The Reluctant Alpha (West Coast Wolves #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,75

and bit into the wolf’s stomach, jerking his head. Taking a long roping piece of intestine with him, he eviscerated the other wolf. After the brown wolf fell, Matt went in for another strike. The dying wolf had enough blood pumping through him to change forms. When they finally stopped shifting, I was glad three of them remained in fur form. The one Lucian had taken out reverted to human—the arrogant blond man who had brought them here.

A wave of protectiveness and love swept through our now-open bond. His attention only on me, Matt left the bodies where they'd fallen. The other guys stayed by the SUV, keeping watch over the remains until something could be done. I kissed the top of Noah's head and whispered softly, "We're safe now. Matt and the guys took care of everything." I gently guided him to Saul and struggled to my feet. The delta protecting me barely had time to get out of the way before Matt was at my side, helping me the rest of the way up and pulling me into his arms. So relieved everything was okay now, I burst into tears.

When I was able to speak, I thumped a fist against his shoulder. "Either quit blocking me or teach me to do it. I have to remember to make you tell me your trick."

His strong hand gripped my chin and tilted my face back so he could smother my mouth with hungry, possessive kisses. I didn't care about standing in the middle of the pack potluck with my naked, filth-covered alpha kissing the heck out of me right in front of my brothers. Matt and everyone else I loved was safe. Once again, my alpha had saved us all.

Matt broke the kiss almost reluctantly, barely pulling away enough to rub his nose against mine as he pressed our foreheads together. When he spoke, processing what he was saying took several seconds. "Reach for our bond like the living thing it is. Make a picture in your mind to represent it. I use a ribbon of water for mine. Then imagine a brick wall stopping its flow."

I immediately tried it, and it worked. Matt barely had time to react before I imagined the brick wall blowing to smithereens. He leaned his head back with a questioning look. "You had it. I see your point now because I didn't like it, but why did you drop the wall so fast?"

"Because I was lonely on the other side. I don't like not being able to sense you, even if the block is under my own control." Looking like he wanted to melt, he jerked me into another deep kiss. He finally let me go so he could make sure the boys were okay.

Matt held a hand out to give Noah a high-five. "Thanks for keeping an eye on your brothers while I took out the trash. I knew I could count on you, little man. How about I save our hugs for later after I’m showered and dressed?" When Noah giggled, Matt smiled and turned his concerned gaze to Saul. "What about you, big man? Everything okay, or do you want to hug it out?"

Matt’s little bit of levity was all Saul needed. His tight expression of fear and worry relaxed into an eye roll and a smirk. "No thanks. I'll pass on hugging the dirty naked dude. Talk to me after you've showered. Hopefully with bleach. You should probably use a whole tube of toothpaste while you're at it. I hate to break it to you, but you got some stanky breath going on. Eli must really love you if he kissed your mouth right now."

I closed my eyes and looked up at the sky, letting the sunlight wash over me and fill me with peace. When Jared spoke, I opened them again.

"Good job out there, Alpha. I took the liberty of contacting the territory chief. As it happens, he was having lunch with the Riverside Alpha. He's on his way now. He promised it wouldn't be long."

While I sat back down and pulled up a chair to rest my feet on, Matt released the deltas and took a few minutes to reassure the pack. Brenda made my day, setting a glass of lemonade and a big fudge brownie in front of me. I looked her in the eye and spoke straight from the heart. "I hate to break it to you, but I think I'm in love with you now.