Page 65 of Chased

Gunn was going back into his office, and Mikey yelled after him, “Buzz Jaeda and tell her to close down the office and meet me and Breanna at my truck. You guys will have to do without us for today.”

He called back, “Don’t blame me if this place is on fire when you get home.”

“Love you!” Mikey called. Gunn shook his head, blew her a kiss and sauntered off.

Sanchez growled at the girls. “You’re not invited.”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t come.”

He sighed. “Is there any way to stop you?”

Grinning from ear to ear, Mikey said, “Not in a million years.”

Madison could see that no one was going to give her any choice in this. And she had to admit, the idea of being whisked off to some unknown place to get presents was kind of exciting. It wasn’t like that happened every day.

Only, clothes—non-Wal-Mart clothes—were expensive. She didn’t want Sanchez spending money he couldn’t afford on her. She didn’t think he had much—that wad of cash he’d peeled off to pay Samantha had probably been his entire paycheck. Judging by the way the three guys kept their cabin—which she’d seen on a housing inventory tour with Breanna when they weren’t there—they could barely afford furniture.

But she didn’t want to hurt his feelings and spoil his fun, either. Despite his usual give-nothing-away expression, she could see the anticipation in his eyes—and maybe even a little uncertainty. Like he wanted her to like what he was doing, but wasn’t sure she would.

He told her to go up to her cabin and get whatever the hell women needed for a day out.

“The whole day?” Where on earth were they going?

“Yeah. Lunch and dinner. Everything.”

Damn.

Before this went too far, though, she had to talk to him alone. Uninterrupted. She pulled him around the corner of the command center and faced him, her hand on his arm. The warmth of his skin seemed like it warmed her whole body.

“I saw what you did,” she told him. “Earlier, with the wolves, when you gave them my scent and told them to protect me. ” She bit her lip. “It was amazing. No one has ever done anything like that for me before.”

His eyes got hot with anger. “Obviously not. Sick fucking foxes and rabbits were too busy figuring out how to maim you and wreck you for life.” He shook his head, his voice tight. “Fuck.”

“I didn’t…” She wasn’t sure what to say. “I didn’t think you all would be quite so shocked, honestly—I mean, not about the mating mark. Wolves scar their mates too, right? I’ve seen Mikey’s and Breanna’s mating scars.”

They seemed to like theirs, though. They wore them like badges of honor. And they obviously adored their mates.

Sanchez stared at her. “That’s nothing like what you showed us.”

“How is it different?” She wanted to understand. Wanted mating with a wolf to be different than with a Renard. But was it? They were even fiercer, more violent.

“Well, normal wolves don’t terrorize their mates and rape them, for one thing,” Sanchez snarled. “And a claiming mark—I mean, yeah, some wolves do that, especially if they’re true mates. But it’s not—” He ran his hand through his hair, looking uncomfortable. “Shit. It’s hard to explain.” But he didn’t stop trying and shut her down, like she expected.

He said slowly, “It’s emotionally different, for one thing. Way different. To the girls, it’s a tangible sign of their bond with their mate. And it’s consensual, and… fuck. Ask the girls. They’re the ones who’ve been through it. I only know what I’ve heard, and I suck at explaining about emotional shit.”

He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders, caressing that vulnerable spot at the base of her neck with his thumbs.

Shivers ran through her, and she could almost feel his teeth on her skin there, the way they had been—briefly—last night.

He said softly, “I can tell you one thing. No decent wolf would make you do that unless you wanted. If it’s a true mating, then all your mate would want would be for you to be happy and safe. He’d do anything to make that happen. He’d die for you.” The words hung in the air between them.

His eyes flashed briefly gold. “Besides, I’d fucking kill anybody who tried to bond you against your will.”

He said it so matter-of-factly, like it was a given. He was a professional soldier—he’d probably killed dozens of bad guys. He’d really do what he said.

She still didn’t understand exactly how wolf claiming was different, but it was a relief to know they didn’t always do it.

Madison stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”