And she wouldn"t ask him to leave the wolves.
She held up her hands and realized they were stained with blood. Her own. Gabe"s. "Easy..."
The black wolf near her snarled.
Great. Just Drake leapt in front of her. He opened his mouth and howled his fury at the pack.
Paige shivered. She hadn"t been afraid when she faced off against Gabe and the vamps. She"d been too p.i.s.sed. But now, with the wolves circling, h.e.l.l, yes, she could admit to fear.
These wolves would love to rip and tear her apart. Once they found out the truth about what she"d done, the final secret that she"d kept from them...
They"d want her head, just as she"d wanted Gabe"s.
Drake was shifting back into the form of a man before her. The snap and crunch of his bones filled her ears.
But she didn"t wait around for him to finish shifting. Paige knew an exit time when she saw one. "Don"t worry," she told the wolvesjeez, it sure looked like they were about to rip her limb from limb. "I"m leaving."
She had friends waiting for her. Friends who"d helped her reach Alaska. Friends who"d be glad to welcome her back to the vampire world.
We"re not all monsters. She"d learned that. Some vampires were more than just predators. Just as the werewolves were more.
She kept her steps nice and slow. The wolves could probably smell her fear, but a running targetthat was prey they"d always instinctively chase. No sense giving them any more reason to want her blood.
"You"re not leaving me."
Drake"s voice. Guttural. Still more beast than man.
She froze. "The deal"s over." Not the conversation she wanted to have in front of a wolf pack. "Gabe"s dead." You"re safe.
He grabbed her hand. Pulled her close. She could smell the metallic scent of the silver hanging in the air. She"d come too close to losing him.
If he hadn"t taken her blood...
She swallowed. "Let me go." Dammit, the words were a plea. Because she knew he wanted her, just as much as she wanted him.
I"m addicted to her.
But sometimes, the things you wanted most were the things that would destroy you.
His head lowered toward hers. "I killed for you."
She"d wanted to kill for him. To protect him, she would have done anything.
I did.
"Do you know how your alpha died?" Paige asked him quietly. Maybe he knew some of the details already. There were spies in the vampire covens. For the right price, they"d share any information.
She"d sure offered up enough money over the years for the Intel they"d given her.
Drake frowned down at her. The wolves behind him still didn"t move.
"Your old alpha was fed poisoned vampire blood." Jeremiah had thought that he"d get stronger by taking the vampire blood. If he"d been given normal vamp blood, he would have become stronger.
But he"d been ingesting blood laced with silver for years. Poison, building up in his body. Eating away at him from the inside.
He"d lost his ability to shift. He"d lost his ability to walk. To talk. To breathe.
Because Gabe had always enjoyed his torture.
"I knew what was happening to him," she said. She"d known for a long time. Long enough to save him. Only she hadn"t wanted to save him. She"d wanted him to suffer. "I didn"t stop it because I wanted that b.a.s.t.a.r.d dead."
A wolf snarled from somewhere behind her.
Screw them all. She turned and bared her fangs right back at the snarling beast. The wolf shut up. Good. Paige exhaled on a low, rough sigh and turned back to meet Drake"s intense stare. "But when Jeremiah finally died, I-I knew Gabe would come after you." She shook her head. "But I wasn"t gonna let you die. I knew I"d do whatever I had to do...in order to keep you safe."
And she"d done her part. He"d survived.
"It wasn"t ever about me taking his head...to protect you," Drake muttered.
No, she hadn"t been the one who needed protection.
"You tricked me into taking your blood," Drake said as he towered over her. Eyes so intent. Body naked. Strong. His hand tightened around her wrist. "You got me to drink, so I"d be strong enough to kill the pureblood when he came after me." Because despite what Drake had originally thought, even an alpha wasn"t strong enough to take out a vamp like Gabenot Gabe and his silver wielding buddies. But an alpha pumped up on vamp blood? He could kick a.s.s and destroy any vamp in his path.
The wolves were shifting around them. Transforming into men and women and the snow was falling again.
She didn"t look at the dead body on the ground. And Michaelhe was groaning and struggling to his feet. Some of the shifters went to help him.
