“I love you too,” I smile. I can feel my wolfs happiness within me. Talon leans down and brushes his nose across mine. I feel the tears falling from my eyes and I can’t stop them. This is real. Talon is touching me, my Talon is back.
His lips touch mine and he holds my face as his lips move against them. I breathe him in and my hands fist the bottom of his shirt. He pulls away from me and I watch as his tongue darts out, licking his bottom lip. His eyes find mine and he frowns.
“You’re crying? Why?” He looks away, then back at me as he runs his hand through his hair. “Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you? Am I moving too fast? I’ve been so cruel to you these past weeks, I’ve been a total dick. You don’t forgive me, do you?” He’s rambling on, so I reach out and place my hand on the back of his neck forcing his him to stop. His hair is tied up and I have full view of his handsome face.
I stand on my tiptoes and bring his lips back to mine. His arms wrap around my waist and he pulls me tightly against him. I taste his minty taste, breathe in his minty breath.
I pull my lips away and look him in the eye.
“I just missed you, Talon. I missed you so damn much.” He runs his nose along mine once more before wrapping his arms around me.
Loud banging and yelling from outside of the room has me pulling away. His body turns rigid and he grabs my hand, pulling me towards the bedroom door.
“Stay behind me, okay.” I nod, unsure of what the hell is happening outside.
As soon as we open the bedroom door, my father’s voice echoes. His roar has the wooden floors beneath my feet shaking.
“You think you can hide her from me?” He yells, pointing his finger at Tyler and Nixon.
“No Alpha, we didn’t mean-” Tyler says, looking down at the ground as a show respect.
“No, Tyler. That’s exactly what you four tried to do. As soon as she set foot on my territory I knew she was here. Don’t stand there and fucking lie to me! I think you and Talon are forgetting how you came to be in my pack, what the conditions of you staying here are.” I gasp at my father’s harsh words and he whips his head to look at me.
Talon tenses beside me, squeezing my hand.
“Angel,” he says breathlessly. His shoulders are slumped and only now do I notice how terrible he looks. He has dark circles under his eyes and he too hasn’t shaven, but the tension in his body eases as he looks me in the eye.
“Johnny,” I say, watching as he winces at my words. I haven’t forgotten the last words he said to me before I left. I just hope he’s changed his mind about a marriage to Caspian. I’m still hurt and angry at how he treated me, so when he rushes up to me and holds me against him, I stand there frozen unable to hold him like I usually would.
“Honey.” He pulls away from me and I take a step back. He looks down at me and I watch as his eyes take in my injuries, starting with my bruised nose. A low growl rumbles as he looks at my jaw, and when his eyes take in my bandaged palms, his shoulders tense and he raises his head to look at Talon.
“Who did this to her?” he asks them.
Talon pulls me against his side and kisses the side of my head.
“Alpha Johnny, we have it under control. We have wolves searching-” Talon tries to speak, but Johnny interrupts him as well.
“A name. Give me a name and a territory. NOW!” I cower and hide my face in Talon’s chest.
“Drake. His name is Drake and he’s from Point Bright. They found her in Point Bright,” Nixon blurts out.
“Nixon!” I scold.
“He belongs to the Black Valley Pack?” My father growls, looking down at me.
The authority he holds as Alpha thickens in the air, I have no other choice but to answer him.
“Yes.”
“His Alpha know about it?” He asks, looking around the room. I don’t get a chance to answer before Tyler opens his mouth.
“The Alpha knows, Drake is the Beta of his pack. This is the same bastard who hurt Angel and the Alpha knew about that time too. Seems the Alpha hasn’t got the balls to punish his Beta,” Tyler continues.
“Tyler! Stop,” I shout. He’s just going to make my father angrier. I know what he’s doing, he’s trying to get my father to direct his current anger on someone else and not him and his brother.
“No, I won’t stop, Angel! You need to stop defending him! That is not our pack and he allowed his Beta to harm you, they both deserve punishment for what they’ve done.” Tyler takes a step forward, away from Kate’s side.
“Drake,” Johnny spits the name. “The piece of shit that hurt you, his name is Drake? He’s the Beta of the Black Valley Pack and his Alpha knew all about it and didn’t punish him. Is that right?” My father trembles on the spot; I can sense the fury coming from where he stands.