“No, your father would not speak to Cole. He might be willing to confide in me as I’m of a higher rank and you’re in my custody.”
I gripped his arm. “Why would you get involved in Weston business?”
He leaned forward and his nostrils flared. “Because his business is currently lying between my sheets wearing my robe, so that makes it my business too.”
“Stay out of our affairs.”
Lorenzo licked his lips slowly. “Are you giving an alpha orders?”
“Is there something you want to say about it, Thunder?”
Something flashed in his eyes and he sat back. “I think it’s time for me to examine you again.”
My heart rocketed within my chest.
We simultaneously looked toward the window when the sound of howling wolves broke the silence outside. One howl was joined by at least three more. Lorenzo launched to his feet and strode toward the window.
“I don’t recognize those wolves.” His eyes scanned the land below, but it was too dark, and he didn’t have a clearing around the house like Austin did.
“Fox is a dangerous man.”
“Then he’s met his match.” Lorenzo pivoted on his heel and folded his sculpted arms. He stood by the window barefoot, dressed in black.
“I don’t know how many he has in his group. At least three, but there could be more. If he’s come for me, maybe…”
“Throw you out like an offering?”
“No. Take me home so I can fight with my pack.”
He laughed quietly and pulled his hair back. “You are in no condition to fight. My men are on alert; you have nothing to fear.”
“Who said I was afraid? The more fear you give a man, the more power he’ll have over you.” Fox was no longer the demon who haunted my dreams. He was not the bump in the night.
Lorenzo didn’t reply. He walked to the fireplace and put a fresh log on the fire.
I needed to get up, do something. I didn’t like feeling useless, so I slid my legs over the edge of the bed and began to get up.
“Woman—”
“Don’t woman me, Mr. Church.” I sat up with my shoulders proud and straight. “Pain is only temporary. What I need to do is move before I turn into one of your antiques. Now help me stand or watch me fall. Your choice.”
Lorenzo bent down and gently slid his arms beneath mine. With careful ease, he pulled me to my feet, and I leaned against his body for a moment until I felt like I could balance.
My cheek rested against his left bicep, and the light flickering from the fireplace illuminated the menacing tattoo of a skull and crossbones on his left arm. “Why do you have such a morbid marking? Most Packmasters choose symbols or custom designs.”
“Perhaps I’m a pirate,” he murmured against my hair.
“You must spend an awful lot of time coming up with methods to intimidate your pack. Aside from your beta, not one person has come up here to check on you. Don’t they care?”
“Care?” I felt him ask, the word rumbling against his chest.
“Being a leader doesn’t mean you have to shut off emotions. You should care or else…”
“Or else?” He leaned back and studied me closely.
“Or else you’ll end up like my father. He was a better man when my mother was alive, but he never had sons. It’s what he had hoped for and it hardened him. Now I can look back and see where fissures were formed in the pack.”
He kept his right arm hooked around my back and brushed away a stray hair. “And what is your point, little wolf?”
“Love makes a man more loyal than fear. If you were mortally wounded and lying on the ground with enemies surrounding you and all was lost, how many of your men would risk their lives to die by your side? If they only gain respect out of fear, then why should they care if you die? But if they respect you out of love, then that wolf will lay down his life for you. If you don’t love something, then it can be easily replaced, like your car. Wouldn’t you rather be irreplaceable to your pack?”
Lorenzo leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. The kiss was so fleeting that I didn’t have time to realize what he’d done. He didn’t give me time to process it either.
“Let’s walk.” He turned, and I braved small steps until we reached the window.
The air grew colder the nearer we approached, and I shuddered, drawing closer to Lorenzo. The unfamiliar howls had died off, and I squinted from the sharp light of the moon.
“I don’t like the moon,” I said absently.
“And why is that?”
“It robs the stars of all their brightness. Haven’t you noticed at its peak, it steals the brilliance out of the night sky and blackens it? The moon is showy and wants all the attention, never allowing the others to shine.” I patted his flat stomach. “You know a little about that, don’t you, Thunder Wolf?”
He made a soft sound and, not being able to see his face, I couldn’t tell if it was a grunt or a laugh.
“I’m leaving early in the morning to speak with your father.”