I clear my throat, glancing away before meeting his gaze.

“First, I was wondering if you could find a print on the bullet we kept.”

“Hell yeah. I have many friends in the department. They’ll run it through no questions asked.”

“My next request is…well, it’s sensitive.”

He takes a relaxed position, kicking his legs out, and snatching up his bottle.

“Go ahead.”

My eyes survey the area. By now, the lake is active with boaters and ski jets, except no one is in our vicinity. We’ve been bobbing toward the side of the lake.

“This is a moral situation.”

With his hand, he gestures for me to continue.

“I’ll need Ben’s schedule. Ivy told me he has a cabin by a lake where he fishes along with torturing women. She’s been there a couple of times.”

I press my lips together to pause what I’m about to reveal.

“The next time Ben plans a trip to his cabin I’d like to know about it.”

He narrows his eyes. “Why?”

“Do you really want to hear me say it, Declan?”

“Yeah, because as much as I’d love to see the man suffer, I’m not sure I have it in me to be a part of his death.”

“You won’t be. If you have someone on the inside who can tip me off, then the rest is on me.”

“Larc—”

“I get it, Declan, I really do. Blood on your hands isn’t what you want to sign up for.”

I glance down.

“Ben isn’t human.”

Raising my head, I continue.

“I might be a werewolf, but I’m not even close to being the kind of animal Ben is. He’ll climb the political ladder, shake hands and make deals with other shady characters, until he’s running the country. Do you want someone like that in charge?”

He eases out a long breath.

“He’s a despicable human being, but murder…?”

“Trust me, you won’t even be connected to it.”

“But I will, Larc. If I give you the information and you kill him, I’m connected to it.”

I remain quiet because I’m putting a good friend in an awkward position. He’s a man of the law. Why did I think this was a good idea?

To salvage our relationship before it sours, I blurt out.

“Forget it, Declan. This is insane of me to ask you. You’re one of my best friends, and I’m asking you to do something against your moral code. It’s completely wrong of me, and I apologize.”

He waves his hand in the air.

“Hey, no worries. The things he did to Ivy, I can appreciate your revenge. You want him dead. I’d probably do the same thing if it were Tasha…”

Declan runs his hand through his hair.

“Murder is…”

I hold my hands up.

“Please, let’s forget I asked you to do anything.”

My hands clench into fists, aggravated with myself for doing it. Revenge has clouded my judgment.

“I’ve got food in the fridge, a cooler full of beer, and we have a gorgeous day. I can’t erase what I asked, but hopefully we can drink into oblivion. At least forget until tomorrow.”

Two more beers, I hand one over to him, and he nods. All I can do is hope this conversation disappears over time, and I’m able to find another way.