Tunderstand.”
“Even if you find more witches, they’re trained to fight. We will be slaughtered on the battlefield. And you can force me to fight your battles, but trefuse to drag any other witches into it.”
“Anyone can be taught how to fight” explain. “I’ve trained in combat tactics since I was a child. No one is unteachable with time and patience”
twatch as Willow’s gaze sharpens and she pulls her hand away.” You’re an Alpha. Why don’t you recruit the shifter packs to help with this war
“Kane hasn’t asked for my help with recruiting the shifter packs. This is his war, not ours. I’m not sure he wants us to fight with
“Your people have the numbers and the resources to help,” Willow points out “Maybe you should start looking at home for what you need.”
She has a point I need to talk to Kane about it. Certain that she’s all right to be left alone, I tell her goodbye and step over the mess by the door to take my leave
Sometime later, I walk into the room I share with Kane to find him there. “We should ask Moonraker pack and our few remaining allies to help with the war”
“No,” he says. “I don’t want to drag you into this. Your pack has barely recovered from the last war
I narrow my eves at him He’s being stubborn as a mule. “What did
S
I tell you about leaning on me? You need our help, and I want to provide it.”
“You’re directly involving yourself in this now. It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m perfectly aware of the danger, Kane.”
“It’s not that I haven’t thought of this before, but I rejected the idea. This is a war the shifters are not at of. You are not a part of
this.”
“Like hell I’m not. The man I love is at war. It definitely involves me. I will raise the banners myself if I have to.”
He snorts and looks away.
I take his hands in mine, squeezing reassuringly. The coolness of his palms is a familiar comfort. “It’s because of me your allies turned against you. They couldn’t accept that you fell in love and are having a child with a wolf shifter. I can’t just stand by and not do anything when I could help fix things.”
“The prejudice of the royals is not your fault. I would rather have no allies than have those that would look down upon you,” he declares, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me closer. “I am not ashamed of what you are. I’m not ashamed of our child. I have made my choices
I melt a little under his adoring gaze. Is there a woman alive that can resist him when he is like this? He looks at me like I’m the center of his universe. It is intense, and I feel my body beginning to ache for him
I manage to take a deep breath and retum to reality. That’s all very romantic, Kane. But we still have to be pragmatic about this.
There’s no winning a war without allies. Bernard learned that the hard way, and look where he ended up.”
Ewill be damned before Kane ends up imprisoned in someone’s dungeon or worse. I don’t even want to think about the worst
alternative.
“I’m not going to be the most popular with the Alphas of the packs Bernard went to war with,” he reminds me, “Even the most tolerant of Alphas are still wary of vampires, and they have good reason to be”
“You won’t have to win them over,” reply. “I’ll do that. I’ll hold at meeting with all the Alphas that I know and talk them into helping
us.”
His dark eyebrows furrow. “What would you say to persuade them. to make an alliance with me? Most of them won’t even come near
Crimson Peak, for obvious reasons.”
“You leave that up to me,” I reply. “I can be persuasive when I want. to be. With the assistance of the wolf shifter packs, you’ll have the warriors and resources that you need.”
His blue eyes stare at me like he can’t believe I exist. “What did I do to deserve you?”
Wanting to lighten the mood, I joke, “Well, I volunteered to be your personal feeder, but you had other ideas. Now we’re in love and having a baby. It’s funny how life works out.”
He chuckles. “I couldn’t look away from you. You were terrified, but you were so brave and selfless. You loved that little girl enough to sacrifice yourself. I was smitten almost immediately.”
“Smitten?” 1 repeat the old fashioned word with a smile didn’t know you were smitten with me
“Besotted, charmed, completely whipped,” he adds with a smile of his own “You know I adore you.”
“know. I just never get tired of hear
you say it.”
1 run a hand through his dark hair and pull him down for a k*ss. If has been some time since we had sex. Dr. Martin hasn’t forbidden us from being intimate, but I’ve been scared and prioritize being
careful.
Kane has been so patient with me. He has never pushed or complained. He’s waited tirelessly, and it makes me desire him
more.
It’s hard to remove a shirt I can’t see so I stop k*ssing him and work on getting him naked. I struggle with the buttons, and Kane takes over, quickly peeling it off and throwing it on the floor. I run my hands over his alabaster skin, humming in delight. He reaches behind me to unzip my dress.
My bra comes off with a practiced flick of his wrist. I raise my eyebrows at him in surprise. “Where’d you learn that?”
If he could blush, his face would be red. “Let’s not talk about my past.”
“Just how many bras have you-”
He cuts me off with a k*ss, distracting me with his tongue in my mouth and his hands pulling my dress down. The green silk falls to the floor and Kane lifts me up, guiding my legs to wrap around his waist. He carries me like I weigh nothing and gently drops me
819
-25 BONUS
down onto the bed.
For a moment, he hovers over me, blue gaze sweeping over me like a caress. I resist the urge to cover myself and hide. My nipples pucker from anticipation, wanting to be touched. After what feels like an eternity, Kane finally k*sses me again. He pushes inside of me, and I moan in pleasure.
He’s being careful, taking his time, moving with restraint. I know it’s because of the baby, but I feel myself approaching the edge and urge him on a little, wishing he’d drive a little harder.
When I tug his perfectly sculpted ass, he lets out a little chuckle and increases the speed. His cock feels so good, stretching me in all the right places. I tip my head back and let the waves of ecstasy wash over me again and again until he grunts and joins me.
Breathlessly, I lift my heat to meet his eyes. “We are always better when we work together,” I tell him.
“How can I argue with that?”
