After putting on his shoes, Lakota flipped back his brown hair. “I still haven’t gotten my truck back from the shop. They called earlier and said there’s a delay, so I don’t need you to give me a ride there tomorrow.”
Tak chuckled. “Maybe the spirits are trying to tell you something.”
Hopping the fence, Lakota replied, “You’re right. They’re saying ‘Everyone, borrow Tak’s truck instead.’ Mine has been shot up and wrecked. What’s next?”
Once alone, Tak and Archer stared at Cecilia running full speed.
“Look how free she is,” Tak remarked. “That’s a beautiful sight.”
Archer’s thoughts drifted back to the night Noah had shown up and tried to lure her away. That whole evening was a whirlwind, and it wasn’t until the next day that Archer pondered something Cecilia had said to Noah that had plagued his thoughts. It was the admission to having had sex with Noah even when she didn’t want to.
He remembered how rough Noah was with the women in that sex club—how he manhandled them and delighted in their pain. Archer could only presume it was easier for Cecilia not to fight a man with his temperament. Maybe she had the first few times. Maybe being inexperienced, she’d assumed that’s how all relationships were supposed to go.
Archer didn’t need it spelled out: Cecilia had experienced relationship rape. In that moment, he’d made a silent vow to always pay attention to her body and her words. Archer was used towomen plastering themselves to him, but Cecilia needed a tender man who respected her boundaries—both in public and in private. She required a different kind of love, and he wanted to love her in a way that would have earned her father’s admiration.
Since discovering that important piece to the puzzle, he had intentionally slowed things down over the past three weeks.
“You can’t ride her unless she invites you,” Tak said. “Slavers once used Shifter horses for manual labor. These animals are not meant to be ridden or do work—not unless they choose to. Like the way Catcher helps us pull dead limbs from the brush.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
“I’ll have to watch your animals interact a few times to make sure your wolf doesn’t nip at her heels.” Tak leaned toward him. “He can’t play rough unless he wants to get kicked.”
Archer wondered something. “Is all your tribe wolves?”
Tak nodded as if understanding his meaning. “Many believe our spirits come back to learn more in this life and that our soulmates can be a different animal or even different Breed. Purebloods are rare for a reason. Our ancestors were wiser than us and understood one true certainty.”
“And what’s that?”
“Love takes many forms. Perhaps centuries of other Breeds taking us into slavery and exterminating our kind made us want to align with our own animal species to fight back. But I’m certain that long ago, that was not the Shifter way. I can only guess since I’m not as old as dirt.”
Archer rubbed his fingers against the wood fence. “It feels easier to be around other wolves. I understand their nature. A horse, not as much. It’s hard for me to figure out which part is her personality and which part is her animal nature.”
“That’s your wolf talking,” Tak said with a chuckle. “You’ll learn soon enough. My tribe is mostly wolves but not all. Men and women will love who they want. And our spirit animals areintertwined in that love. If you feel certain about her, I’m sure you felt your wolf sing.”
Swatting a pesky fly, Archer watched Cecilia’s mare trot in circles. She was skittish of men but had fewer problems with their wolves. “I just hope I can make her happy. She’s been through a lot.”
Tak rested his arms on the fence again. “My people trade horses to prevent inbreeding. My father once bought a mare who had been mistreated. Her body was covered in scars from a whip. It took years to rebuild that trust.” Tak looked across his shoulder at Archer and held his gaze. “You need to earn her trust, not break her. That means you’re doing most of the work. Accept what you see before you. If you think your job is to fix her, find another mate. She needs someone she can trust and depend on—someone who understands her needs. This is something I know a lot about.”
Archer turned around and leaned against the fence. The hot summer sun filtered through the branches and created a kaleidoscope of bright patterns across the grass. It made his animal content to think Cecilia would have a place to roam free, no longer locked away in fear.
“You’re different,” Tak remarked. “There’s a quiet way I’ve not seen before.” He branched away from the fence and crossed in front of Archer.
Tak’s torso carried scars, but they were small in comparison to the claw mark across his right shoulder from a bear. According to the story, he had fought a grizzly for Hope. That made Archer see him as a warrior—a protector. And after what Archer had been through, he needed a Packmaster who would stand up for him.
Tak slapped a bug that landed on his bare chest and then flicked it away. “Maybe now is the time for me to be truthful.”
Archer’s stomach dropped at the seriousness in his tone.
“Not long after we settled, I got a call from a Packmaster who knew you.”
“My old alpha called?”
Tak shook his head. “The one who did that to your arm.”
Fuck. He knows.
The alpha bent over and plucked another dandelion to destroy with his large fingers. “He found out you moved to Texas, so he called all the Councils to see if you were on anyone’s roster.”
