Chapter102: When He's Gone

*Maddox* I need to get up and get back to work, but I can’t. Lying here with Isla cradled against my chest, the smell of our lovemaking still heavy in the air, is soothing, and the rest of the world is cold and angry. Going back out there seems senseless. Why would I do that when I can simply stay here with her? “What is it, Maddox?” she asks, her voice heavy with sleep. “I know something is troubling you. More so than usual.” I can’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips. She knows me so well. “I was going to say, since when is there a time when something isn’t bothering me?” She turns her blue eyes on me, and I smile at her, brushing my thumb across her cheek. “Have you had any progress whatsoever?” A sigh slips out of my mouth, and I tell her, “Yes and no. It’s a slow process, baby. We have to go pack by pack, person by person, and convince them all that turning against me as the rightful king is a huge mistake.” “But there are so many packs that have been infiltrated in one way or