Dark Slayer - Christine Feehan [104]
Each animal took its turn coming to him and greeting him, being welcomed by him and reaffirming its position in the pack. He found he was particularly fond of Blaez, the second-in-command. He was quietly confident and very alert to danger, taking his cues from Raja, yet guarding the pack with a fierceness that told Razvan he would have had a pack of his own had his circumstances been different. He felt that same fierce protec tiveness toward Ivory and the pack, and there was a sense of kinship when he stroked his hand through the thick fur and scratched the alert ears.
The pack was eager to feed, needing the bond, and he waited for Ivory to make the decision on how she wanted them fed.
You feed Raja and Ayame and then I will. Next Blaez and his mate Gynger. Last will be Farkas and his mate, Rikki. If we start off that way, they will accept your leadership faster.
The offer of leadership in the pack was another great gift. He knew, after a century of being led by Ivory, they would always respect her and follow her, and she was now stepping aside in order to get the pack to follow his lead as well.
It is not necessary. I do not mind the present order. I may end up planning our battles but you will be leading us. I will protect you with everything in me.
She looked at him with soft eyes. “I mind. I want them to accept you as I have.”
His stomach clenched in response, his groin thickening. But it was his heart that was most in danger. He drank her in as he offered his wrist to Raja, the rich beauty of her, not so much her physical body, but the light in her soul that shone over his.
The silver alpha wolf looked at Ivory and then obediently trotted over to Razvan and accepted the first feeding as was his due. Razvan fed the big male, all the while keeping his gaze locked on Ivory.
For so long he’d had nobody in his world, no one to send him warmth, to make him smile, to care whether he lived or died—and yet now there she was, sitting like some forest princess in the middle of her unusual wolf pack, willing to share her life with his, even if it was so he could aid her in destroying Xavier. He would take that—he’d take any reason at all, as long as she included him in her family.
“You are as essential to me as the air I breathe or the soil we rest in.” He wanted her to know that he would have chosen her no matter what their destiny had been. He wanted her to know that because of her, the sacrifices in his life had been more than worthwhile.
She shot him a look from under her thick lashes. “You are my lifemate, my other half.”
He smiled at her, refusing to feel a sting at her reminder. She didn’t have to feel the same way. “That is not what I am saying to you. I am not asking for anything in return, Ivory. I just felt it was important for you to know how I feel.”
The alphas were finished feeding from Ivory now and the second pair took their place as the smallest ones fed on Razvan. He was beginning to get a little dizzy. Ivory hadn’t been kidding when she said they would wake up ravenous and would want to bond with the ritual blood.
Ivory ducked her head and he saw her fingers curl deeper into Gynger’s thick pelt. The tip of her tongue moistened her bottom lip, drawing his immediate attention. He’d made her nervous again, and that endeared his fierce warrior to him all the more. She wasn’t the least bit comfortable talking about emotions. The wolves pressing close to her and winding around their mates seemed to give her the necessary impetus to answer him.
Her chin came up and her eyes reluctantly met his briefly before her long lashes once again veiled them. “You mistake my meaning.”
That was all he was going to get out of her, but it was enough for him. The slow burn that started in his belly mixed with the blaze of love in his heart, making for a potent combination. He savored the feeling of wanting her. He had never thought he would feel that for a woman. He abhorred the crimes his body had committed and never thought to feel the powerful draw between lifemates for