Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Margaret considered that for a moment. “Tessa,” she began gently, “people need family. They don’t have to be your blood relatives, but everybody needs people they can depend on, people who love them p>
Tessa said nothing. Her stomach was twisting again. Living in Longtooth, seeing the tightly interwoven community, the strong bonds between friends and family and lovers, made her acu
conscious of how little of that she had in her life.
“People here care about you a lot. If you wanted to make your life here, you’d be welcomed with open arms.” Margaret paused meaningfully. “There are things about the Valley that we don’t talk
about with outsiders p>
Werewolves, Tessa’s mind whispered. She said nothing. She and Margaret regarded each other quietly, caught in a mild stalemate.
Tessa started to rise from her chair. “Okay, well p>
“Did you know,” Margaret said, pulling her reading glasses off to check the lenses, “that when your truck broke down and we realized you were missing, two dozen people went searching for you p>
Tessa cringed into her seat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t p>
“Declan was the first one to notice you weren’t back when you should have been.” She picked up the hem of her sweater and
rubbed at one lens.
“Declan p>
“He asked Natasha to call you. When you didn’t answer, he badgered her to call Sheryl Toonikoh, up in Eagle Ridge. Sheryl told
Chapter 58
her you’d left hours ago. As soon as Declan heard that, he was out
the door.” She switched to clean the other lens.
“Declan?” Tessa repeated, incredulous. He’d been so pissed at her
when he’d found her.
“The rest of us weren’t too far behind–though we did take a few
minutes to form a search plan.” She slid her glasses back on and
smiled. “We care about you, Tessa. All of us p>
When Tessa got back to The Spruce, Declan was standing in dining room, speaking to Arthur. He was still wearing his ou gear, and his cheeks were flushed with cold. Tessa stopped when she saw him, overwhelmed by the memory of his heated touch and thrown off–kilter by what Margaret had told her. He’d worried about her. He’d been the one to start searching for her.
As if he could feel her gaze, Declan suddenly looked up. Like an awkward teenager, Tessa spun away from him and hurried towards
the stairs.
She was halfway up when she heard Declan’s boots pounding
behind her.
“Tessa, wait up p>
“No.” She didn’t know what to say to him, or even what she wanted from him. She ran up the stairs.
Behind her, Declan chuckled, and it sounded eerily like a growl. His big body hit the landing a split–second after hers. Tessa yelped and sprinted up the next flight. She felt him at her heels, his fingers teasing the backs of her legs.
“You shouldn’t run from me, Gracie,” he warned with a growl.
Werewolf.
Chapter 58
But Tessa wasn’t scared. Somewhere between the dining room and the second flight of stairs, it had become a game. She skittered around the corner on the final landing–letting out a small scream when Declan’s hand closed around her ankle. She kicked free and sprinted down the hallway. She hadn’t taken more than two steps when Declan tackled her from behind. They went to the floor in a tangle of limbs, but Declan wrapped his arms around her and rolled so that she landed on top of him.
Panting for breath, she lifted her head to look down at him. “That
was unnecessary p>
“Was it?” Declan grinned. It was such a self–satisfied, unrepentant expression. But it also so wholly and unreservedly happy–and directed at Tessa. Lightness like she hadn’t felt in a long time made
her chest ache.
She couldn’t hold back any longer. She cupped his smiling, cocksure face between her hands and kissed him. There was a split–second of fear where she thought he wasn’t going to kiss her back, that he was going to shove her away like he had in the past.
But she worried for nothing. His arms tightened around her, pulling her close, and he kissed her like she was the only thing keeping him alive. Tessa had started this, but Declan quickly wrested control from her. His mouth was hot and hard against hers, devouring her with the focused hunger of a predator.
She broke the kiss for a second. “Declan p>
He kissed her jaw, the tender skin on her neck. She gasped with each explosive bloom of heat beneath her skin.
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