She nodded.
“I’m going to carry you up the mountain to our home. Would you like me to sedate you so you won’t be frightened?”
She frowned. “No, Sir.”
“If you change your mind, you’ll let me know. I don’t want you to fret.”
“I’ll be fine.” She hadn’t known what to expect. It shocked her to learn he was going to carry her. She could see he was extremely fit and strong, plus that was a well-known fact about Alpha Protectors. But carry her?
Isaac lifted her off her feet and cradled her.
She gasped and wrapped both arms around his neck to hold on. Her ceremonial dress was floor length. The only parts of herskin that were visible were her feet in the gold sandals, her face, and her hands. Her mark was mostly covered by the lace sleeve.
Isaac exited the government building, and in no time at all, he was climbing effortlessly up the mountain.
Amber said nothing as he moved quickly. She kept her gaze forward, looking in the direction he traveled. It didn’t take long for her to home in on everything in their path. The beauty of the greenery and the snow-capped mountains in the distance had always been stunning, but this was her first time getting a closer look.
“Is that your home? The one with the wrap-around porch and the forest-green door?”
Isaac stopped moving and stared at her. “You can see that from here?”
Her breath hitched as she looked in that direction again. “Yes. Can’t you?”
He chuckled. “No, Little one, but I’m not surprised you can.”
“Why can’t you see it?” she asked in confusion. Did he have a visual impairment?
He kissed her neck before he started walking again. “It’s too far away, Little one, and not in our direct line of sight. Rylee warned me you would probably have a heightened visual ability. What’s shocking is that it’s so honed already even before we’ve consummated our union. Could you see that well before today, Little one?”
Amber thought about it and shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. No one has ever told me I was seeing things they could not.”
Isaac rubbed her back. “I suspect your vision is enhancing by the minute.”
Amber gasped. “Why?”
He smiled at her. “No one knows why, but many recent mates have discovered they have heightened abilities. I suspect your ability will be extraordinary vision.”
“Does Rylee have an ability?”
“She sure does. She has an incredible sense of smell.”
“Huh. She’s always been sensitive to scents.”
“And I bet you’ve always thought you could see better than other people.”
Amber leaned her head against his shoulder as he continued to move at an incredible speed up the mountain. He was right. She had always thought she could see better than others. She’d rarely mentioned it. Rylee had known, though. She’d apparently informed Isaac.
Amber loved the way he kept stroking her back. It calmed her. She wasn’t scared for her safety from their trip. She had every confidence he would not drop her. She was nervous about what would happen next.
The bottom line was she knew she would be expected to have sex with him. That’s what mates did. They consummated their union. No amount of pep-talking could soothe her nerves on that topic.
Keeping her gaze ahead, she examined his home and the surrounding area. When she shifted her attention to one side, she noticed another home. To the other side, another. They weren’t particularly close to each other, but she could see more and more of his community as they traveled.
Movement suddenly caught her eye, and she pushed herself up higher in Isaac’s arms. Wolves. Several of them. They were galloping through the trees in pairs.
Glancing all around, she realized they were all heading in the same direction—Isaac’s home. One of them was huge.
“What’s wrong, Little one?” Isaac asked, his voice tight.
