Steeling her shoulders, she turned and slipped her small hand into his. “I liked being here.”
“So did I.” He led her to the truck and tossed their things in the back. “We’ll be back to visit.”
She jumped inside and nodded. “I know, but it won’t be the same.”
“No.” He crossed the truck and hurried into the driver’s seat, quickly turning the key and backing out of the drive. “I received an e-mail from the new Vaile Alpha, asking for you to visit your old pack. After checking with Dage, I think the new Alpha might be a decent guy.”
She gave a small sound of interest. “Maybe we’ll visit sometime. I need to think about it for a little bit.”
His woman was a planner. He liked that about her. “We need to say good-bye to Gerald.” The old guy had a lot on his plate.
“Will he continue as Alpha of the Raze pack, you know, since you, ah—”
“Killed Roger?” Terrent rubbed his neck, increasing the speed of the truck. He should probably feel bad about killing the Alpha. But Roger had made the colossal mistake of threatening Maggie, and there was no looking back. Besides, as a fighter, he really hadn’t been that good, now had he? “Yeah. I think Gerald will stay in place until somebody else steps up. He needs to increase pack security, though.”
“Do you think the Ausgel pack will attack again?” Maggie asked, her gaze out the window.
“Yes. Maybe not right away, but they’re not done.” He’d need to leave some instructions with Nash for training the younger members of the pack.
She cleared her throat, clenching her hands together.
“Roger said he contacted the demons . . . before you killed him.”
“Yes.” Damn insecure Alpha. Terrent shook his head. “I already sent a coded message to the king that Roger was wrong and you have no new ability. The demons should in-tercept it and be able to figure it out within a week or so.”
“Do you think the message will work?” she asked, her voice rising.
“Sure.” Hell if he knew. It was worth a shot. “The demons are egomaniacs. I doubt they ever truly believed you could mimic their gifts.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
The truck rolled to a stop behind the wide lodge. The parking lot was full. The pack probably wanted to say good-bye to Maggie—they’d really come to love her. Terrent grabbed Maggie to haul her across the seat. He rubbed his cheek along her neck, cradling her. “If you want, I could ask that you live here.”
She sighed. “No. I don’t want to stay here without you.
I’ll figure out a place to live . . . somehow.” She cuddled closer. “I never thought I’d be one of those women who waited at home for a soldier—I’m not that strong. Their sac-rifices always humbled me.”
“You’re strong enough for anything, little wolf.” The woman didn’t want to live at Realm headquarters, either. He had to find her a safe place where she could be happy.
Enough of this. They needed to get the good-byes out of the way before his woman broke down. He opened the door and jumped out, setting her on her feet. “Let’s do this.”
She nodded and pushed curls over her shoulder. God, he loved her wild hair. The scent of vanilla wrapped around his heart and squeezed. “We’ll be all right, Maggie.”
“I know.”
Her worn jeans hugged a sweet ass, while her bright green T-shirt brought out the wolflike flecks in her eyes. He grinned. “You’re gorgeous.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re a dork.” But a pretty blush wandered over her high cheekbones. The sadness continued to linger in her smile, however.
He nodded, and led her around the lodge to the front.
Gerald sat in a rocker, his gaze on the empty field, while the doctor sat in a matching chair. Nash stood behind them, leaning against a post.
Gerald stood. “Terrent, Maggie—it’s good to see you.
Thanks for your help the other day.”
Maggie nodded. “Have you recovered from the stab wound?”
“I will.” Gerald gestured toward the doctor. “The doc added some extra stitches today. I’ll be fine.”
“Good.” Terrent held out a hand to shake. “It was good seeing you.”
“Ditto.” Clouds darkened Gerald’s eyes. “I wish you were staying. At least until we find out who was messing with the inoculations.”
“Me, too,” a spirited voice echoed as Shannon wandered from around the far side of the lodge. Andrea followed . . .
as did about ninety members of the pack.
Now that was sweet.
Maggie eyed Andrea. “Is your arm all right?”
“Sure. Just a couple of stitches. I can still compete in nationals,” the girl said.
Terrent grinned. “Don’t worry. The Bane’s Council will honor the promise to escort you to Georgia.” Then he frowned at the intense gaze Maggie gave the girls. “What’s going on?”
The girls blushed and meandered to stand in front of him.
Shannon took a deep breath. “We, ah, have a confession.”
Terrent bit back another smile. The girl was serious.
“Okay.”
Shannon shuffled her feet. “You tell him.”
“No.” Andrea’s face went from pink to bright red. “You lost the coin toss.”
“Girls, we need to get going,” Terrent said, throwing some sternness into his tone.
Shannon nodded. “We altered the inoculations,” she whispered, her gaze on her fluorescent tennis shoes.
He frowned, his eyes narrowing. “What?” Why in the world would the girl confess to such a crime? Was she being threatened? A low growl vibrated in his chest. “I won’t let anybody hurt you girls. Now tell me the truth. Do you know who sabotaged our cure?”
“Yes.” Andrea kicked a pebble. “It was us. Me and Shannon.”
So much guilt covered her face, she had to be telling the truth.
Terrent shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why?”
Gerald grabbed a post. “Yes, why in the world would you girls do such a thing?”
Shannon lifted a shoulder. “We knew the Bane’s Council would investigate, and we knew Terrent would come. But we were careful. Nobody got hurt.”
This made no sense. “So I came. Why? Are you in danger? Did you need me here?” Terrent tried to concentrate—it made no sense.
Andrea gave an exasperated huff. “Yes, Terrent. We are in danger, and we wanted you here. Jeez. Don’t you get it?”
“No.” He glanced at Maggie, who was grinning. What was wrong with these females?
Gerald chuckled. “I get it.” Several of the pack members nodded around them.
Okay, everyone had gone crazy. “Somebody explain,”
Terrent ordered, allowing the full force of the Alpha within him to awaken.
Both girls stepped back. Shit. He hadn’t meant to scare them. “Please,” he added.
Shannon lifted her chin. “Gerald is awesome, and he de-serves to travel. We need an Alpha, and we’ve chosen you.
Period.”
“You can’t just choose an Alpha,” Terrent said, his lungs heating. He’d faced down killer werewolves without breaking a sweat. Yet these two innocent cheerleaders were scar-ing the shit out of him. “You girls know that.”
Twin eye-rolls met his declaration.
The doctor stood up. “I don’t mean to be a wet blanket here, but Terrent’s mate is a menace. She might have frightening abilities and needs to be contained at Realm headquarters.”
