Sylvan smiled, a supremely satisfied smile. “Yes. Exactly what we just did. Didn’t you feel me empty into you?”
Drake’s hips jerked and her breasts tightened.
“Of course I felt you.” She ran her tongue down the center of Sylvan’s throat and bit the thick muscle above her collarbone. “I can feel you inside me now.
Everywhere.” She laughed unsteadily. “I can hardly believe it, but I’m ready for you again.”
“I’m full for you again too.” Sylvan cupped Drake’s jaw. “This is more than mating frenzy. Your transformation has accelerated everything. This is breeding frenzy.”
“But mutia can’t—”
“Stop.” With infinite tenderness, Sylvan kissed Drake’s forehead, her eyes, her mouth. “You are my mate. My instincts tell me we are breeding now. If we have no young of our own—this time, or ever, I will name a successor from among the strongest of the Pack when the time comes.”
Drake caressed Sylvan’s face with trembling fingers. “I can’t keep you from fulfilling your destiny. You were born to be Alpha, and you should be able to see your daughter—”
“So you’ll give me up to another?” Sylvan asked. “Have me breed with another fem—”
Drake’s wolf burst out so quickly she didn’t have time to reason or react. Her face shifted, her jaws elongated, and a thick line of dark pelt streamed down the center of her belly. Her claws raked Sylvan’s shoulders. In a voice guttural with possessive rage, she rasped,
“Mine!”
“Yours.” Sylvan tilted her head back and gave Drake her neck.
Drake gripped Sylvan’s throat in her jaws and shook her hard. With a cry, Sylvan came on Drake’s stomach.
When Sylvan sagged, Drake caught Sylvan to her and kissed her.
Cradling Sylvan’s head against her shoulder, she whispered, “Did I hurt you?”
“You will never hurt me as long as you never leave me.” Sylvan gasped as another spasm shook her. “Say you won’t leave me.”
“I won’t. I can’t.” Drake leaned her head against Sylvan’s. “I’ll die before I leave you.”
“You’ll be in danger because you are my mate. The attack last night—that might be just the beginning.”
“I’m not afraid.” Drake’s only fear was losing Sylvan, and she would do anything and everything in her power to protect her.
“I didn’t think I needed a mate. I thought a mate would make me weak. I was wrong.” Sylvan straightened, her blue eyes ringed with wolf-gold. Her face was calm, strong, certain. “I love you. I need you, and not just because a Pack is always stronger with an Alpha pair to lead them.” She brushed the backs of her fingers over Drake’s cheek.
“I never knew how lonely I was until I wasn’t lonely anymore. You already run with me in my dreams. Soon, we’ll run together on our land, with our Pack. Say you love me. Say you will run by my side.”
“I love you, Sylvan,” Drake said, joy eclipsing all regrets. She would live, no matter what demons inside her or enemies outside threatened her. She would fight, because she would not leave Sylvan alone. Sylvan was hers, forever, to love and cherish and protect. “You’re my heart, my mate. I will always be by your side.” Sylvan pulled her close and buried her face in Drake’s neck. When Drake realized Sylvan was shaking, she stroked her hair. “What is it?”
“I need to leave for a few hours.” Sylvan drew deeply of Drake’s scent. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“You just asked me to run by your side,” Drake said, her mouth against Sylvan’s neck. She couldn’t ask her not to go. Sylvan was the Alpha. She had to lead. But she didn’t have to lead alone any longer. “Do you think I will let you hunt alone?”
“It’s too soon,” Sylvan said. “Your wolf—”
“The fight was brought to us—yours by the Exodus, mine by a bite from a dying girl. We didn’t choose the time or circumstances. If you hunt, so do I. I’m your mate. Don’t ask me to be less. Not now, not when I’ve given you my heart.”
Sylvan’s eyes glowed with pride and possession. She kissed Drake hard, drawing power from Drake’s strength. “I love you.”
“Then let me love you.”
With a nod, Sylvan grasped Drake’s hand.
Niki, the Alpha called, it’s time to hunt.
Chapter Thirty-Two
”Max and the twins have been tracking the scent since last night,” Niki said as Andrew drove the Rover from the Compound.
Drake sat on the side bench with her back against the wall with Sylvan lounging on the floor between her legs. Sylvan tilted her head back against Drake’s stomach, and Drake ran her fingers through Sylvan’s hair, unable to stop touching her even for a minute. Like Sylvan and the others, she wore only a pair of jeans, and when Sylvan reached back and idly ran her blunt nails over Drake’s bare flank, she growled softly. She knew a fight was coming and she was primed, her adrenaline pumping, a flair of midnight black pelt streaming low on her belly, her clitoris erect and throbbing. Her wolf clawed the undersurface of her skin, demanding the freedom to hunt or tangle—the two urges nearly indistinguishable in her newly transformed system.
“Have they sighted the prey?” Sylvan asked.
“They lost the scent at one of the warehouses on the river last night, but they spent all day checking similar buildings and tracking scent trails. They picked up our prey again just a few hours ago. Max reports the one we want is with half a dozen rogues.” Sylvan snarled. “The rogues have never been aggressive before.”
“They’re loading containers into trucks,” Niki said. “Max thinks it’s DSX.”
“The methamphetamine variant?” Drake asked.
“Yes,” Sylvan said. “Highly addictive and highly toxic to us.”
“If the rogues are running drugs,” Drake suggested, “they must be part of a larger trafficking ring. They need suppliers, distributors, probably police protection. With that kind of backup, they might feel untouchable. That could explain why they’d risk an all-out assault.”
“Most rogues are usually too undisciplined to carry out any kind of illicit operation,” Sylvan said. “Whoever is in charge is not some half-feral DSX addict.”
“The assassin?” Drake asked.
“Probably.”
Drake massaged the muscles in the back of Sylvan’s neck. If they found the shooter, Sylvan would need to destroy him, but Drake worried Sylvan wasn’t yet strong enough for a fight. Her gunshot wounds had nearly killed her. Knowing only one way to protect her mate, Drake reached deep inside herself and touched her wolf. Instantly, her skin burned and pain shuddered through her bones. She remembered her dream and the agony of shifting. She feared she wouldn’t be able to shift in time to keep her mate safe, but she had to try. The pain intensified and she groaned.
Stop, Sylvan telegraphed. You’re all I need.
I want to go with you. I want to be by your side.
Sylvan stroked Drake’s leg and turned her head to kiss Drake’s stomach. Not unless you shift. You won’t be safe, otherwise.
What if I can’t?
Don’t worry. Sylvan tugged on the skin of Drake’s belly with her teeth, then licked the small mark of ownership. Your wolf will know when it’s time.
Drake caressed Sylvan’s cheek and caught Niki’s gaze as she sat opposite them watching. Niki couldn’t hear what had transpired between them, but Drake could reach Niki. If I can’t go with her, I’m entrusting her to you.