Carpathian 20 - Dark Slayer

being led by Ivory, they would always respect her and follow her, and she was now stepping aside in order to get the pack to follow his lead as well.
    It is not necessary. I do not mind the present order. I may end up planning our battles but you will be leading us. I will protect you with everything in me .

    She looked at him with soft eyes. “I mind. I want them to accept you as I have.―
    His stomach clenched in response, his groin thickening. But it was his heart that was most in danger. He drank her in as he offered his wrist to Raja, the rich beauty of her, not so much her physical body, but the light in her soul that shone over his.
    The silver alpha wolf looked at Ivory and then obediently trotted over to Razvan and accepted the first feeding as was his due. Razvan fed the big male, all the while keeping his gaze locked on Ivory.
    For so long he’d had nobody in his world, no one to send him warmth, to make him smile, to care whether he lived or died—and yet now there she was, sitting like some forest princess in the middle of her unusual wolf pack, willing to share her life with his, even if it was so he could aid her in destroying Xavier. He would take that—he’d take any reason at all, as long as she included him in her family.
    â€œYou are as essential to me as the air I breathe or the soil we rest in.― He wanted her to know that he would have chosen her no matter what their destiny had been. He wanted her to know that because of her, the sacrifices in his life had been more than worthwhile.
    She shot him a look from under her thick lashes. “You are my lifemate, my other half.―

    He smiled at her, refusing to feel a sting at her reminder. She didn’t have to feel the same way. “That is not what I am saying to you. I am not asking for anything in return, Ivory. I just felt it was important for you to know how I feel.―
    The alphas were finished feeding from Ivory now and the second pair took their place as the smallest ones fed on Razvan.
    He was beginning to get a little dizzy. Ivory hadn’t been kidding when she said they would wake up ravenous and would want to bond with the ritual blood.
    Ivory ducked her head and he saw her fingers curl deeper into Gynger’s thick pelt. The tip of her tongue moistened her bottom lip, drawing his immediate attention. He’d made her nervous again, and that endeared his fierce warrior to him all the more. She wasn’t the least bit comfortable talking about emotions. The wolves pressing close to her and winding around their mates seemed to give her the necessary impetus to answer him.
    Her chin came up and her eyes reluctantly met his briefly before her long lashes once again veiled them. “You mistake my meaning.―
    That was all he was going to get out of her, but it was enough for him. The slow burn that started in his belly mixed with the blaze of love in his heart, making for a potent combination. He savored the feeling of wanting her. He had never thought he would feel that for a woman. He abhorred the crimes his body had committed and never thought to feel the powerful draw between lifemates for himself, yet every moment in her company strengthened his emotions for her and the urgent needs of his body.
    He knew, deep inside, a beast had been awakened by this one woman. Only she could set that part of him free. Only she could tame that wild part of his nature. He watched her fingers move through the fur of the wolves and knew he wanted those same fingers stroking his skin. He had kissed her in their shared dream and he could taste her in his mouth, on his tongue, filling his senses with the wild rain of her, the scent and taste of a new storm washing the forest clean.
    Laughing, amazed that he was alive and with her, he reached for the change, let it take him, the wonderful wrenching of muscle and bone, the stretch of tendons and sinew as his body bent and changed, as his skin itched and then fur burst through, his own luxurious pelt of black and silver, the markings distinct. His muzzle was elongated, his mouth filled with teeth and the delicious sense of freedom. His paws were large and moved over the snow and ice easily as he circled around his mate, pushing playfully at her with his nose.

    The pack instantly pushed up against him, eager for the run, tails up and swishing as they nudged their noses against Ivory, wanting her to hurry.
    â€œOkay,