Read Wolf's Oath (After the Crash 3.25) for Free Online Page B

weddings at the same time.”
    She pulled her hands away. “Don’t take this wrong, but why do we have to get married? Can’t you just stay here for the first few months as a favor? As soon as the restaurant starts making money, we can pay you.”
    Give up his chance to have his mate? There wasn’t enough money in the world for that. “No. I’m too selfish. I’ve wanted you from the moment I first saw you in the healing lodge in the Clan camp.” He dared to touch a finger to the pale hair hanging over her ear. “I’ve never felt my wolf so clearly. He chose you before I was even through the door flap. I saw you, so still under the blanket, barely breathing. Your face was as white as death, and your ankle was encased in the leather cast, and I wanted to tear the world apart to ease your pain. You were so beautiful, and it killed me to not be able to help you.”
    Her eyes were icy blue, gazing into his. The connection between them reached into his heart and yanked. Did she feel it too? Her eyes widened. “Really”
    Her lips were so pink, so close. “Yes,” he whispered, bending his head to touch her mouth with his.
    She swiftly turned her head aside and stepped back. The slight hiss of pain when she stumbled shoved the missed kiss out of his mind. “Your ankle hurts. Sit down,” he ordered.
    She drew herself up straight. “Sure, I’ll sit down. I’ll do it because my ankle hurts, but not because you’re throwing around orders like a newly-commissioned officer.” She jabbed a finger at his chest before settling on the bed. “We need to work out the chain of command. I can take orders, but I can give them too. If you expect me to be a meek little housewife who waits on you hand and foot, you’re in for a surprise.”
    His wolf howled approval of his mate. She was strong and beautiful while she stood her ground and demanded his respect. “You’re my mate, not a meek little housewife. I don’t expect that.”
    She studied him from her perch on the edge of the bed. “Good.”
    “We’ll have three packs now.” The thrill of knowing the Clan was growing made him smile. “The Clan, Taye’s Pack, and now our Pack. I’m Alpha and you will be my Lupa.” He would need to recruit more wolves to be part of his pack. With so many females, they would require plenty of wolf warriors to protect them. He glanced down at his mate and saw the shadows worry and weariness put in her eyes. “We can work out the details later. You look tired. Lie down.”
    Instead, she stood up, narrowed eyes staring straight at him. “That’s another thing. No sex. I don’t have to be head over heels in love, but I have to feel something for you before we have sex. I don’t know you well enough for that.”
    He nodded. As long as she belonged to him, he could wait for her to share her body with him. Something Taye had said to him once came back to him now. Some things shouldn’t be rushed. A mate was a precious gift. Forcing her into sex might bring momentary gratification, but it could take years to rebuild trust, and without trust, the relationship would fail. “Agreed.”
    She collapsed back onto the bed. “It’s been a hell of a day. I’m going to sack out. Are you headed back to Taye’s?” Her feathery brows, pale against the fading tan of her face, wrinkled. “Who will walk with me to the den?”
    “I will. I’ll stay here tonight and escort you to the den tomorrow myself.”
    “ Here , here? Or do you mean downstairs here?”
    “I’ll stay here.” He smelled her alarm and spoke quickly to sooth it. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
    “In the living room.” She made it a statement, not a question.
    “No, here. In front of your door.”
    She studied him from under frowning brows. “Whatever. I have to make a trip outside.”
    He followed her downstairs and across the yard to the outhouse, and stood guard while she did her business. He lifted his head to the star-spangled black sky, resisting his urge to howl