The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,13

wrongful mark forever with my own. As my teeth pierced his flesh, Elisha gasped, his back stiffening and his head dropping forward as if welcoming my bite.

My balls clenched, and my seed shot inside his tight, welcoming heat. A sharp pain arced through my sinuses as the aconite flowed from the pinpoint-sized holes at the tips of my laniary fangs. While my body was motionless and stiff as Elisha's, my wolf delivered the poison, not merely saving his life but tethering it to mine.

Now, in this moment, I was finally okay with the idea. The bond settled between us, forming an unseverable connection. Even if I would never be able to understand why biology had provided us with this lover's poison, my possessive wolf was proud we had claimed Elisha.

But that wasn't why I was okay with it.

No. The softly whispered words, spoken in a raspy voice filled with wonder, settled my remaining concerns. "Mate. You… came. You saved me."

Carefully, I retracted my teeth, first licking the wound to hasten healing before pressing a gentle kiss to the bite mark. My biceps were relieved when I relaxed my tight grip and gently hugged him as I murmured in his ear.

"Yes. I will always come when you need me. You’re mine now, just as I am yours. Don't worry, little wolf. You're safe now. I will take care of you. Always."

He flinched when my hand settled over his baby bump. Gently stroking his belly, I murmured in his ear. "Have no fear. You don't know me yet, but I'm a different kind of alpha. Your pup is as much mine now as you are, Elisha. I will treasure both of you the way you deserve."

Relaxing, Elisha leaned back, tilting his face to gaze at me through drowsy eyes. And what a beautiful shade of green they were. So that's what color your eyes are… Like the fuzzy moss I'd seen on trees so deep in the forest the air stayed cool and damp.

Funny, I never would've thought such a hue would be so amazing. Somehow, it was completely different—and so much lovelier—in those beautiful eyes than on the grizzled trunk of an ancient tree.

We stared at each other for a long moment, so poignant my eyes stung with tears before we both slowly began to smile.

Four

Elisha

For the first time in recent memory, nothing hurt as I slowly came awake. Even the bed wasn't making my skin itch and burn. In fact, it felt like I was sleeping on a cloud. A soft cloud, lovingly cradling my body. The only possible conclusion: I was dead. Heaven probably had soft beds, right?

At the idea of a heavenly cloud bed, a giggle rose from my throat. I stopped cold, picking up on a sound which normally filled me with dread—another body was breathing beside me. Someone was here. Pulse quickening, I realized the danger of Horace thinking I might be happy.

He would be positive I was cheating on him. Or stealing. Or plotting with my father. Or any of the other things he always accused me of doing.

Except.

Wait.

Horace was dead! Hadn't I felt it myself when our bond was suddenly severed? And then I’d gotten sick… too sick. Shoot. Then came the pain and the whole dying and everything. The last thing I remembered was my wolf urging me to hold on.

No. Wait… my wolf wasn't the last thing. The pounding in my heart slowed, but my pulse remained quick as I recalled more. Oh. Oh, yes. My fantastic dream with a lover so strong and caring, it was almost impossible to imagine how my brain had ever conjured something so unreal.

Maybe I was dead, and my dream lover was actually a sex angel. Were sex angels a thing? If not, they should have been. Should I open my eyes and offer to polish his halo?

Okay, I definitely wasn't dead if I was making awful sex puns. Although polishing his halo wasn't the worst euphemism I could've come up with, just saying. Maybe I was still dreaming?

If the fever dreams had morphed from scary things climbing out of my closet into sex angels and dream lovers, I wasn't altogether sure dying from aconite poisoning was a bad way to go.

Being so clear-minded sucked, though. If I was about to float away and spend my eternity lying in a cloud bed with a sex angel, then thinking was the last thing I wanted to be doing. Maybe the goddess took reviews. I would make a