“You can and you will.” He wasn’t going to let her “process” him later. “Look at me.” He cupped her jaw tight and repeated, “Look at me.” Finally those eyelids lifted; there was a whole lot of confusion there. “We have something. Something I have every intention of keeping. It makes me happy. I’m never happy.” He’d been passably content before, but not happy. The fact that she’d cheapened that and what was building between them by implying it was no more than sex pissed him off on too many levels to count. “Lie to me again and tell me all we do is fuck,” he dared, anger pulsing through every word. “Lie to me, baby, go ahead.”
Riley swallowed. On the outside she was composed. Inside she was fumbling. She’d never expected any kind of declaration from Tao. He was just too . . . well, Tao. Distrustful of others. Cynical about relationships. A guy who, even amid his pack, seemed to walk alone. She’d expected him to eventually get bored with her and, as much as it would have hurt, she’d been prepared for that. But this . . . she hadn’t been prepared for this.
Riley wasn’t good at handling being taken off guard. Right then, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t really have the right words to say to him—not even the words to apologize for hurting him by lying that this was just sex for her. So she did the next best thing and lowered her gaze.
Feeling the anger drain from him, Tao closed his eyes. She’d completely disarmed him and his wolf by submitting. It was no easy thing for a dominant female, and it was the last thing he’d expected her to do. Sliding his hands into her hair, Tao rubbed his cheek against hers, accepting the silent apology.
“Eyes back to mine,” he said. Her gaze returned to his, soft and confused. “I can see your mind is racing and you’re not quite sure if I’m really serious. I’m deadly serious. This is no fling, Riley. I’m not sure if it ever was. The situation is actually very simple. You’re mine now. I’m yours. This is exclusive. Permanent. And it’s what we both want, isn’t it?”
She hesitated. “If I said no?”
“You’d be lying and I’d ignore it, because the answer simply doesn’t work for me. You want this, don’t you?” After a moment she nodded, but it wasn’t enough for him. Tao tightened his hold on her hair. “Say it.”
Riley licked her lips. “Yes, I want it.”
“Good, because you’re mine, Riley. And I protect what belongs to me. We are leaving. Hear me out. Lucy and Sawyer were shot, punished. You weren’t. You dodged the bullet, literally. If you stay here, the person who did it may take another shot at you. They want you punished for whatever crime they feel you’re guilty of committing. And that’s why I think that if you leave, they’ll follow you.”
Her brow furrowed. “Follow me?”
“Follow you to our territory. Much as I hate that idea, I also know you’ll be a lot safer there. Here they know every inch of this place and they have the advantage. On our territory they won’t. We have sensors and cameras and traps everywhere, especially near the border.” A friend of the Mercury Pack Alpha male had installed all kinds of high-tech security stuff all over the place.
“They’re a raven, Tao. They could just fly right over the perimeter fence and the traps.”
“I always know when you’ve shifted and your raven is on the loose. Know why?”
“The full-blooded birds go crazy every time.” Crazy crazy. For some reason full-bloods had a seriously big aversion to avian shifters. Her raven found true delight in spooking them.
He nodded. “If another raven shifter appears on our territory, we’ll know somehow.”
“Okay, well, then, think of this: they don’t need to get past the fence if they have a rifle. They can just shoot from there.”
“Not if we all stay near the mountain, far away from the perimeter. They’d need to get closer.”
“You’re talking about luring them into a trap.”
“You got a better idea, baby? Because I’m all out of them at this point. You want blood, don’t you? Leading them away from here is your best chance of getting it.”
Leading them away also meant her uncles would be safe, she thought. She wouldn’t be abandoning them; she’d be protecting them. But it would also mean bringing that danger to others she cared about. “Don’t ask me to lead this person to the kids, Tao, I can’t.”
He cupped her neck with both hands. “The kids will be well protected at all times, and so will you. They’d rather that you came home with danger on your heels than that you came home with a bullet in your head.”
She flinched. “Ouch.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you, baby. I’m just pointing out the reality of the situation. There is no easy solution here. What we know for sure is that you staying with the flock won’t help anyone, especially if the majority turns against you. You’ll have no real help, support, or protection here. At home you’ll have all those things and you’ll give your uncles peace of mind by being away from here. You have to admit, that sounds like the best and safest option at this point.”
Yeah, she thought with an inward sigh, it did. “Okay. When do we leave?”
Relief rushed through him. “Right now, before anyone gets wind of the news and takes a shot at you while they still can.”
“Then let’s get packing.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
As Trick drove them through the perimeter gates of Phoenix Pack territory, Tao waved to Gabe, who was manning the security shack. His wolf let out a long breath, losing much of his tension now that they’d returned to their land.
The vehicle shook slightly as they drove up the rocky trail toward the mountain. Trick and Dominic had picked the six of them up from the airport in the pack’s nine-seater Chevy Tahoe. Having listened to the sequence of events that had occurred on Exodus Flock territory, they were supremely pissed on Riley’s behalf.
Although she’d wanted to say proper goodbyes to the flock, Riley had agreed to tell only her uncles and the Alphas that she was leaving. Sage and Ruby had claimed to be disappointed to see her go, but their relief had been obvious. They’d been good enough to let her say a quick goodbye to a mostly healed Lucy, though.
Her uncles had been genuinely upset to see Riley leave, but they’d also agreed that she should be far away from what was happening. Tao was glad of that, because her uncles alone had the power to change her mind. Thankfully, they hadn’t tried to. They had, however, threatened Tao with dismemberment if he didn’t keep her safe.
He turned to Riley, who was looking out the window, admiring the view of the lighted windows, arched balconies, and smooth stairways carved into the mountain up ahead. “You okay?”
“Sure,” she replied without looking at him.
“Such a little liar.” Who would be fine after everything that had happened? Taking her hand, he massaged her palm with his thumb. “You’re away from that shit now.”
She cast him a weak smile. “Not if it follows me here.”
Tao cupped the back of her head. “If it does, we’ll be ready.” As Trick pulled into the concealed parking lot at the base of the cliff, Tao unclicked Riley’s seat belt. “You go see the kids, I’ll update the Alphas and the rest of the pack on what’s been happening. Okay?”