"Leave him," Drake ordered, voice tight with fury. "He worked with the vampires. He led them right to me."
The shifters froze.
"He"s banished from the pack," Drake said flatly. A judgment. Cold and brutal. "Leave him where the f.u.c.k he is." His head turned as he stared over at Michael. "You"re still breathing, so count yourself d.a.m.n lucky."
When Drake"s gaze came back to her, Paige forced herself to meet that hard stare. So much fury. How much was for her? For the vamp he"d killed? And for the traitor he"d had in his own midst?
"You lied to me," Drake said. The words were low and all the more lethal for their softness.
"From the beginning," Paige agreed, her own voice just as soft. But there was no reason for lies anymore. She"d done her job. She"d protected him.
They"d saved each other.
Now they could go their separate ways. He"d go back to his pack. She"d go back to the life she"d created in Florida.
So what if she went back without a heart? She"d been missing that particular organ for years.
Paige turned away. She had to get out of there. Her chest was burning. Aching. Looking at Drake just hurt too much. Her job was done.
Time to leave before he saw through her mask.
I want you. I want to stay.
Some things just weren"t meant to be.
But Paige didn"t run away. She walked. One foot in front of the other. Slow. Steady.
"Was everything a lie?"
She stopped. Didn"t look back. "Not everything." Then becauseh.e.l.l, what did she have to lose? Paige glanced back over her shoulder. "I really have always loved you." From the first moment she saw him. "And I always will."
Then she kept walking. Because sometimes, love just wasn"t enough.
Not when you were a vampire.
And not when the man you wanted more than blood was a werewolf.
Did Paige really think that she was just going to walk away? h.e.l.l, no.
Drake watched her as she left him. The snow drifted over her dark hair. Her steps were slow but certain.
Not running...just leaving him.
Right after she"d said she loved him? The woman was about to break him.
He inhaled deeply, drawing in her scent. He"d never lose her again.
Never.
"Get rid of the bodies." Easy enough in the wild. "Head back to the compound." Because the battle wasn"t over. Not for him.
His gaze swept around the a.s.sembled wolves. "Then if there is any one of you who wants to challenge me, take your best shot." He was ready for a fight with claws and teeth and blood and fury. "Because my mate is going to be with me, in my pack, by my side, for the rest of my life." Even if his life was shorter than hers.
He"d take what he could get.
Mate. That was what Paige was. She"d been his mate since she was nineteen.
She"d be his until he took his last breath.
Vampire, werewolfit didn"t matter. She was his.
He"d fight for her, just as she"d fought for him.
When the fight was over, he"d find her.
I"ll come after you, Paige.
Always.
Silence.
Drake stared at the group of shifters who"d a.s.sembled in the compound"s courtyard. No one spoke. No one moved.
They all stood before him. Waiting.
He wore a pair of jeans, hanging low on his hips, and his claws were out.
His gaze swept over them all. "Who"s first?" The wolf inside was already howling.
He"d fight to give Paige a place at his side because he d.a.m.n well wasn"t living without her.
No one stepped forward.
"Who"s first?"
They weren"t meeting his stare. The shifters backed up, showing submission.
All of them backed up...except for Heath. His first-in-command stepped forward.
First.
But Heath lifted his hands and no claws burst from his fingertips. "I have no quarrel with you or your mate."
Drake grabbed him. Lifted him into the air. "That"s not what you said before."
"Before..." Heath swallowed and shook his head. "Before I didn"t know what she"d risk for you."
Everything.
"We saw the blood. The bodies. We know what she did."
Fought. Saved him. Saved the pack.
Drake dropped the other shifter. Heath scrambled to his feet. "We"ll protect her, swear allegiance to her, just as we do to you."
There was a murmur of agreement from the shifters. Not silence, not anymore.
The murmur turned into a growing roar of approval. Determination.
"So go get your mate," Heath told him, voice fierce now. "Bring her into the pack. Bring her back where she belongs."
Drake"s bare feet sank into the snow as he rushed through the crowd. Paige"s sweet scent still filled his nose. He wasn"t losing her this time.
Not this time.
Drake ran after his mate, and as he ran, he knew exactly where he"d find her.