“Payne!” Lena’s voice cut through to me as I slammed back into myself.

She was still in my arms, blinking wide. Cupping my face in her hands, she leaned up and kissed me.

“We’ve got to move!” Luke shouted.

The wolves were everywhere. Able’s Pack stood shoulder to shoulder, hundreds of them forming an unbroken chain along the highway. The Wild Lake wolves poured out of the woods. They were outnumbered at least five to one.

I helped Lena to her feet. She was wobbly still, but her eyes lit with cold fire as she stared up at me. “They’re not afraid to die,” she said. “Every one of them. That’s what they’re here for.”

I caught Derek’s eye. “This isn’t your fight,” I said.

“The hell it’s not,” he said. “He won’t stop. You know it. I know it. You with us?”

His question held a deeper meaning. He wasn’t asking whether I would fight alongside him. He was asking whether Able’s pull still held me.

“I’m with her,” I said. Lena leaned against me, staring up at me with her dark eyes. The scar on her cheek seemed to fade just a little. If I closed my eyes, I could see the matching wound I’d made on Able’s. If only I’d been able to tear his head from his shoulders along with it.

One plaintive howl rose above the other. It shot down my spine like a thousand knives.

“Payne!” Lena shouted, squeezing me tighter. “Don’t you dare go anywhere.”

I could have said the same thing to her. I knew something she didn’t. I was stronger than Able was, but only at her side. I felt him testing the corners of my mind. But, it was over. His hold on me shattered. His hold on Lena was something else again.

“He’s moving off!” Alec shouted. He’d gone to the front of the line, leading the members of his pack. Though Able’s wolves stood their ground, Alec was right. I saw two red dots fading in the distance as Able retreated.

“He’s hurt,” Lena said. “Badly. They’re not here to fight. They’re here to make sure you don’t follow so he can get away.”

“Dammit,” Derek said. He paced behind the line of Wild Lake wolves. “If we can get to him now, when he’s weak...we can slit that fucker’s throat.”

“I told you,” I said. I put a hand out and grabbed Derek’s arm, stopping him. “This is not your fight. And you won’t win it today anyway. There are too many of them. This isn’t the way. Able’s planned for this for years.”

“He’s right,” Pat moved out from behind Luke. She put a steadying hand on his head. “Able’s always been ready for a head to head fight with any pack ready to pick up the challenge. He’s got the numbers. This is what he’s always wanted. We have to trust Payne. Let him finish what he and his friends down in Mammoth Forest started. My offer still stands though.” She turned to me.

“I know,” Lena said, smiling. She left my arms and went into Pat’s. “I know. This isn’t goodbye. I promise.”

Pat hugged her close. “You bet your ass it’s not. You take care of this girl. You hear me?” Pat leveled a hard stare at me. “As far as I’m concerned, Lena’s one of mine.”

I couldn’t help but smile. As much as it tore me apart, I knew I should send her back. Lena’s best chance was to stay tucked away at Wild Lake. Even as I thought it, the Pack wolves began to retreat.

“Come on,” Pat said, pulling away from Lena. “We’ve got a plane to catch.”

Lena wiped away a tear from her cheek. “No. You have a plane to catch. I’m not going back.”

Alec and Derek turned to face me. “You can come back with her,” Derek said. “It took a hell of a lot of strength to throw that asshole out of your head. You’re free of him now, aren’t you? I can tell.”

I gave him a slow nod. Lena’s tears fell freely now. “I am. But, I’m not done. We need those weapons in Mammoth Forest if we have a glimmer of a shot at winning this thing. You’ve given us a fighting chance. I won’t forget that. The wolves of Mammoth Forest won’t either. I’ll make sure of it.”

Derek reached out and shook my hand. His wolf eyes glimmered. He trained them on Lena. “You’re sure about this?”

She straightened her back. “More sure than I’ve ever been about anything in my life. But, it’s not safe for you down here. Once Able’s gotten far enough away, he might send those wolves back. You shouldn’t be here when he does. I think it’s pretty clear he has no intention of honoring any treaty you might have had.”

“Let’s go,” Alec barked. “I don’t like being out in the open like this.” He whistled to two of his wolves. They came forward with a large duffel bag filled with the guns and ammo the Wild Lake packs agreed to give me. I took the pack and heaved it on my shoulder. It would be slower traveling with it, but the tunnel system wasn’t far. Once I got there, I knew I could make it.

I shook Alec’s hand.

“Thank you,” I said. “I really mean that.”

Alec signaled to his pack. They headed north and out of sight. Derek’s followed. That left just Pat, Luke, Alec, and Derek standing in the field.

“Lena,” I turned to her. “I’ll come back for you. Go with Pat. I promise I won’t shut you out this time.”

She smiled and touched my face. “I love you. Do you hear me? And I’m not leaving your side again. We’re stronger together. I think I just proved that.”

She was right though it tore my heart apart. Lena had given me the strength to push Able out of my head for good. I didn’t even want to think about what might have happened if she hadn’t been here.

So, I said my goodbyes to the Wild Lake wolves. Pat gave me a giant hug. She smelled clean and soft, like chocolate chip cookies. She was the fiercest grandma I’d ever known. Her tears spilled as she pulled away. “Be safe. Good luck. And you take that son of a bitch out, you hear me?”

Laughing, I gave her a salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

Pat squeezed Lena’s hand, then followed her across the field where the plane waited for them. When they were out of sight, I turned back to Lena. Full night had fallen. An eerie silence fell over the field. Every creature had scurried for cover when the wolves came out.

“Lena,” I said.

