His chest puffed out fiercely. “Anyone I know?” I was amazed he could get the words out with how hard he was clenching his jaw.
“No, he lives back east,” I replied, trying not to reveal my amusement at his reaction.
Brock stepped closer. Clearly I’d ruffled his feathers, as intended.
He ran his fingers through my hair and my toes curled. “It means…” He moved closer to whisper in my ear. “That you’ll be mine. Mine to protect, mine to provide for. Mine.”
My knees went weak as his warm breath trickled down my neck.
“Do you, Evie Black, accept my invitation to join the Wild Hunter Pack, and all that it entails?”
Oh God yes. I restrained a moan. “Yes.”
My voice was husky and my panties were a little wet. Brock turned me the fuck on in all the right ways. My body reacted to him without waiting for my permission.
I smelled magic then, sandalwood and cinnamon, and Brock.
Mmmm.
“This will only hurt for a second,” he whispered, and before I had the chance to freak out about whatever was going to hurt, he sliced at my forearm.
A yelp escaped me, and I jumped backward. He’d transformed his hand enough for it to spring claws. Now they dripped with my blood.
He clawed his own arm, then reached out and yanked me closer, smashing our bleeding arms together. The second our arms touched, a tingle zipped along my skin and crackled down my spine.
My body pressed against his as magic swirled around us, and his scent overwhelmed me. His body heat surged, melding with mine, and suddenly I felt wide open, vulnerable. I could feel him, in my mind, my body… my soul.
Brock was my alpha now.
His blazing yellow eyes bore into mine. “You’re my family now.”
He probably hadn’t meant those words to sound so romantic, but they did. A lump formed in my throat. With Gran gone, I didn’t have any real family left, save for Cass and maybe now Molly. The rest of the Black clan disowned me when my magic never showed.
Brock and I were having a kid together, and now I was in his pack.
Family.
He leaned even closer, pulling his bleeding arm away from mine, and wrapping it around the skin of my lower back—which was bare between my low-rise jeans and crop top. I even liked the feel of his slick blood against my flesh.
His lips stretched into a grin. “From now on, every man that smells you will smell me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I bet you love that.”
His gaze fell to my lips. “I do.”
It was like time had stopped; everything stilled and I was just stuck in this bubble with Brock.
His mouth inched toward mine, and I closed my eyes, aching in anticipation for this kiss. Ineededthis kiss.
Just when his warm lips grazed mine, a loud knock sounded at the door.
Motherfucker.Couldn’t a girl get a break around here?
Growling, Brock ripped away. “Come in,” he answered, sounding every bit as annoyed at the interruption as I was.
Moving a respectable distance away from me, we watched Sabine enter with a portable ultrasound machine.
“I think we should do the viability scan now instead of waiting until the morning,” she informed. “That was a hard fall, and I want to make sure everything is okay.”
