Page 53 of The Crimson Wolf
“Really? What would he say?” A piece of my father. I hadn’t realized how desperate I was to hear more about him.
“He just talked about how smart and talented you were. You were always getting in trouble in school, just like your mom used to. He would tell me that someday he’d bring you by the Council meetings so I could meet you, but that day never came.” His eyes fill with sadness.
I nod. “I wish I would have known you. I didn’t have many friends either. Especially in high school.” I don’t bother mentioning Jack was my only friend. There’s no need to bring him up in this conversation twice.
He shakes his head. “I always knew Howard was full of a bunch of idiots.”
I chuckle and hit his arm. “Hey! I went there, remember?”
“Oh, you were the exception, mymate—absolutely.”
I kiss him with a smile, my toes curling. I gaze into his eyes, not wanting the conversation to end. I want to share everything about my childhood with him. I want to know everything about him.
“You wouldn’t have liked me in high school. I was chubby.” I immediately regret my words. What the fuck is he supposed to say to that? Now I’m just word vomiting.
His head jerks back. “What? I know what you looked like in high school; you were fucking sexy.”
I roll my eyes, even if my heart lifts, to the fact that he kept tabs on me all these years until I left for New York. “Okay, shut up. That was a stupid thing of me to bring up. I wasn’t asking you to lie to me about being skinny.”
He grabs my chin. “I said you were fucking sexy, not skinny. Your size doesn’t make you any less or more beautiful.”
My heart hammers in my chest. His words. My childhood self heals a little. A tear rolls down my cheek. He wipes it away. I should have dealt with my body issues years ago, but I always kept myself too busy. Of course, I need to learn to love myself at any size, but to know I have a partner—a mate—who loves me in all my forms, does make the work less daunting.
I tether my lips to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into me. My core heats, and I grind against him. I swear this man could get me off just by hiswords. His hands explore my backside, picking up my ass and grinding me against his length. I’m about to climb on, fuck him again until I can’t see straight, but then he pulls back. “Red, before we start again—because I want to fuck you fully and thoroughly, we should talk about our next move.”
It takes a second for my brain to settle, but I nod and gulp. “Yeah, you're right.” I sit up to look outside the cave entrance. It’s nearly nighttime. We’ve spent a whole day hiding out. “Granny. We need to get back to her and make sure she’s okay.” I start to stand, but Cameron pulls me back. “It’s not safe, Red. You still need time to heal, and it’s too dangerous to do so in the middle of the night.”
I pull away. “I feel fine.”
“That’s just because you're close to me. The mating bond has healing effects. You need to rest for a night with me before we go and battle the Hunters. Granny will be fine. She’s a civilian. If the Hunters mess with her, they face a whole sleuth of legal repercussions.”
“They didn’t seem to care about legal repercussions when Jack kidnapped me and tied me to a chair.” I don’t mention that he also threatened to torture and impregnate me. Although I hate to admit it, Cameron’s right about me needing time to heal, and if I mention that, he’ll go full monster mode, and I do need a whole night snuggling up to him. But I sure as hell won’t be able to get any sleepwithout knowing I thought of every possible option to go to Granny first.
“You’re part werewolf, remember? They are well aware of your family’s lineage. The police force couldn’t care less about us. Unless the Human Liaison is hurt.”
“So Hunters can just kill dozens of werewolves without any repercussion?”
“No. They’ll still pay attention to mass murder. We just haven’t been able to prove that the people killed and placed in that clearing were killed by Hunters. The police think it’s a few rouge werewolves.”
“I can vouch. Jack told me everything. If they don’t listen to me, I’ll threaten to leak a story.”
Cameron nods. “That’s what I’m hoping. We’ll check on Granny in the morning, and then visit Sergeant Brick. Threaten him to treat the murders seriously, or you’ll exploit the corruption.
“I’ll need more evidence, though.”
Silence passes between us before the idea pops into my head. “I’ll need to record Jack’s confession. If he revealed everything before, he’ll do it again.”
“No.”
“But Cameron…”
“No! I’m not leaving you with that psychopath again!” His voice raises, and the veins in his neck bulge.
I grab his arm, letting him feel my power as my grip tightens. “I don’t need protecting. Once I regain my strength, I can protect myself.” I say it to convince myself as much as him. He’s overpowered me once, but now I know a fraction more about my capabilities. I just need a full night’s rest, and I could beat him.
He sighs, reaching for me. I allow him to pull me close and lie down next to him. “I know, but there has to be a better way.”
“I’m listening.”
