But as he listened to her soft breathing in the dark, Roan made himself a silent promise—one that felt bigger than words, older than blood.
He would get them both out. Or die trying. Because Maddie wasn’t just theNushawani. She was his.
And he was hers, whether she knew it or not.
Chapter One
“Some sort of horny spirit has taken over my body. That’s the only explanation for this newfound, all-consuming, desire pulsing through my body like jolts of electricity. Spirit hussy is about to make me make a fool of myself.” ~Katy
There were a lot of things Katy had expected to feel after defeating a snake-shifting tyrant, stopping a blood-magic ritual, and—oh yeah—officially mating with Gage in a way that involved teeth, claws, and a very enthusiastic lack of clothing.
She hadn’t expected to feel like her skin was too tight. Or that her brain had been replaced by a hamster wheel that only ran on worry and hormones.
Gage’s cabin near the Kingdom of Fangs compound was the kind of place she’d once dreamed about when she was a kid—a single story tucked under towering pines, with a porch swing that creaked comfortingly and a fireplace that always smelled faintly of cedar and ash. Something far from the hustle and bustle of New York. Otto had already claimed the battered recliner as his own. He’d thrown a blanket over his lap and wasnow pretending to read a book while he watched her and Gage with the kind of sidelong amusement that made her want to throw something at his head.
But most of Katy’s attention—okay, all of it—was on Gage. He moved around the kitchen like he belonged there, barefoot and shirtless, hair still damp from his morning shower, his wolf mark standing out sharp against the tan skin of his shoulder. Every time he glanced her way, her heart did this weird, swooping thing that made her want to either tackle him or run for the hills.
She hadn’t meant for things to get weird. But ever since last night—after, well,after—she couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Touching him. Smelling him. Just being near him. It was like she’d swallowed a sun and the heat had gone straight to her insides.
And now she was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at her hands, trying to pretend she hadn’t just spent the last thirty minutes fantasizing about dragging Gage back to bed. Or the floor. Or the porch swing.
She was a mess.
Otto cleared his throat in that deliberately annoying way that only he could pull off. “You looks like you want to bite. You creepsing.”
Katy shot him a glare. “You’re one to talk, bug eyes. If anyone is creepsing, it’s you with your big yellow eyes watching my every move.”
He grinned, totally unbothered. “Katy amusing me. And you stinksing.”
She opened her mouth to fire back, but Gage beat her to it. “Otto, if you value your life, you’ll find somewhere else to be.”
Otto held up his hands in surrender, but the smirk didn’t leave his face. “Okay, okay. I chops the woods. Or, chase squirrels. No bite,” he said, pointing a clawed finger at him and then Katy.
“I can bite whom I want,” Katy growled. “What you should do is take an online grammar class.”
Just before the door banged shut behind him, Otto muttered loudly enough for Katy to hear, “You online grammar butts.”
“That doesn’t even make sense,” she hollered back. Then there was just silence, and the beat of her heart in her chest, reverberating up her throat.
Katy stared at the table. It was scratched and worn, the kind of surface that had seen a lot of life. She wondered if she was going to leave a mark here, too. If she’d ever feel like she belonged in this space, or if she’d always be an outsider—too human, too much of everything, and yet not enough of anything. Now she was beginning to sound like Otto and not making a lick of sense. He was rubbing off on her.
Gage slid into the chair next to her, his knee bumping hers under the table. The heat that had been simmering in her chest jumped to a full boil. She pressed her thighs together, mortified at how needy she felt. She wanted to crawl into a hole that also had some sort of barrier that would keep him from feeling her emotions, knowing that she was a horn dog. Was this normal? Was she broken?
“Hey,” Gage said, his voice all low and gentle. “You okay?” There was no glint of humor in his eyes or teasing in his tone. He was genuinely concerned.
She nodded too quickly. “Fine. Totally fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine?” She tried for a laugh, but it came out sounding strangled.
He watched her for a long moment, those green wolf eyes seeing way too much. “You’re worried about Maddie.”
She latched onto that excuse like a lifeline. “Abso-freaking-lutely. She hasn’t checked in, and Roan’s not answering. What if something happened to them? What if?—”
Gage reached over and took her hand, his thumb tracing slow circles over her pulse point. The contact sent a jolt through her that had nothing to do with anxiety and everything to do with the fact that she’d apparently turned into a hussy overnight. “They’re tough. Maddie’s stronger than she thinks. And Roan’s too stubborn to die. Not to mention, judging on his behavior around her, he’s laid claim to her and won’t let anything happen to her.”
Katy tried to focus on his words, but all she could think about was the way his thumb felt against her skin. Her breath hitched, and Gage’s lips curled just a little at the corners.
She yanked her hand away, cheeks burning, as she rubbed them up and down the tops of her thighs. “While those statements are all true–except for the one about him wanting her. He acts like she gets on his last nerve–I still don’t like the fact that we haven’t heard anything from them.”
Gage watched her quietly for what felt like five minutes, though it was probably all of one. He arched an eyebrow. “Did I do something wrong?”
