My Mate and Family's Choice novel · Chapter 13 of 24

Chapter 13: Mine

Rodrick had me in his arms, and three hundred wolves were watching him do it.

I could smell nothing but him.

My knees would not hold, and my palm was bleeding down his sleeve, and I didn't care who saw.

"Chair," Dalton said, from somewhere behind the fire. His voice had lost its warmth. "The girl is ill. She must come home with me."

"The girl," the chair said, "cut your thread on my fire. Sit down, Alpha."

Dalton did not sit.

"The Council will hear the Henshaw Alpha in three nights," the chair went on. "Until then he doesn't leave this valley, and no Henshaw wolf touches Tegan Haskins."

Dalton looked at me over the flames.

He smiled, the old gentle smile, with nothing behind it.

"A cut thread can be tied again, love," he said, quietly enough that only the front of the ring heard. "Ask the spinner how many cups it takes."

Rodrick's arms tightened.

He turned and carried me out through the gap in the stones without a word, and nobody in three hundred moved to stop him.

I don't remember the drive.

I remember the lodge door, and the bar he did not drop, and the dog getting out of our way.

He set me on my feet inside my room, and I took hold of his shirt with my good hand so he couldn't step back.

"Your side," I said.

"It's stitched."

"You carried me a mile on it."

"Tegan." He said my name like it hurt. "I'm not going to touch you."

"Three nights are up."

"I know how many nights it's been."

"Then I'm not a guest."

He went still all over.

I watched his throat move.

"You said guest," I told him, and I made it a taunt, soft and low. "You said it with my hand on your chest, and I stood there like a fool. Say the other word."

"I promised."

"I know what you promised. I'm releasing you."

He shut his eyes.

"Mine," he said, rough as gravel. "You are mine, and I've been sick with it for four years."

My wolf nearly came out of my skin.

I kissed him.

I had to reach up for it, and he bent, and the second our mouths met I understood Dalton's kiss had never been a kiss at all.

← Chapter 12 · All chapters · Chapter 14 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend