Page 5 of Stolen

She put her hand on his arm. Feather-light, and yet its warmth spread all through him. “I do know it,” she said gently. “He’s my alpha—the head of our house. He held a ceremony, after he killed my father, and transferred the pack bond to himself.”

She bit her lip and took a breath. He knew the grief of her father’s loss was still raw, and it was all he could do not to take her in his arms and comfort her.

She went on, “And then a member of his pack was stolen, by a man he had allowed himself to trust. He is angry, and he is shamed. His wolf is… what is the English word? Compelled. To come after me and take me back, and to punish me for leaving.”

Hawk didn’t even let himself picture what that might involve. He’d go wolf and kill something. “That’s not going to happen.”

But he knew she was right. He could feel Ricardo’s presence too—it was why he’d been nagging his intelligence sources for chatter. Hawk hadn’t been a member of the cartel pack—not really—but he had pretended to be, and his wolf could still feel the echo of the bond that had surrounded them. Twisted and dark, because their alpha was.

Wolves followed their leader, for good or bad. Their need to belong sometimes overrode their humanity. Whole packs could become killing machines. And he was afraid that’s what had happened. Some of them had already been near the edge before he left.

She said softly, almost to herself, “It will end in death.”

Yeah. The death of her brother. They both knew it was the only solution. “I’m sorry,” he said.

She turned to him, her deep brown eyes meeting his. “For what? None of this is your fault. You saved me, brought me out so his evil couldn’t taint my wolf forever. Taint my soul. It was very brave.”

He held her gaze. “You know why I did it.”

He cursed himself the moment he said the words. He never wanted to pressure her, never wanted her to believe that she owed him anything. But the connection shimmered between them, and it was pointless to pretend it wasn’t there.

“I know.” Unexpectedly, she picked up his hand and kissed the palm. It burned like a brand. “The same reason I came with you. Selfishly, because I knew the danger to you if I was with you.”

She let his hand go, and it felt cold. Lonely. She said, “If we were together… if I made love to you, if my wolf bonded to you—I’m afraid it would pull you down too. The darkness.”

“I think the darkness already pulled me down.”

“I don’t think so. You are a good man, querido. Perhaps the best man I know.”

That almost made him smile. “I appreciate the thought, but considering where you grew up, I’m thinking that bar wasn’t set very high.”

She laughed, one of the most amazing sounds in the world, and then leaned forward impulsively and kissed him on the cheek. “Even so, you hold the distinction. For what it’s worth.”

He gave in to his need to touch her, putting his arm around her and feeling the incredible warmth of her, reveling in her scent. He might never be able to have all of her, but he would have this.

And whatever it took, he would face down her brother and kill the bastard. If he died doing it, at least she would be free. That would make it all worth it.

Later, when Ariana was in the shower, Hawk put in a call to an old friend. If Ricardo De León was coming here—if there was even a chance of it—he had to know for sure. And if his current sources couldn’t tell him, he needed someone who could.