Page 83 of Wolf's Vow

Good Goddess, that was my mate.Mine.

Wolfe’s eyes darkened as he walked towards me. “Princess, your scent just turned…delicious.”

His mouth claimed mine in the next breath. The kiss was slow and deliberate, hands running down my back to cup my ass easily, our tongues tasting each other as I returned his kiss. Itwas unhurried and sensual, a reminder of what we had shared last night, but softer. Making me forget for a moment why I’d called for him, what I had tucked in my jacket. Wolfe’s fingers dug into my ass, the kiss deepening. His tongue brushed against mine, his teeth nibbled my lower lip, and my hand lowered to run over the hardening length of my mate as he pulled me closer, and I heard the crinkle from old paper resist at the pressure between us, causing me to draw back.

“Mm-hmm, this isn’t what I wanted you for,” I told him, stepping back, my thumb wiping across my lower lip.

“Okay.”

“I found something,” I told him simply. Seeing that I had his attention, I stepped back further.

Wolfe watched me, curious, not suspicious. “Found what?”

“This is the room my dad and his elders used for pack business,” I said, walking toward the long table. I opened the hidden catch, pulling out the hidden drawer, easier with him helping me. “Ten-year council rotations, duty assignments. You know, the stuff no one looks at unless someone dies or the territory map needs redrawing.”

Wolfe’s brow lifted. “And you decided to go digging?”

I met his stare. “I couldn’t shake the feeling that the rogue attacks weren’t random. The timing, the location shifts—they were too perfect. Coordinated. I thought maybe someone had set the pattern long before it started.”

He motioned for me to continue, looking over the contents and picking up a random file. I placed the file in my jacket down in front of him and smoothed it flat. He glanced at me once, then took it.

“Rogue border oversight,” I told him, tapping the line where Corrin’s name was. “For years. He was in charge of maintaining diplomatic distance with rogue dens, monitoring movement, and deciding whether to engage or ignore. He had accessto every inch of the outer perimeter—and every shifter who patrolled it.”

Wolfe held it like it would burn his hands, his eyes scanning over the reports. “How long have you known?”

“About five minutes ago,” I confirmed. “I came back here when the search in my father’s office turned up empty.”

Wolfe looked between the report and me. “You’re not accusing him. Not outright.”

“No,” I admitted softly. “But I think Corrin knew exactly how to get information to the right rogue packs without leaving blood on his hands. And I think the pattern of these attacks starts with him.”

He blew out a low breath. Slow. Controlled. Not angry. Not surprised, either. “Corrin’s been in my ear since the first night I stepped foot back in this place.”

I didn’t flinch. “And now he’s in your sights.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Now he is.” He flicked through it and placed it on the table. “How many others would know about this?” he asked as his hand ran over the smooth tabletop. “This hidden drawer?”

“Only those closest to my father. The elders, the druid, maybe.”

“Lewis?”

I nodded. “Any of Dad’s betas, really.” I hesitated. “Only his inner circle.”

He didn’t speak. Just walked up and down the table, seeing how much he’d missed. How much was hidden right under his nose. Wolfe turned, his attention on me, scanning my face. “You went looking for this because you couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

“I went looking,” I said, my voice low but firm, “because someone in this Hollow had to. No one else who knows about them was showing you.”

Silence stretched between us, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It washonest.

Wolfe said nothing; he looked at me and extended his hand. I took it. No sparks. No fire. Just quiet understanding—and a storm brewing between us.

“We’re in this together,” I said. “Right?”

Wolfe nodded. “Right.” He didn’t say anything else. We both felt it—that shift in the air, that solid click of two pieces falling into place. Not romance. Not even peace. Just alignment.

For the first time since Wolfe came back to the Hollow, we were no longer reacting. We were ready.

I stood by the desk, watching him fold the parchment. His movements were precise. Methodical. Exact. But the rage was there, behind his eyes, coiled and waiting.