Did he just claim me?
It seems so because after a heavy sigh, the powerful gray wolf sinks back into the shadows.
Griffy trots by me, letting out a farewell bark before heading in the same direction as the gray wolf.
With another swirl of shadows, Jack resumes full wolf form and takes the lead, directing us back toward the library as the moon makes its descent. We skirt around the statue garden and find our clothes hanging from the branches where we left them.
Or at least, Jack’s shorts are where he left them. My boxers have a raccoon sitting on them.
I grumble at the rodent.
It chitters back.
I nudge it with my paw.
The thing takes its time waddling away.
Back in my human form, dressed in boxers now probably infested with fleas, I face Jack, who already has his sights set on the house where his mate sleeps.
“Thank you,” I rasp.
Jack nods. “It’s a standing invitation.”
There’s a sudden pressure behind my eyes that I blink away. “You sure? That gray one didn’t seem happy about it.”
Jack scoffs. “Baron can shove it.”
“Is he an alpha?”
“Of the Folk Haven wolf pack.” Jack confirms my suspicions.
“He’s not a good guy?” The last Folk Haven alpha wasn’t cruel, but he made it clear I wasn’t welcome.
Jack sighs, the deep exhale hinting at a long story he doesn’t feel like telling. “He’s a decent alpha as far as I can tell.”
“But you don’t like him?”
Jack shrugs. “It’s complicated.” His eyes flick to me, then back to the house, and he starts walking. “He’s my dad.”
“Oh.” That’s not what I was expecting him to say.
But if anyone knows about complicated father-son relationships, it’s me. I let him go with no more questions, pointing my feet toward the RV.
And I let my mind revel in the experience of finally running free on the night of the full moon with something resembling a pack.
28
Bo
It’s notuntil I’m in the waiting room of the office that I realize I’m not sure exactly what eye doctors do.
I mean, check your eyes, obviously.
But what does that involve? Shining a light in them? Will the doctor touch my eye?
I shiver at the thought and blink rapidly as my eyes water in protest at the idea.
I’ve worked myself halfway into a panic when a woman wearing scrubs and a kind smile opens the door next to reception and calls out my name.
