Black Wolfe's Mate (Paranormal Shifter Romance) by Avelyn McCrae

beneath the palms. Night, too, would have been when she ran into Dieter and Niko. “What else did you find?” Derrick asked.
    Again, it was Christophe who answered, though he hesitated. “Pain medication.”
    “That is not so unusual among humans, is it?”
    “Not as such, no,” Christophe said slowly. “But what we found was no over-the-counter analgesic, Derrick. Among her things, she had Percocet, Vicodin, OxyContin, Tramadol, Maxalt, Darvocet, Morphine...”
    Antoine whistled. “It is no wonder she did not have much of an appetite.”
    “She is a drug addict?” asked Steffen, his voice laced with disbelief.
    “I don’t think so,” Christophe said. “Most of them were unopened.”
    “A dealer?” The thought was reprehensible.
    Christophe shook his head. “No. They were definitely filled for her. Strong enough dosage to take down a bull.”
    “Do we know why?” Antoine asked.
    Christophe shook his head. “No, but I think we must assume she was not as hale as she outwardly appeared.”
    Niko spoke from the shadows, his voice quiet. “Have any of you considered the possibility that Angelica would not want to have been Made?”
    Derrick stilled, the room falling deathly silent. “What are you saying, Niko?”
    “I only speak the thoughts already in your mind. Whatever ailed the poor woman left her with few choices. Perhaps when she went out in the storm, she had no intention of returning. It would align with what she spoke of with Christophe shortly after her arrival.”
    Rage surged through Derrick, but he knew Niko only spoke the truth. The same thought had been nagging at him as well, but he refused to give it substance.
    “What’s done is done,” he said, stiffening. “The only thing we can do is wait until she can tell us what it is she wishes. I will abide by her choice.”
    Antoine’s eyes grew wide. “You would honor her wish for death?”
    Derrick clenched his jaw so hard, it would have cracked had he been just a man. It had been his choice, his decision, not hers.  “Yes, if it is truly what she wishes.” But he would do everything in his power to try to change her mind first.
    “Do you know what that would do to you?” Silas whispered. “To all of us?” Losing a mate was devastating, and because Derrick was Alpha, the loss would ripple throughout the pack.
    “Nay,” said Steffen, shaking his head. “You will do no such thing. For better or worse, Angelica is ours now.”
    “You forget yourself, Steffen,” Derrick warned.
    Steffen straightened. While they were loyal to a fault, Derrick had chosen each of them based on their strong characters and beliefs. He refused to be surrounded by ’yes men’. He wanted intelligent males who would speak up when necessary.
    “I forget nothing. Ending her life at this juncture will destroy you and we are sworn to protect you. We will not allow any deliberate action — by your own hand or any other — that will result in your downfall.”
    Derrick sunk down into a chair, giving voice to his worst fear. “What if she does not wish for that which I have forced upon her? What if she hates me for it?”
    “She will not,” Antoine assured him, laying his hand on Derrick’s shoulder.
    “And she did not kiss any of us, did she now?” said Christophe with a mischievous grin.
    “If she has doubts,” Dieter’s low voice rumbled, “we will ease them.”
    Derrick looked around at each of his pack mates. “You are all united in this?” he asked, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. They nodded in unanimous agreement. “I was under the impression you would not accept her.”
    “Perhaps not at first,” Niko agreed, “but there is clearly much more to her than any of us originally thought.”
    “The very fact that she has survived this long proves she is stronger than any of us realized,” Christophe mused with approval.
    “Any woman who can resist Niko is all right in my book,” Steffen quipped.
    “She clearly is a woman of