Book 1 - Page 54 (1/2)

It took nearly the whole trip back to Colorado for Bella to realize that, although she wanted to show her independence and to run her life her own way, she wanted Devlyn more. She knew in her heart that he was meant to be an alpha male. Now that Devlyn was part of her life, her mate, and bound by wolf law to protect her, she had to give him the chance to prove himself worthy, or else she would forever damage his pride. She loved and admired him for being a male lupus garou. The good and the bad.

For humans, male pride only went so far, but for wolves, it was the whole basis of their familial existence. A part of Devlyn would never be satisfied unless he took over the pack in the wolf way, through brute force and resourcefulness, ousting Volan forever.

No matter how hard that was for her to concede, she had to give him the chance to show he could do it. To her, it didn’t matter if he was the alpha male. It only mattered that they loved one another, but he needed more. The rea.s.surance that he had the legitimate claim to her, that she was his and no one else’s. He had to prove he could do this — to protect her from Volan, ultimately, to kill him, and to lead their pack. And she prayed he’d survive.

Devlyn and Bella finally arrived in the Southern Rockies, midday. The pinyon junipers and pines scented the air, calling to them to take their fill and romp through the woods as they had done as youngsters.

Bella’s eyes moistened to be home finally. She stared at the log cabin home, with its steep roof and wraparound porch. “This is your place, Devlyn?”

“Plenty of room for a bunch of kiddos,” he said, reaching over to pat her belly. “Five bedrooms and three hundred fifty acres of prime wolf land. A stream runs right through the middle of it.”

“The stream where we fished when we were little?”

“Yep. About a mile from here, my leather goods factory sits on two acres. Tanner and some of my other cousins are running things while I’m away.”

“Oh, I should have asked before if you could support me in the fas.h.i.+on I’ve been accustomed to.”

“Yeah, Bella, and all the little ones, too.”

“Good.” She climbed out of the Escape, weary of all of the traveling, glad to stretch her legs and to be home. “That means I don’t have to spend my money.”

He joined her on the porch and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re independently wealthy?”

“Are you sure you didn’t already know?”

He chuckled and kissed her cheek. “Here I thought I knew all about you.”

“Not everything. Some secrets should be left that way, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely not.”

She smiled and then noticed a note fluttering on the door. “Someone left you a message.” Already dread filled the pit of her stomach.

Didn’t think you’d have the nerve to bring her to me after all. Argos said you were coming home. See you soon. Volan

She touched Devlyn’s neck where the red’s canines had wounded him. Thank heavens, the area was completely healed, with not even a trace of a scar.

“Come on. We’ve tried your bed, the couch, the rental SUV, motel rooms, bathtubs, and showers. It’s time to christen my place now. Plus rest up for tonight’s big adventure,” Devlyn said, crumpling Volan’s note in his fist.

“Fighting Volan.”

“Yep. The time has come. Well, in a few hours, but the notion is making me a little tense. Got something to relieve the tension?” The glint of devil flashed in his eyes.

“Now who’s got a one-track mind?”

“Only... when you’re around.”

They’d barely walked into the house when Devlyn’s phone rang. Answering it, he glanced at Bella.

She knew from the look on his face, Volan had called the pack to meet in the glade. The time had come to decide the leaders.h.i.+p of the pack once again.

Chapter Twenty