Wild Love (Wilding Pack Wolves 2) - New Adult Paranormal Romance by Alisa Woods Page B

her face. “You don’t have to explain. I know it’s strange to find out that—”
    “Please.” He was flat-out begging her now. “I do have to explain. And then I want to kiss you again. And more. If you’ll let me.” He had a small tremble of fear run through him—ice cold and terrifying and not something he’d felt in a long, long time—all because the uncertain look on her face made it seem like she might leave anyway.
    “You still want to kiss me?” She said this like it was almost impossible for her to understand.
    “God, yes.” Then he reached for her, just for her hands, and gently brought them to his lips, kissing the backs. “And so much more. Please just… sit with me. Let me explain.”
    She seemed dazed but nodded. He eased back down to the couch, bringing her with him.
    “I know you think wolves are, well, these amazingly good guys…” he started, but then stalled out at the shine in her eyes. He was going to crush her fantasy about shifters, but it couldn’t be helped. He swallowed, and continued, “But not all wolves are good.”
    She just waited for him to go on, hands clasped in her lap.
    “You may have heard about my father, Colonel Wilding.”
    “He was in charge of the experiments,” she said softly. “Including the ones on you. I know.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, well, he wasn’t exactly a stellar guy at home, either.” Noah sucked in a breath and let it out slow. It had been so long since he’d really thought about this, and besides his sister, Piper, and his brother, Daniel, he hadn’t really discussed it with anyone. It wasn’t the kind of thing people wanted to hear. “My father basically kidnapped my mother and forced her to mate with him.”
    Emily’s horrified look sent a twinge of shame through him.
    He hurried through the rest. “That’s not the way mating is supposed to work, but female wolves are in short supply, and some assholes don’t want to miss out, so they basically steal what they would never be able to win over by choice. My father was that kind. He killed the man my mother was mated to, breaking the bond so he could take her as his own mate. And once the new mating bond took hold, there was no way for my mother to break free. It’s a bond for life. And for years…” Noah fought through the closing up of his throat. “For years, my father used that against her. I grew up watching her slowly waste away under the daily abuse of being mated to a man she didn’t love. For as long as I can remember, I knew the only reason me and my brother existed was because he forced himself upon her.”
    Noah didn’t realize his fists were clenched, balled up on top of his knees until Emily’s small, warm hand landed on one of them.
    “Noah,” she said, her voice full of pain, “I’m so sorry.”
    He forced himself to finish what he had to say. “My mother eventually killed herself. I was the first to find her bleeding out on the floor of our kitchen. I was eleven.”
    “Oh my God.” Emily was up on her knees on the couch, throwing her arms around him again. The shaking was gone, from her at least, although now Noah felt like he could barely force his hands to unlock to hold her steady against the softness of the cushions. “I’m so, so sorry,” she whispered.
    “It’s okay,” he said, fighting back all the horror that day always conjured. He gently eased her back so he could look her in the eyes. “I wanted you to know so you would understand my reaction to… to this horrible thing your uncle did to you. And so you’d know that if there were any way I could fix that for you, I would. Men like that don’t deserve to keep breathing.” He lightly touched her cheek with just his fingertips. “You bring out the alpha in me, Em. The one that wants to protect you from anything bad in this world. Because you should be loved and cherished and never forced to do anything, least of all that. I can’t do anything about your uncle now, but if you’ll let