I grabbed his collar and pulled him into a long, passionate kiss. “Nothing will happen. I’m going to bring Jane and Raj back. Your sister will be okay,” I said. His breath warmed my neck. And I ached for him to have me now, claim me now, take me as his now, but we had a situation that we couldn’t ignore for another second.
He pushed some hair out of my face and drew his thumb down my lip, making me shiver. I took one step toward the door and smiled. “When I get back, I expect you to mark me, Roman. I want the whole thing: a bouquet of Moonflowers, a date under the moonlight, your teeth in my neck.”
He chuckled lowly. “You want it romantic?”
After curling my fingers around his belt loops, I pulled him closer. “Of course, not. I want you to lay out a nice dinner for us, then spread my legs and eat what you really want to eat,” I said. He growled lowly, making me clench. All I wanted to do was push him against his desk, climb on top of him, and let him have me, but someone knocked on the door, ruining the moment.
“Isabella,” Ryker said from outside. “Time to go.”
I frowned at Roman and walked to the door. He watched me with those dark eyes. “When you come back to me, my dear Isabella, I’ll be waiting to claim every inch of your body.”
“Remember that,Alpha.”I smirked back at him. “I expect no less.”
Ryker stood outside the door, tapping his fingers against the doorframe, and raised a brow at me. I brushed past him, trying to hide my happiness that Roman promised to mark me. It should’ve been done by now, but his promise that it would made me all giddy inside.
The ride to the packhouse was silent, only the stiff sound of Ryker’s breathing filling the car. I gazed out the windshield, watching the trees fly by. This wasn’t right. Something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
“What’re you thinking about?” Ryker asked, one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the gearstick.
“This is my fault,” I said.
He sighed deeply through his nose. “Bella, it’s not your fault. At least you didn’t let one of those rogues mark you. Do you… do you have any ideas about who it could’ve been or why they would’ve taken Jane and Raj?”
Think, Isabella. Roman should’ve been taken, not his sister. Why target Roman and his family?
“I think something is going on with Roman.” I dug my fingers into my palms, breaking through the skin. “He’s acting weird.”
Ryker suddenly became quiet. “He’s been acting weird. Why wouldn’t he mark you, even after your heat?” He pulled onto the Lycan’s property. Lycans ran back and forth in front of our cars, trying to organize as quickly as possible to defend the surrounding packs from the rogues.
“Exactly,” I said, watching him. “Don’t you think it’s weird that they didn’t take an alpha, but his sister?” He nodded his head, jaw twitching just a smidge. “The only explanation I could think of is that Roman did something that angered them, something that he’s not telling me.”
Lie.
I kicked my feet back and forth under the seat and gazed out the window. “And he wouldn’t even mark me even after everything I’ve been through, after the heat, after running from rogues. He didn’t even seem like he wanted me. He looked at me with so much disgust and pity. Barely would touch me the whole time I was there. Only when you came to the house.”
Ryker furrowed his brows. “His wolf seemed to want to keep you there, buthedid seem a bit distant. Do you think he’s in on this?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I want to find out.”
He parked the car in front of the packhouse and rested one hand on the steering wheel. “This is your mate that we’re talking about, Bella. If you do this, you’ll have to go against your innate instincts. And if you find that he is working with the rogues, you know what you’ll have to do, right?”
“I’ll have to kill him,” I said quietly.
He gazed at me, nearly making me squirm. “You know, if it comes to that, there are plenty…” He paused for longer than a moment. “… of wolves here who’d step up and be the man that you’ve always needed.”
I took a deep breath, my gaze drifting to his lips for a second. “I know.”
He nodded his head. “Why don’t you lead this mission, then?”
I raised my brow at him. “Me? You want me to lead?”
“Yes.” He smiled. “I think it’d be perfect. Redemption for you.”
Chapter 47
Isabella
During this dire time, I delegated duties to the Lycans. Some people were to watch Roman. Others were to meet wolves from my pack at the Night Raider’s Café to talk about Jane’s disappearance. Ryker was to search the outskirts of Roman’s property with me every night.
