Dangerous Wolves

Chapter 9

Wolfe's POV

She was hiding something from me. I mean, obviously I knew there was something strange going on when a LION appeared and she suddenly got defensive, but it was more than that. While she was hiding something about Maxx from me, I felt like she had a bigger secret that she really didn't want to divulge until the last possible second, and the more I thought about it the worse the secret got. What if she was dying? What if she was already mated?

These thoughts circled around and around in my head like vultures, calling to each other and making connections that seemed plausible and entirely realistic. I had no concrete ideas, nothing that I was absolutely certain of, but those vultures were waiting until she did something to cement a thought, and then they'd swoop and they'd devour. I was going insane thinking about it. And she was still sleeping, oblivious to the turmoil inside me. 

I couldn't really blame her, if it was something serious. For all that we'd rushed into mating, we didn't really know each other. I knew that she was strong and brave, and loyal to those she loved and trusted, but I didn't know the little things about her that solidified a relationship. I didn't know how she liked her coffee in the morning, or what her favorite color was, or even if she was a morning person...though recent encounters suggested she wasn't. And the same was true for her. She didn't really know those things about me. How could she trust me with something so obviously important to her? 

A light tap on my shoulder shocked me out of my reverie, and I looked up into the gentle gaze of Marly, one of the Pack females.

"You should know...Cat's not in her room anymore. At least, her scent suggests that she left." Marly looked away, blue eyes focused on the ground. I thanked her, anger and worry churning in the pit of my stomach. Why would she leave? What would possess her to leave the safety of the Pack? I rose from the couch, shoving Wolves out of my way to get to the table where they'd placed Sheeba.

"Where is she?" I snarled when I didn't see her prone body. 

 I was starting to lose colors; not to grey but to red. It was more than just anger and worry now; it was rage. How could she leave me without telling me? And take a healing Shifter with her? My fangs erupted on a roar, and I could just barely control the fur sprouting on my hands, the agony of change slowly enveloping me. There had never been a time when I couldn't control the Change, not since my years as a pup. My Beta ran up to me, but I snapped at him with my elongating snout, ripping the clothes off of myself as fast as I could. I yelped when a strand from my shirt wrapped around my chest, but it eventually snapped and I tore my jeans off, not wasting time. 

When I finally stood as a full Wolf, I was panting, the emotions and Change taking it out of me. My Beta moved closer, not meeting my eyes.

"Alpha...we moved Sheeba. But she's not where we put her. I think...I think she left."

It took my entire being not to bark at him, to do something to let him know I wasn't an idiot and somehow managed to figure it out all by my lonesome. 

I was going to look for her, whether she wanted me to or not. 

_______

Maxx's POV

In all honesty, I knew I wasn't going to talk her out of this. She was going to face the Pride, no matter what I said. But when we returned to Wolfe, I wanted to be able to say that I tried to stop her, and her one Shifter Pack, so that I wasn't torn apart and left for dead. At least, not left for dead.

"I don't know what you think is going to happen. They aren't going to let you just waltz in there and speak directly to the head Lion. You have a death sentence, for God's sake! Kill on sight, remember?" 

She didn't look at me, her ponytail bouncing as she leapt over a fallen log.

"I don't know what it is you want me to say, Maxx. I know what sentence I was given. I was there, remember? But that doesn't mean that I can't eliminate this as one of my many, many problems. I know that I have a very slim chance of making it out alive. And yet, what if I do? That's all I can think of. What if I manage to get the Pride to let it go? I could be free of them!" 

Her military boots crunched fallen leaves, bare arm brushing aside branches and spiderwebs. Her jeans-covered ass was so tempting, swaying in front of me like it was enticing me on purpose.

"What about the rest of us? Huh, Cat? What'll happen to Wolfe if you don't make it out? He's the Alpha of the most powerful Pack in the world. He can't afford having a weakness." 

Sheeba ran next to her, beautiful silver coat no longer covered in blood. It amazed me, how fast she'd managed to heal. She didn't even have a limp. 

"I'm a weakness to him no matter what happens. I die, he's debilitated for a while. He's strong, and we don't know each other well enough for it to really affect him. He'd get over it. If I live, I'm suddenly the target of not only my enemies, but his as well. Knowing he has a mate gives them a little power. The longer I stick around, the more attached he gets...and the worse the pain will be when one of them finally off me." 

My mouth dropped open at her flat tone, the stiff shrug. I wasn't fooled by her uncaring attitude but the fact that she managed to pull it off astounded me. She'd even masked her scent. 

"I-I...what about me?" the words exploded from me, having been bottled up for so long. 

"What about you?" She looked over her shoulder at me, an eyebrow raised.

I gave her a look of disbelief. Surely she couldn't be that oblivious.

"You'd get over it. We're not mates; you were my executioner for a time. What would you even care?"

I just blinked. Did she really think of me like that? That I didn't love her? I'd chased her all over the fucking planet, and she thought I was nothing more than her executioner? 

"You obviously don't understand me." I grabbed her arm, spinning her to face me. She glared at me, those amazing eyes sparking.

"I more than care about you. I love you. I was never your executioner. I never came for you like that. If you saw my face in Rome, or Paris, or Dublin, you weren't hallucinating. I've been with you every step of the way. The fact that you could even suggest I less than adored you is an insult!" 

I couldn't stop myself from saying it, the leash I'd held tight to finally snapping.

"Adore me! You don't adore me."

I grabbed her face, emotions an inferno inside me, and crushed her lips with mine, invading and taking. I expected to see stars from the knockout punch she was going to give me, but instead she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed closer, gasping into my mouth. I swallowed the sound, giving it back in a groan. I've waited forever to this, to hold her close to me. I was about to wrap my arms around her waist when she was head-butted uncerimoniously away from me. The she-wolf that did it sent barks my way, warning me back.

Cat shook her head, touching her fingers to her swollen lips.

"What did I do? What have I done?" She whispered.  

____

A/N So I know it's short...but suspense, no? What will happen with Maxx? And the Pride? VOTE AND COMMENT LOVES :D