Deacon - Nicholas Bella Page 0,39
nodded and once I felt I’d regained my strength, I rose to my feet with his help. His beautiful wife, Agnes, jogged over to us, smiling. I cared a great deal for her. She had pretty much taken me under her wing, treating me with the kind of compassion a mother shows to a child. Her brown eyes were so warm as she looked at her husband and me, then she reached out, caressing my cheek.
“See, I told you it would be fun,” she said.
I laughed. “After the pain, yes, it was fun.”
“And I see you met a new friend.”
I smiled. “I did, and it was amazing.”
“Why do you think wolves love to fuck?” Royce asked, then patted me on the shoulder before stepping closer to his wife, wrapping her in his arms. “I’m sure I’ll plant my seed in this one soon.”
“Oh, Royce, you cad,” Agnes yelped before sharing a passionate kiss with her husband.
He slapped her bared arse when he broke the kiss. “Let us go back home. I do have work to attend to this morning.”
She nodded, then trotted off to retrieve their clothes. Meanwhile, I walked back with Royce to where I’d taken off my own clothes. “Can I stay with you until I get my own home?” I asked.
He nodded. “For a time, but as Capo, you will need your own home, your own post.”
“I want that, perhaps I will rebuild the cottage.”
Royce cocked an eyebrow. “That will take time.”
“Faster if wolves do it, right?”
He laughed. “Correct. Are you sure you want to live there?”
I nodded. “I like the seclusion, yet it is not too far away from the district I have to protect.”
“It is an hour’s ride by horseback, less if you travel as wolf. I think my father will approve.”
“Good. I will begin making arrangements today.”
The one good thing Winston ever did for me was give me the land the cottage had been built on. I should have already rebuilt, but truth was, I was uncertain if I wanted to live on the same property that held so many bad memories for me. It wasn’t until I was hunting in the forest did I come to the mind that I wanted my own private forest to run free on. The home I would build for myself would have all the luxury I felt I was entitled to. And as a Capo, I wouldn’t have to pay wolves as much as I would have to pay humans, because they would have to follow my orders with some compensation.
I was ready to begin my new life and along with it, all the perks.
CHAPTER TEN
The Silver Lining
I had been a wolf for over fifty years, and now that I was officially pack, I got a chance to meet more wolves. To go to gatherings where the inner workings of the pack was discussed and I’d been allowed to add my own input. I took none of it for granted. Another thing it allowed me to do was monitor those who were on my list to eliminate. I was targeting Angus now, for his offenses against me had been most egregious. I knew I had to take my time with these endeavors, for killing off pack members wasn’t a crime taken lightly. If I were to be discovered, I would be tried by the pack and no doubt, found guilty and savagely murdered.
That, I didn’t want, so one had to be patient in such matters of revenge, and I enjoyed playing the long game. For instance, I had discovered that dear Angus had developed a taste for pudding and often would visit Pudding Lane to a certain bakery there for his treat. Paying off the baker, Thomas Farynor, was easy enough. Making sure he kept quiet about my plan was another story. I had threatened his life if he dared to reveal what I was planning to anyone. One thing I had learned in all these years, especially when dealing with humans, was that many, if not all, were motivated by financial gain. A lesson Royce had taught me.
I gave him ten shillings to lace only the pudding Angus wanted with a mixture of yellow and blue wolfsbane. Upon doing so, I would give him another ten shillings. He had promised to do so, and I was depending on his greed to carry it through. This was the night and the right time for it. I had made certain that my scent wasn’t in the area, and