“Aye,” Adair replied, sounding confused.“Don’t you?”
“What if I told you, I had never heard my wolf?”He leaned forward.“Not until I found my moon-fated mate, then all of a sudden, he talked to me.I felt his presence in my soul.And when I shifted without a full moon, I remembered every single detail.The scents.The air rushing through my fur.The speed as I raced along the pathway through the trees.It was incredible.”
Adair tilted his head.“You mean to tell me you’ve never felt him?”
“Correct.He and I never talked with each other until that day.”
His friend looked stunned.“What did he say?”
“Mostly just told me to go find our mate.He’s got a one-track mind when it comes to her.Why are you looking at me like that?”
Skepticism swam on his friend’s face.“I’m wondering if you’re having a lark with me.”
“We’ve known each other a long time.Have I ever pulled a prank?”
“Nae,” Adair conceded.“But ‘tis a little hard to believe you’re a shifter and had never heard him.”
“I swear on my title.”
“Your da never taught you?”
Tavish shook his head.
“And your mate triggered this?She has her wolf, right?”
“Aye, but her parents were wolves and raised her.I don’t know if my wolf stayed silent because I had no one to help coax him out, or if he’s just horribly stubborn.My mum died when I was young and my da only cared about the title and business.His only guidance was to tell me to not get caught running.You know how packs are discouraged.”
Tavish explained everything that had happened in Sheridan, how Alpha Jericho took him out on a run and introduced other wolves to help him play nice.When he was finished, Adair sat back, looking stunned.
“It’s hard to fathom you’ve gone your entire life and not heard your wolf.”
“I’d always felt like there was something missing,” Tavish admitted.“Now I feel whole, and I don’t want to lose him again.I was wondering if you wanted to run together?”
“Now?”
Tavish shrugged.“I have a helicopter on standby.We can reach Rundlaith Keep in under an hour.”
Adair thought for a moment, downed the rest of his beer, and nodded.“I got nothing to do tomorrow.Sounds like fun.”
****
They raced side byside through the moonless night.His ancestral home was the perfect place to run, and now that he was front and center with his wolf, he wasn’t afraid of waking up somewhere he didn’t know.
How did he go through his whole shifter life without feeling such exhilaration?Tongue lagging out, the joy was indescribable.He wouldn’t even mind running like this every evening, and he imagined Mairi beside him.Their pups joining in as they darted between trees.
How different he felt now that he knew what the excitement was about.
They ran for hours, eventually returning to the Keep so they could reclaim their skin.After showering and dressing, he invited Adair to join him for a drink.When his grandfather inherited Rundlaith, he’d had the castle overhauled to bring it into the twentieth century.Then, when his father died, Tavish had continued with the renovations, until it was turned into a smart home.It had taken years and a ton of money, but the Keep would now last at least a few hundred years more.
He poured whisky in two tumblers and handed one to Adair.“Thanks for the run.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” his friend returned.“You know you’re an alpha, right?”
“Aye.”He swirled the amber liquid for a moment.“Actually, I’ve been thinking about starting a pack.”
Adair’s eyes widened.
“Structured differently, of course,” Tavish continued.“In Sheridan, the pack is the town.It wouldn’t work like that here, but it could be a pack that comes together when needed.Celebrations.Full-moon runs.A support system for new transitioning wolves.I can reinforce Rundlaith’s borders to make sure we stay on this land and not encounter shotgun-happy hunters surprised to see a wolf in the UK.”
