“Half the murders that have happened in the south of the city can be traced back to Dax,” Mack said, his voice perfectly flat. “Human police and shifter both have been trying to get a lead on him. Shifter biker gangs have a kill on sight order, but none of them have been able to achieve it. No one.” He moved closer. “No one gets near my brother, not unless he wants them to. That’s why I never wanted to find you, Harper.”
I’d never heard Mack’s voice break like this, watched his mask slip and shatter on the ground.
“When I formed a pack with the guys, I thought that would be the moment Dax struck.” I glanced back at the others forconfirmation, and their grim expressions said everything. “He turned up one day at a job site.” Mack’s fingers flexed. “Laughed when I nearly dropped a load of bricks on my feet. There’s a reason why Kieran’s dads hate the fact that I joined their son’s pack. I put a target on his back, Dax made that clear, but one he wouldn’t take aim at until I found… until I found my mate. In Dax’s twisted mind, I took Dad’s mate from him, so I needed to pay with the death of my own.”
I didn’t realise I’d taken several steps backwards, it only registering when Tor’s hands landed on my arms, stopping me from colliding with him. The feel of his thumbs brushing small circles was barely perceived as Mack continued.
“But he won’t get you.” The wolf was pushing Mack hard. His lips peeled back to reveal fangs, his eyes turning paler yellow. “He won’t. Dax wants to end this? I’ll end him.” I flinched as he picked up his rifle. “I’ll fucking kill him before he gets within ten feet of you, Harper.”
“C’mon.” Tor tried to turn me around, direct me back towards the room with the massive bed, but I wouldn’t be moved.
“What about what I want?” I asked, staring at Mack. He frowned slightly, obviously not getting it. “You’ve been all noble, holding me at arm’s length, denying that I was your fated mate, then rescuing me from my terrible date and going down on me, but…” I shook my head. “What if this isn’t what I want?” I couldn’t seem to take all of him in. It was just glances at his hands, his rifle, his eyes, before settling on his mouth. “You guys have fought so hard to make clear what this whole mate bond thing is and now...” My throat threatened to close up. “Now you’re telling me I’m going to lose one of you to some dickhead with a death wish?”
“Harper…” I didn’t catch him setting the gun down. One minute Mack was there and in the next he was close, bringingmy head closer so our foreheads touched. “I wanted to save you from all of this. I really did, but… life doesn’t always give you a choice.” When his hand went to the back of my neck, my eyes closed. “But I will protect you until I take my dying breath, beautiful, that you can be sure of.”
“Is he coming tonight?”
My voice was small, like that of a child’s, not a grown woman’s.
“I don’t?—”
“Is he?”
“I don’t think so. Dax likes to play games. Letting me simmer all night, waiting for something that never happens is more his M.O.”
“Then you’re coming with us.”
Mack could’ve resisted me. His wolf strength would’ve stopped him from moving even an inch, but when I grabbed his shirt, he stumbled after me. All four of us moved down the hall, towards that massive room.
“Who does this belong to?” I asked as we stood in the doorway. “Unless the three of you sleep in a big puppy pile as a team bonding exercise, I’m thinking it doesn’t belong to one of you.”
“It’s the room we built for our mate,” Kieran said, lifting my hair back from my neck, then placing a kiss there. “Mack didn’t want us to build it, but?—”
“We did.” Tor stared into my eyes. “For you, Harper. We built this room for you.”
It was all too much to take in. Mack’s terrible history versus a manifestation of the pack’s dream of the future. As I hovered on the threshold, it felt like I needed to choose one reality or the other. I took a step backwards, the plush carpet of the room swallowing my footfall.
“And what did you dream would happen when I stepped inside?” I asked, watching their eyes track my every movement.
“Heaven,” was Tor’s answer.
“Completion,” was Kieran’s.
“Mack?”
I cocked an eyebrow as one hand went to my hip, the challenge clear. The muscle in his jaw ticced and then with a growl, he stepped inside.
“Everything,” he said, picking me up and then throwing me on the bed. “Everything I tried so fucking hard to not think about but couldn’t stop playing out in my head the moment I saw you.”
Chapter 32
Mack
There was a reason why I steered clear of Harper.
When she stepped back into the room, that damn smile of hers, full of mischief, was right there, challenging me to take another step. So I did. Closer to her, even though every instinct told me this was a mistake. No, not every instinct. The wolf, he was the one moving my feet, bringing me closer until the backs of her legs hit the edge of the bed. His claws, my hand, reached up, hovering for just a second as we fought a war. I wanted it wrapped around the barrel of my rifle, and he…
He wanted her.