“Don’t.” She put up a hand. “It’s just you and me now. Don’t say a million things about how much safer I’d be without you. I don’t want to be safe. I want to be free.”

She took a step back, her eyes filled with fierce determination. The roar of the plane’s engine filled the air as it arched in the sky and carried the last of our new friends away. Lena cupped her hand over her eyes and waved. Then, her eyes glimmered like dark jewels as she looked back at me.

“Payne. Before we go back, I want you to set me free.”

My heart dropped out of me. My wolf stirred as desire ignited in my core. Lena came to me. She put a light hand on my cheek. Her touch seared me as it always did. My mate. My love.

“Lena, I won’t do it. I told you I’d never touch you unless…”

“Unless I wanted you to,” she said. “Well, I do. For years I’ve thought giving in to this meant giving something away. That might have been true when it was the Pack. But, it’s not true for you and me. I understand that now. I understand everything.”

She didn’t wait for me. There in the middle of that field, a quarter mile from the border, Lena lifted her shirt and cast it aside. She stepped out of her jeans and came to me. Lust thundered through me, making my knees weak.

It didn’t matter how close we’d come to losing everything. It didn’t matter that our biggest fight might yet be ahead of us. It only mattered that my Lena stood before me now, her eyes alight with hope.

When she slid her hand over my chest, I came undone. She knew how to wake the beast inside of me. She fumbled for the zipper on my jeans. I pulled her to me, lifted her off the ground. Her skin was warm, smooth, supple. The cool air hit her nipples, pebbling them for me. I took her back into the woods under cover of night.

We were alone. No Pack. No sound. Just us.

I set Lena on the ground gently. She lay on her back, her eyes sparkling as the moon lit them. She spread her legs wide. Her heat drew me in. She was open, wet, slick with desire for me.

She reached for me, going up on her knees. I cast my jeans aside. She slid her fingers around my thick shaft. My sensitive flesh ignited under her touch. I reared back and let out a growl. She put her mouth on me and I came apart. Threading my fingers through her hair, I pulled her down on me until I touched the back of her throat. Lena greedily took me in.

Lust coursed through me and I sank slowly to my knees. Lena followed me down all the way, sucking me hard she went on all fours. Seeing her like that kindled a wild passion inside me unlike anything I’d ever known. A moment ago, I had a thousand reasons for telling her to leave. Now, no power on this earth would have allowed me to let her go.

She sucked with abandon. Running her tongue along my shaft, swirling around the tip. Desire built in me. I was so full.

Then, she broke away. Her lips were swollen from her efforts. Lena’s breasts swung heavily as she stayed on all fours. She was wild, wanton. Her nature called out for something even more powerful than I’d given her before. For weeks, we’d both held back. Now, dark magic and instinct swirled all around us.

“Please,” she begged.

I felt my lips curl and a preternatural growl escaped from somewhere deep inside. Slowly, I rose. I walked around her, enjoying the view. Lena was beautiful. She arched her back and spread her legs even wider as she held her position on her hands and knees. Her breath came in sharp pants as she waited for me. I reached for her, sliding my fingers between her legs. “Oh, oh!” she cried as I found her slick and ready. I couldn’t help myself. My need to tease her just a little overpowered me. I worked my fingers along her slippery cleft, kneading her tiny little bud. She thrust her hips, straining to find deeper pleasure. Her sweet, round ass bucked as I drew her out.

I went to my knees behind her, barely able to keep my balance, My own need thundered through me.

“Payne!” she gasped. “Please!”

Oh, yes. I loved the sound of her begging. I leaned forward and ran a quick tongue along her folds. She cried out in shock then shuddered. I spread her lips apart with my fingers and kissed her most sensitive spot. Then, I gave her a gentle spank. Instinct drove her and she lowered her chin to the ground.

Oh, God. She angled her ass high, offering herself to me. It was perfect. Beautiful.

It was fate.

Stroking myself as I got into position, Lena’s hair fell to the side, exposing her neck. My vision tunneled and my wolf roared to the surface. A bomb could have gone off beside us and I wouldn’t have heard it. Nothing in the world would have stopped me from claiming her that night. Because, she’d already claimed me.

She was already gaping for me when I teased her opening with my tip. She thrust backward, so ready to receive it. Then, I plunged inside of her. She was warm and wet, stretching to take me in. I was home. Lena tethered me at the same time she set me free.

I came almost at once. The rising tide carried me to her. She pushed back, meeting me thrust for thrust. As my orgasm thundered through me, I felt her walls clench around me. I leaned far forward, sliding my hand over her taut stomach. I found her clit. She was hard and aching for me.

She called my name, over and over, matching the rhythm of my thrusts. It was pure. Powerful. Destiny.

As I spilled my seed deep inside of her, I felt Lena’s pleasure peak. She screamed it through the trees. There was no one to hear. She could let go. As I poured myself into her, the walls came down. I had pushed her away; I never would again. A new pulse rose inside of me, matching hers. My fangs dropped as Lena reached back and gathered her hair to the side.

“Payne,” she said again, pleading with me. There was no need. A power unlike anything I’d ever felt before rose inside me.

She was mine. I was hers. The ancient magic of my Alpha blood coursed through me. She offered me her flesh and I took it, biting her at last. She let out a little cry of pain, then it blossomed into deep ecstasy. I felt it right along with her.

I made my mark deep, washing away the one that had been left before. Lena was mine and I was hers. Nothing would ever come between us again.

As the magic of my mark went through us both, I felt something else slip away. Lena was free. Able Valent could never touch her again.