† Maddock †

My wolf was gnawing at the edges of my sanity. It was torture to let Sage walk away this morning and not be there when she needed comfort.

We both knew why the pup reacted like that, but it didn’t make it

right.

The wolf in the girl was strong even if she didn’t want to emerge. To

have someone else fight your battles was a weakness and the pack would never accept her as a warrior without a show of strength.

But Sage didn’t know our customs, though she was trying her best to learn. She’d seen a threat and handled it, subduing an Alpha nonetheless, and took a public dismissal with grace. My mate was as strong as a wolf and she was bringing mine to his knees.

Take her tonight. We need to claim her.

I silenced my beast with a scowl as I flipped the deer loins in the pan. “Where’s Coral?” Sage asked softly, closing the door behind her.

Despite the humiliation she’d suffered from the pup, she was still her first concern.

I didn’t deserve this woman the fates had given to us. My wolf growled in protest.

He had no issues with his self-esteem.

“Hunting.” I pulled my wolf back, locking him down deep when I saw the startled expression on her face. “If Coral wants to be a wolf, then she needs to act like one. I sent her with Kera to go find their dinner.”

“What’s this?” Sage gestured to the pan.

“Dinner for you.” I pulled the steaks from the heat and set them on plates. “Go sit down.”

Her mouth popped open in a little o framed by her plump pink lips, but she quickly closed them.

Go to her and make them open again.

Shut up. I tugged at my hair for the hundredth time tonight.

She’d been gone so long. The scent of me on her skin was fading, overpowered by cleaning agents and the awful smell of decayed rat.

The adrenaline from the training session today wasn’t helping my wolf’s frantic need to claim his mate. I’d hoped to burn his urges out by pushing the pack harder than I had in months, and nipping at the latent pup to keep up in her human form, but maybe I’d pushed too far. He was more riled up than ever with the challenge we were facing.

The only thing that had kept me sane all these hours was hearing from Lennox–who I still wanted to kill–that she had interest in the old tavern and then sending Lee with his mate Sylvia to check on her this evening.

I left the meat on the counter, allowing the juices time to settle, and walked over to the table where Sage still hadn’t taken a seat.

“Sit.” I pulled out a chair for her.

She glanced out the window with worry creasing the lines of her forehead. “Coral can’t hunt.”

“Kera won’t let her fail and I made enough for them anyway.” I motioned to the blueprints still spread on the table. “You didn’t do what I said.”

“I didn’t?” Sage turned to me with a spark of defiance curling the corner of her mouth. “What rule of yours did I not follow, Enforcer?”

My cock pressed hard against my jeans as a grumble built in my

chest.

She wants to play.

I’d show her how this game would end.

“Calm down, growly. I’ll sit.” She thumped her hand playfully against

my chest, but whatever she felt at the accidental contact had her pulling her fingers back and a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

“Oh,” she said breathlessly as she sat on the edge of the seat. The scent of warming cinnamon and acorns filled the air.

“Good girl.” My voice was husky. I was walking a thin line with controlling my wolf. “But that’s not what I told you to do.”

“It’s not?” She exhaled, clenching and unclenching her hands in her

lap.

“No.” I leaned down to breathe in her scent and pointed at the

blueprints. “I told you to tell me what you want, little witch.”

“Ah. Okay.” Sage pulled at the neckline of her shirt. “It gets really hot in here when the woodstove is on, doesn’t it?”

“The stove isn’t on.” I smirked inches from her face and resisted the urge to tuck the lock of hair that had come undone from her bun behind her ear, which would inevitably lead to me helping rip off her shirt if she kept tugging on it.

Do it, my wolf urged.

Not until she asks for it.

I stepped back to put some space between us and folded my arms over my chest. “What is one thing that would make this den comfortable for

you?”

“Den?” Sage blinked as her eyes came back into focus.

I hated this distance between us, all the language and custom barriers. If she was a wolf, this torturous teasing would’ve already ended. She would have known what she wanted and taken it.

“A den is our home,” I explained with a gentle sigh. “Our home is sacred. This is the place we protect because we are vulnerable here and can rest. It’s where we stake our claim and take care of our loved ones. The den is a reflection of its owner. It needs to belong to you too.”

Sage looked at the blueprints with her beautiful brain working, but not in the direction I hoped it would go. “The stake your claim thing, is that really how it works? You say what you want and it’s yours.”

“Not exactly.” I struggled to follow. “What do you want to claim?” “There’s an old restaurant in town.” The change of conversation was

a punch in the gut, but I couldn’t be mad when her big brown eyes were filled with this much excitement. “Lennox said I could take it over if I stake my claim.”

Vibrations filled my ribcage at the mention of the unmated male. The only reason he was still alive was that he’d been the one to contact me about this new development and kept a respectful distance to make sure she was unbothered as she worked.

“I know,” she continued as if I’d spoken out loud. “I thought he was creepy the other night, but he wasn’t so bad today. Anyway, how do I actually stake this claim so that everything is legal?”

“You want a restaurant?” I asked.

“I do.” Her foot started tapping against the floor. “I have so many good ideas to make this work. And you know what? I think it’ll be great for the town. You said that there was nothing to do and that the younger ones were bored. We can have live entertainment and maybe youth nights or themed dinners. I can see this being great at bringing people together

again.”

How do you tell someone that since the moment you met them, you would have given them the stars or the moon if they’d so much as breathed a whisper of a request?

This morning I was ready to take the life of my last brother for looking at her wrong and all my mate wanted was some rundown building that had sat vacant for years.

“It’s yours,” I reassured her. My own smile matched the wide one spread across her face. “No one will take it from you.”

“Seriously!” Sage screeched as she scrambled off the chair and threw herself into my arms. “Thank you.”

Her happiness was contagious and I soaked in the sunshine while my wolf basked in the glow. The way her soft body melted against mine was too much and not enough at the same time. I never wanted to let her go.

She slid down to her feet, seemingly embarrassed, and looked up through her thick eyelashes. Her heart beat was fluttering so fast it sounded like hummingbird wings. “I’m sorry. I…”

I leaned down closer, aching with the need to take her breath away. To taste her lips. “Don’t ever apologize to me, but I still demand to know what you want.”

We shared the same air for a blissful moment and she never broke eye contact. I couldn’t remove my hands from her curvy hips. They fit so perfectly there. We were so close. The scent of her warming desire filled the room as she worried her bottom lip.

She had to feel it too.

The connection. Our bond. The pull of our souls calling to each other.

Claim my mate.

Sage’s pupils dilated in response to whatever she’d interpreted from my wolf.

“Get a room.” Coral huffed as she slammed open the front door and kicked off her muddy boots. Kera was right behind her, freezing in place as

she sniffed the air.

Curse the Gods.

I’d been so caught up in the moment that I hadn’t heard the pups approach.

“Get out of here.” I growled at Kera through the pack link, but it was too late. The spell my witch was casting died as she stepped away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sage clenched her hands at her sides and inhaled deeply. “How was your hunting trip?”

“It was fine,” Coral grumbled, bringing a mangled squirrel to the kitchen sink.

Sage gagged a little, but didn’t let any emotion show. “Is that what you’re eating for dinner?”

“Are you going to cook it?” Coral’s head whipped to the side, turning her back to me as she stared down Sage.

Before I could tug the disrespectful pup who’d obviously not learned her lesson on respect or pack hierarchy for the day outside, something changed on Sage’s face in response to the look the sisters shared.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Sage asked gently, motioning to the

door.

Coral nodded and raced out of the cabin. My mate turned to me with

an apologetic smile and then she slipped away into the night.