I pointed at the roof of one of the houses we passed. “You see how the roof has those grooves and is tilted?”
“Yeah.” She stared at the roof.
“That’s to gather the rainwater. It only rains about four to five inches out here, but we collect everything we can, and each building uses the water a minimum of three times before it’s recycled out back to the ground.”
“The greenhouses.” She turned my way.
“Exactly. The water from the kitchen and bathrooms gets filtered and then pushed out to the soil in the greenhouse. Each greenhouse faces the east to get as much direct sunlight as possible. They’re also a natural barrier between the outside weather and the living space in each home. This is why no matter the temperature outside, the indoor space remains a consistent sixty-five degrees. It’s helpful in the summers where temps can get into the triple digits.”
“That’s incredible. How did you design all of this?”
I shrugged and explained how I used the knowledge I’d gained in the few years I’d worked toward my architecture degree and from what I knew about living off the land.
“My pack was known as raiders and warriors for centuries. We moved from one part of the West and Southwest to another every few years. When I was a pup, we never remained in one place for more than two years. And often, we took the land we wanted from other packs. We were known as the troublesome pack.
“Other packs tried to fight us or prevent us from taking their land, but the Nightwolf pack can be vicious when we need to be.” Though a piece of me held shame over our history, especially as it related to the tragic end of my parents, I couldn’t help the pride that spilled out into my comment.
“I don’t doubt it. I’ve seen you in action,” Reese responded.
I ran her words through my head a few times, trying to search out any hint of fear. I never wanted her to be frightened of me or anyone else in my pack.
“I will tear any wolf, human, or animal to pieces to protect you and my pack. But you never have to fear me,” I told her as I stopped in front of her.
We came to the edge of the field where Sera practiced her archery. A breeze blew in the wind, and Reese shuddered. I drew her into my body, wrapping my arms around her.
“You’re not afraid of me, are you?” I nudged my face between her neck and shoulder and inhaled. She smelled better than the New Mexico mountains, which up until her had been my favorite scent. I could breathe her in every day for the rest of my life and still not get enough.
“No,” she murmured.
I pulled back and cupped her face. She said no, but there was hesitation in her response.
“Why did you tell me all of this?”
“To show you who I am.” I dropped my hands to her hips.
“When my father died, my pack depended on me for leadership. I was young, and many other packs saw his death and my youth as weaknesses. They attempted to challenge us, to try to retake what they believed we stole from them over past generations. I fought them off, and we remained intact. But we were tired. After so many years of wars and raiding, moving from one place to another, they were worn down. They wanted to find a place to settle and raise their families, build businesses and live in relative peace.
“I honored that request. I was hungry for it too. The elder members of our pack deserved that, and I promised I would die giving it to them. They put their trust in me.”
“And you delivered,” she said softly, looking around.
I nodded. “I used what my father taught me about making my pack’s needs a priority and sought to give them what they needed. Since then, we’ve built a huge construction company with sites all over the Southwest and Western territories. We work with other packs to recreate what we’ve built out here. There’re even a few human communes that we’ve built or helped to start. My pack runs and operates more than fifty different businesses throughout New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
“Everything from growing and selling coffee, clothing, jewelry, restaurants, and more, but the construction company is our bread and butter.” I firm my hands on her hips. “I protect what belongs to me. Always and at all costs. If I say I’m going to do something, you can believe it.”
Her eyelids fluttered, and she looked away before lifting her gaze to meet mine again. “You told me all of this to convince me that I don’t need to go back to Texas.”
I grinned at the smile that played on her lips. “You’re mine, Reese. I’m sorry I haven’t convinced you of that. I should’ve brought you out here sooner, but… circumstances prevented it.” I didn’t need to tell her about the Alliance yet. In time, I would figure out how to handle them.
Most of the Alliance didn’t trust my pack due to our past. Even though we’d been peaceful for the past fifty years, and my pack was one of the largest financial contributors to the Alliance through the taxes we paid.
“I told you I would protect the residents at Creekview and get that shitty doctor removed from the nursing home. If I said it, it’s as good as done. And when it’s safe, I will take you to see your friends at the nursing home,” I vowed.
She looked everywhere but directly at me until I trapped her face in place.
“Tell me.”
She exhaled slowly. “I don’t have a ton of experience with people keeping their promises to me.”
