Chapter 70 - Werewolves of Wallstreet Series Novel Free Online

If her love declarations during sex are real. I notice she hasn’t said she loves me except when in the throes of an orgasm.

I need to know that what she feels is real because if it is-nothing will ever be the same.

* * *

Madi

Brick rolls us onto our sides, his arms tightly wrapped around me, our bodies still connected intimately.

“Thank you,” he breathes against my neck.

“I love you,” I repeat.

Brick relaxes.

It’s true. All this time, I was holding back, trying to defend myself against love. I was afraid of getting hurt by Brick. Except newsflash-he’s already hurt me. He probably will again. That is the nature of loving someone. It isn’t always butterflies and sex on a beach.

It’s time to admit I’m all-in with Brick.

But we can’t go on as we are. I’m not going to stay Brick’s dirty little secret. So he’ll need to figure that out if he wants to keep me. But that conversation can wait until later. Right now, I have questions.

“Were those wolves from the Adalwulf pack?”

“Yes.” Brick holds me closer, as if one of them might barge in and snatch me away right now.

“Why did they have demon eyes?”

Brick growls. “Witchery. My father discovered that Odin drugs his enforcers to make them big, vicious, and stupid. The side effects are the red eyes.”

“Oh. Crazy.”

He eases back, so he can see my face. “Tell me what happened. They came to the island?”

“Yes.” I gasp and sit up. “Your mom! They nearly killed her. She fought to protect me.”

Brick stiffens. “My mom was there?”

“Yes.” I hold his gaze. “I sent for her. I needed to understand your world.”

He stabs his fingers through his hair. “That explains how they found you.”

“It wasn’t because she told them. She defended me. Brick-they were going to cut off her head with a machete!”

Some of the color drains from Brick’s face. “What?”

“That’s what I’m telling you. She was going to die to protect me. Ariadne showed us to the safe room, but your mom stayed out to fight. The only reason they got to me is because I opened the door-against her wishes-to keep them from killing her.”

Brick’s chest dips, like that news hit like a blow. “You’re sure she’s alive?”

I blink. God, I hope so. “They left her when I came out. She was badly hurt but still breathing.”

Brick rolls out of the bed. I rise, still hobbling, but my ankle feels like I only wrenched it. The pain isn’t as bad as it would be if it were sprained. Brick yanks the bedspread off and wraps it around me. He opens the door and pads out, naked. “What’s happening?” he demands.

“We have Sully on a video conference. We found clothes for both of you.” Jake offers him a pile of neatly folded clothing.

Brick ignores the clothing, so I stay at his side in my bedspread cloak. We find the kitchen where Billy, Jake and Vance huddle around a laptop, speaking to Sully on a bulky black laptop. “My mom was on the island.” He approaches the screen, and everyone falls away.

Sully bows his head. “Yes, Alpha. She’s with a shifter healer in Corfu. Forteen broken bones in her body, including four ribs.”

I cringe into Brick’s side. Jake cusses softly. That could be fatal for a human, and even with shifter healing speeding, it sounds painful.

Tears spear my eyes. “Will she be okay?”

“Yes,” Sully answers. “But it may take a few weeks for her to fully recover.”

“What happened?” Brick growls.

“The island is now on lockdown, secure. But we were hit hard. They blocked all internet and satellite signals before their attack. They somehow got a hold of our “all clear” code, and sent it a few minutes late. That alerted us that something was wrong, but by then, it was too late.”

“And the rest of the pack?”

“No reports of attack anywhere else, only the island or your location. But there, Odin didn’t hold anything back.” He bows his head lower. “I failed you, Alpha. I swore on my life I’d keep your holdings safe, and now it is forfeit.” He angles his head, showing his throat.

I hold my breath. Brick wouldn’t punish Sully for this, would he?

Brick glares at the screen, his fists clench. Everyone else is frozen for a long moment, waiting for him to speak.

“No.” Brick’s shoulders slump. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Billy cuts in quickly, “No one could’ve guessed that Odin would’ve-“

“The fault was mine. I never should’ve left my mate.”

The wolves in the room jolt as if electrocuted. They stare at Brick.

Brick’s head is bowed. His powerful body is naked but beaten-down, like a warrior who lost a battle.

“You can’t blame yourself for everything,” I cut in. “It sounds like the Adalwulfs did something reckless.” I don’t know all the details. I need more information. But more than that, I need to ease the defeated expression on Brick’s face.

“Yes, Madi, I can. I never should’ve left you.”

I bite my lip. He’s right. But no one could’ve predicted this.

“Do you think my mother was behind the attack?” he asks quietly.

“

She was not.” I attempt to use that cutting authority in my voice that Brick wields. “I called her to come to me. She tried to keep me in the safe room and would have died if I hadn’t come out.”

Billy ignores me and continues to look at Brick.

There’s anguish in Brick’s eyes, likely the same anguish he’s held since the day his father died. It must be horrific to not know if you can trust your own mother.

