Loyal Wolf (27 page)

At his silence, she added, “You were always rumored to be the most ruthless wolf the pack had ever seen. Jeremy told us you tore the male who attacked Elise into pieces. That's the kind of man we need.”

For a moment, he was surprised that Jeremy knew what had happened, since his father had purposefully kept the Runners ignorant of Elise's attack. The only reason Carla had known was because Eli had told her. She wouldn't have been able to share that confidence with any of her fellow Bloodrunners without giving away their secret relationship, but that didn't mean that the truth hadn't eventually been leaked by someone else. For all he knew, Elise herself had been the one to finally share the horrific story. Or perhaps Eric, since he was now one of them.

Not that it mattered. Regardless of how Jeremy had learned what he'd done, what she'd said was true. Eli
had
ripped that bastard to pieces, and he didn't regret it. But it bothered him that Carla might think of him as some kind of monster, and he couldn't stop himself from asking her if that's what she'd meant.

“Are you calling me a monster?”

“No.” She slowly arched her brows. “I'd only use that term if I was talking about your personality.”

He let that slide, knowing she was willing to say anything to make the canyon between them even deeper.

“So how did you find me?”

She shifted a little uncomfortably in the chair, but she didn't refuse to explain. “It was like the thing with the Whiteclaw jolted me out of a fog, and I suddenly knew that it would work. That if I wanted to, I'd be able to pinpoint your location. So instead of making my way back home with the others, I stole a car. Grabbed a map from the glove box. Called Wyatt and told him I was coming after you.”

Staring at her beautiful face, Eli felt a confusing wave of emotion sweep through him, piercing and sharp. He'd heard that in times of danger, a bonded mate could use the connection that created the bond to locate their other half. And if the distance was too great, they could use a map to help feel the “pull” that would take them in the right direction. From the sound of it, it'd taken Carla several weeks to find him, which seemed longer than he would have expected. But, then, their bond wasn't complete, which meant it probably didn't pull as strongly as others.

He refused to acknowledge how much that little fact irritated him. He hadn't had any right forming a bond with her in the first place, much less to be angry that it wasn't as powerful as it should have been.

“You need to come back,” she said, the quiet words breaking into his thoughts. “Your pack needs you, and Elise and Eric need you.”

“And what about you? Do
you
need me?”

She didn't try to shy away from the question. Looking him right in the eye, she said, “Like I need a hole in the head.”

There were so many things that he wanted to say to that. The anger that had initially risen up in the face of her own rage was fading, replaced by a raw, intense knot of regret that was making him break out in a sweat. “We have a lot we need to talk about, Rey.”

“Like hell we do. All I need is your ass on that mountaintop, ready to do battle, and not a damn thing more.”

Eli gave a frustrated shake of his head. “You really think we can fight together and not talk about the elephant here in the room with us?”

“That's exactly what I think, because I have a few conditions before I agree to
let
you come home.”

“You came here for me,” he pointed out, scowling as he picked up on one of his guys snickering under their breath. It sounded like Sam, and he knew the jackass was enjoying hearing him get his ass handed to him by a woman. “What do you want, Reyes?”

Voice little more than a whisper, she kept her gaze locked on his, and said, “I want the bond broken.”

His muscles pulled so tight he was surprised he didn't shatter, a feeling of dread coiling through his insides that felt remarkably similar to fear. “It can't be done.”

“It
can
.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Come home with me, Eli. Fight for your pack. And when the blood clears, you and I can erase what never should have happened in the first place.” She leaned forward in her chair, her eyes bright. “We can finally end this nightmare, once and for all.”

“You really think you can do it?” he scoffed. “Break an unbreakable bond?”

“Yes.” She gave him a slow, determined smile. “I plan on breaking the hell out of it.”

Copyright © 2014 by Tabitha Bird

IMPRINT: Nocturne eBooks, Digital Exclusives

ISBN: 9781488719844

TITLE: LOYAL WOLF

First Australian Publication 2014

Copyright © 2014 Linda O. Johnston

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Mills & Boon
^®
, Level 4, 132 Arthur Street, North Sydney, N.S.W., Australia 2060.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

^®
and ™ are trademarks owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its corporate affiliates and used by others under licence. Trademarks marked with an
^®
are registered in Australia and in other countries. Contact [email protected] for details.

www.millsandboon.com.au