“No, no, we were just expecting her to come back, is all,” Abel Flosswulf, the St. Ailbe pack’s former leader who’d appointed Daniel, insisted. “Of course we’re worried about her.”
Right.
“Great. Then point me toward the person in charge of searching for a longtime resident who’s vanished without a trace.”
Both leaders—and the entire crowd—went quiet. Suddenly, they didn’t seem nearly as excited to ask me questions about my unexpected visit.
“Wow,” I said. “You’re all a bunch of hypocrites. Not to mention users. You took and took from us without ever bothering toknowus or make us feel like we belonged.”
Leader Daniel’s face reddened. “Now, Sadie Ellis. I don’t know what you’ve gotten up to in Scotland, but a good Wölfennite?—”
“I’m not a good Wölfennite,” I cut in. “I never was. Because I’m abear. You might’ve figured that out if you’d actually practiced what you preached and gave my mother and me any consideration beyond what we could do for you.”
A collective gasp went up.
“You’re abear?” one woman called out, clutching her chest.
“Abear queen, actually. And I’m her husband, the bear king,” Declan added, stepping forward. “I’d say it was nice to meet you all, but that would be a lie. From what I’ve seen and heard, you’re a pretty shitty and judgmental excuse for a shifter pack.”
This time, they choked. The crowd didn’t even have enough air to gasp dramatically.
And on that note, I announced, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to my mother’s house to look for clues about where she might’ve gone.”
“That’s just an excuse to exit,”I explained over our mind link to Declan as we strode away with a strut that felt like we were walking in dramatic slow-motion. “I’m pretty sure she got a passport somehow and tried to follow me to Scotland.”
“No problem,”Declan answered inside my head.“As long as you know I’m fucking you against the first surface I see as soon as we get wherever we’re going.”
So, I didn’t lie about going to the house to the Wölfennites. And Declan really didn’t lie about what he planned to do to me.
I was thrown up against a wall as soon as the door to my mother’s house closed behind us.
“Holy shite,” Declan growled against my neck. “Watching my wife tell off those villagers unlocked anewlevel of turned on.”
He ran his mouth up my throat and yanked up my skirt. “Let me in, my queen. We’re going to christen this last-ever hometown visit with the fuck it deserves.”
I wasallfor that.
But first, I had to tell him.
“I forgive him. The Mountain King. I forgive him.”
Declan stopped kissing me.
And even though he could clearly see my reasoning through our mate bond, I still needed to say it out loud.
“He made a mistake. But before that, all he ever did was support me. He never used me. And even though I haven’t seen him in weeks, Iknowhe cares. He’s the opposite of a user. He’d do anything for me. Including the scariest thing.”
“Let you in,” Declan said.
“Let me in.” I shook my head, still stunned that I was just now realizing, “All I have to do is ask him.”
A slow, wicked smile spread across Declan’s face. “Now wereallyhave a reason to christen this trip with?—”
There was a whistle of sound.
And suddenly, Declan jerked forward—his gray eyes widening with shock.
Right before he crumpled to the ground, revealing the thick dart sticking out of his back.