“If Odin’s really lost his mind and is making some kind of last-ditch attempt to take you down, it stands to reason he would be willing to kill his own sister if she stood in his way,” Vance muses.

“The seeress might have foretold her alliance with Madi,” Jake offers.

“She predicted Madi would be your-” Billy stops short at Brick’s glare.

“His what?” I ask.

Billy shakes his head. “Nevermind. It’s just a rumor they spread to try to weaken our pack.”

“What was the rumor?” I attempt to use that authoritative voice again. I’m the alpha’s mate, not their goddamn assistant anymore. They should answer my questions.

Billy looks to Brick, who is frowning.

“Problems can’t be solved without the facts,” I say.

The air charges when still no one answers me. That’s when I lose patience. “Okay.” I turn to walk out of the kitchen. “I’m leaving.”

No one follows when I walk into the bedroom. I hear their voices continue the discussion the moment I walk out. My limp spoils my dramatic exit, but that’s fine. I’m not throwing a tantrum. I’m done here.

I’m not done with Brick. I understand he and I are inextricably entwined until the day he dies. But this doesn’t work for me. I’m not available for being hidden like a dirty secret or being relegated to lower status. I’m not interested in the kind of marriage or partnership his parents had.

He has a lot to figure out.

So do I.

Like what I’m going to do for a career now.

I put on the clothes Jake handed me. The outfit is clearly resort-bought loungewear-probably from the spa area. The buttery-soft fabric in pale peach feels good against my cold-burned skin.

I don’t have anything I own here-not a scrap of clothing, not my cell phone to call Aubrey, not a credit card to buy myself a plane ticket home.

I hate feeling so dependent on Brick.

I need ice for my ankle, and I don’t even want to ask for that. I slip on the pair of warm woolen socks that came with the loungewear set and make my way back out to the kitchen where the guys are still all gathered.

Brick looks like he’s aged ten years in the last few weeks. Tension lines tug his brows together and his lips downward. He catches my gaze, and I see conflict and regret swim in his dark eyes.

When he holds an arm out to me, I step into his embrace, allowing him to pull me close and draw in my scent. I wait until my scent relaxes him before I drop my bomb.

“I need to go home.”

* * *

Brick

I’m not surprised by Madi’s statement, but it guts me. Of course, she wants to go home. She was just kidnapped and dropped on ice to be hunted by packs of brazen wolves. And that was after I left her alone on an island, so I could pretend to look for a mate.

Right now, I’m just grateful she’s allowing me to hold her.

“Get the jet here,” I order Jake.

“The jet is already en route with all of Madi’s things. Touchdown in twenty minutes,” Jake replies.

“Someone get a doctor,” I bark.

“No doctor,” Madi corrects, her voice firm. “I just need ice for my ankle.”

Billy disappears and reappears with a bottle of water, a protein bar, and a first aid kit.

I stand by, helpless, as my mate takes care of her own medical care. She squeezes the instant ice pack until it activates and secures it around her ankle with stretchy blue wrap.

“It’s just like Grey’s Anatomy,” Vance whispers to Jake.

“I want the plane refueled and prepared to fly us back to New York. What about my mom?” I ask Vance. “When can she be moved?”

“She has her own jet in Greece waiting to take her home as soon as she feels able.”

“Will she be safe in Manhattan?” Nickel asks. “I mean, if they were really going to kill her on the island, will she now be considered a defector? She may need your protection, Brick.”

I feel Billy bristling. His instinct is always to protect me from threats. But maybe that’s just so he can maintain his position as most important to me. Maybe he’s threatened by Madi and my mom, and that’s why he puts wedges between us.

Fuck. I don’t know what to think anymore.

About my mom. About how to handle my mating to Madison. About how to keep this pack together and ensure my family’s legacy isn’t destroyed by Odin Adalwulf.

Madi looks up at me. She trusts my mom. And my mom supposedly nearly sacrificed her life to keep Madi safe. But if I’ve been wrong about my mom all these years…

The pain of it all blasts through my chest like a javelin to the heart.

I never dealt with this shit emotionally. I had to shut down all feelings to just survive.

My father was murdered, and my mother-a woman I deeply loved who’d taken on an almost mythical position in our lives because we only saw her on weekends-poisoned him. I couldn’t think about her. Cutting her out of my life was the only measure I managed to take.

It was my first year at Yale, and I had to focus on keeping the pack. I had to recover from the financial hit and show massive leadership, so my pack members wouldn’t leave.

Luckily, their rage over my father’s murder put them firmly behind me, despite my young age and the loss of the bulk of our fortune. With the help of Billy, Nickel, Vance, Sully, Jake and Eagle, I founded Moon Co, and we made billions.

That should have ensured their loyalty forever, but the Adalwulfs are dastardly. They sow rumors and discontent everywhere they can.

If I make a mistake about my mother again, the pack won’t recover.

I won’t recover.

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