I take a step and pause before I step back, pulling him with me. “No, we shouldn’t. They have a new life, and with any luck, they won’t remember what happened to their family.”
“Kaida,” Jarek murmurs my name and pulls me into a hug. “You don’t have to be so hard on yourself.”
“It’s better if they don’t know me. I’m toxic, and I get people killed just from knowing me. No, let them go. Let them live here, playing, laughing. They are so beautiful, Jarek. I think if my Aunt Rae could see this, she would be pleased.”
Legion joins them, crouching down, and the kids throw themselves at him. I squeeze Jarek’s hand harder, watching as he laughs and tickles them.
They were so heavy.
“Let’s go,” I whisper. “Come on. We don’t belong near children. When this is over, we can come and find them.”
Jarek is silent, but then he whirls, dragging me away with him.
“Where are we going?”
“Anywhere, we can do anything. What do you want to do?” He says, and I note the way his green eyes turn soft when he looks at me.
“I want to get away from people,” I say before I can think it through.
Jarek is silent for a long moment.
“Not you!” I say quickly. “I mean, everyone else. Did you honestly think I meant you? I want to be alone with my alphas,” I say shyly.
I can just see Jarek’s pleased grin on his profile. He swings our hands and then lifts my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles.
“Okay, let’smake it happen.”
In no time at all, my alphas are herding me away from the camp. We go to the back of the valley where Mordecai leads us into another hidden pathway. It’s narrower, but the cliffs aren’t as high. When we get out, I just stand there, staring.
The hill we’re on slants up, leading up to the mountaintop, but the forest is thick and lush. Grass blankets the ground, dotted here and there with violet and white flowers. It’s pristine and breathtaking like it doesn’t know that there’s a war happening not far from here.
I’ve seen some beautiful places, but this one, whilst it isn’t the most striking, has a calmness that makes me want to stay here forever.
I take a step and find myself suddenly on four paws. The scents are stronger; the ground feels amazing, and I’m happy. Actually happy. I spring into a run, sprinting with glorious abandon.
I turn and find myself face-to-face with a smirking red wolf. He steps forward, and I step back. Over and over. My fur lifts and falls, and I let out a deep whine. He huffs, his ears pricking, sniffing as he moves forward, stretching out his neck.
I dart away before we can touch, spinning and jumping, chased by three wolves. The black wolf with icy eyes hunts me mercilessly, while the Anarchy wolf, with its blood-tinged tips, rolls in the grass, content to watch.
Jarek knocks me down and grabs my throat, holding me still. Our game ends, and I find myself acutely aware of him.
Just that quickly, I find myself human again. My scent is strong in the air, but so is theirs. Jarek leans down, his eyes huge, green tinged with orange sparks. He’s stunning in both forms. I lean up and kiss his muzzle.
He growls and leaps at me. I fall back with a delighted shriek and find myself pinned by my alpha. His hands slide up my wrists and pin them above my head.
“Hello.”
“Hi,” I whisper back.
“Come on, let’s eat,” Mordecai says and grabs a bag. He starts unpacking it, dragging food out and passing it around. I look at the bread rolls, the hunks of meat and fish, cheese, and the berries and wonder how things have gotten this good.
“I never got to eat stuff like this,” I say and bite into the bread roll, tearing it with my teeth. “When I was on the run, I didn’t have the manpower to eat like this. Half the stuff I ate, I didn’t know if it would make me sick or not.”
Cadel watches me intently. “We won’t let that happen to you.”
“Of course, we won’t. Though, to be fair, I didn’t eat much better than Kaida. It’s hard on your own, and finding food becomes a desperate situation. It takes up so much of every day.”
Mordecai doesn’t say anything.
