It didn’t get more special than this.

Wheeler stood up and jerked it from the mount, pulling free the hooks that held it in place. There were other curious items displayed around it, which had become a trophy wall and metaphorical graveyard.

Wheeler straddled Delgado, pressing the blade to his throat. “You will not destroy my pack. You will not tear apart my family. And you will never have my woman!”

Wheeler’s wolf remained caged, and the only thing unleashed upon Delgado was retribution and blood.

Chapter 24

“Wake up, kitty cat.”

I gazed into Wheeler’s eyes and realized he was holding me on his lap. My left cheek was pressed against his shoulder, and we were in the backseat of a car.

Driving.

At night.

The radio playing “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas.

Austin peered over his shoulder from the driver’s seat and smiled.

God help me, I wept right on Wheeler’s shoulder. He cradled my head and kept smiling down at me. “You knew we were going to make it out of there, right?”

“No,” I said with a laugh of disbelief.

“Yeah, well, I did.”

“Where’s Delgado?”

“I took care of him,” he said, allowing his words to settle. “Put him in the ground on that property where no one will find him.”

“Bastard got off easy,” Austin growled from the front. Lexi’s hand appeared, stroking the back of his neck.

I tried to sit up, but Wheeler lightly shook his head. “Just let me hold on to you.”

“You couldn’t wait to get me in the backseat of a car again, could you?” I teased. “What about the others? We have to go back for them.”

“They’re free. When you didn’t answer your phone, the pack came for you. Austin called the Council and they agreed not to bring in the higher authority. This was Shifter business, and we took care of it.”

“But you killed a human.”

“Doesn’t matter. One of the representatives drove in and witnessed the release of the prisoners. That’s all he needed to see. Fifteen in all.”

“Two teenagers at Reno and Denver’s location,” Austin added.

I twisted to sit up and noticed a thin blanket draped over me. Without looking, I could feel that Wheeler had on pants, thank the Lord. I touched his bare chest and noticed a scar I hadn’t seen before on his shoulder.

“Did you get hurt? What happened?”

“Shot,” he confirmed. “I shifted once, so it’s fine.”

“You were shot? Austin, pull over. He needs to shift again.”

Wheeler smirked. “It’s all right. It’s not the first time. The other one’s beneath my hairline, but this is a scar I’m not going to heal all the way.”

I traced my finger over the wound—the skin slightly puckered and pink—and I curled against him. “Now what happens?”

“We go home.”

Home. That meant an end to this drama, but it also meant ending my time spent with Wheeler. Maybe that’s what made Wheeler holding me in the backseat of Austin’s Challenger so bittersweet. I lifted my hand from beneath the blanket and found his, lacing our fingers together. In the darkness, his tattoos were nothing but shadows, occasionally highlighted by fast-moving streetlamps as we traveled. I listened to the hum of the tires against the road and allowed myself to feel swept away, if even for a moment. I enjoyed him with each passing minute—the feel of his strong arms, the heat of his body, and the way his eyes would twinkle when they looked down at me.