The Covert Wolf (32 page)
Authors: Bonnie Vanak
His kiss was warm, assuring and filled with searing heat. When he drew away, his eyes were very blue. Matt took her hands, his touch warm and comforting. Big hands, so sure and capable.
“We’ll learn, together. One day at a time. You belong with me. Not to me. You belong at my side, with me as my partner, my mate for life. I’ve lost the sense of being a wolf. I need you. I need you to show me the joys, the bonds, the good things again.”
He paused, his jaw working. “I forgot what it was like to truly be myself. Until I met you and you forced me to see what I truly am. I was afraid of commitment. Afraid of anything that would take away my identity as a SEAL. It meant more to me than my pack. Until you came along, and you meant more to me than anything else in my world. I’m resigning my commission in the navy and bringing you into my pack as my mate, if you’ll have me.”
Stunned, she could only stare. He smiled gently. “I love you. You mean more to me than being a SEAL. It’s time for me to return to being a wolf. Will you have me?”
“Yes.” She touched his mouth, deeply moved by the enormity of his sacrifice for her. The depth of his feelings for her. “On one condition.”
Matt looked puzzled.
“Don’t quit. When the time comes for you to stop being a SEAL, do it for yourself. Your choice, no one else’s. The world needs a brave warrior like you to protect it from evil. We’ll work it out. It won’t be easy, you being gone so much, but others have done it.”
She gave a sad little smile. “Adam’s mate did it. I bet that if you asked, she would tell you every moment was worth the gamble of losing him. Life’s a risk, and I’ve played it safe far too long. All my life I’ve sought to belong somewhere. And the only place I truly want to belong is here, with you, wherever you are.”
When he opened his mouth, she laid a finger over it. Then she kissed him, pouring all her emotions into the kiss. Her love for him. Her commitment to him. Sienna trailed tiny kisses over his face, his neck, and squeezed his hands, unwilling to let him go.
The truth suddenly materialized, as bright and shimmering as an Orb filled with magick. She’d finally found what she’d sought her whole life.
“Matt,” she whispered, her emotions brimming. “Ever since I touched the Orb as a child, I’ve longed for the light. The light would show the truth of my place in the world. But the greatest truth isn’t who I am or what group I belong to. It’s being able to connect to someone else, and cast aside the fear to give your heart to someone. The Fae had it wrong.”
He stroked her hair, his gaze tender. “The greatest power in the world isn’t found in a crystal ball. It’s found in our ability to love.”
They had found that love, thanks to a ball of light and truth that had brought them together. It was sealed in their hearts. And there, safe in their hearts, it would remain.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781459235205
Copyright © 2012 by Bonnie Vanak
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 Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
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.
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