What a difference between his and Talon’s upbringing. Talon talked about his parents with such love. They supported him all the way.
Unlike Archer and Dax, who had been friends, Talon came because a seer told him to, saying this was where he was meant to be. That seer had been right. He belonged with us. But he hadn’t known that at the time. He had gone on the seer’s word, demonstrating a kind of bravery most people didn’t have.
Did you want to circle back?That was Archer.
We could play ‘catch the wolfess,’I teased, knowing full well “wolfess” was not even a word. Before they could reply, I darted off.
There was something hot about being chased. Not when it was real, obviously. I knew what the end of that looked like. But playing like this? It was everything.
I’d gotten pretty good at being able to hide my scent when I needed to—knowing how to use leaves just so, climbing trees when necessary, jumping fairly long distances to give that little break in my scent trail, going in and out of the water on different sides of riverbanks—all of it.
And if I wanted to, I could make this hunt last.
But all of me wanted to get caught.
So I zigzagged and wove through trees, jumped in the water a couple of times, but nothing too intentional. And then, as we reached a clearing, I found myself circled by my fabulous wolves.
I rolled on my back and waited for them to rub my belly with their noses.
Our first time spending the afternoon together, I had petted Dax and thought how great it was that he allowed it because he wasn’t my pet. He was my mate. But now, being on the receiving end of it, I understood why he’d leaned into my touch that day. This was amazing.
We walked the rest of the way home and dressed. It had been the perfect way to spend the afternoon. I was looking forward to doing it again and again.
“What should we do now?” Archer asked.
I shrugged. As long as it wasn’t going home, I was game.
“How about we make some coffee? It’s near three o’clock,” Dax offered.
At first, I thought he was teasing, but then Talon smacked his shoulder. “I don’t know how you do it, man. I need to start my day with coffee, and you end yours that way.”
Dax shrugged.
“I’ll help you, and I’ll make tea, so not everyone here has to be up all night.”
The two of them went inside and left Archer and me alone.
Your pack lands are beautiful.
“No, ours are. Our pack lands are beautiful.”
I reached over and took his hand, remembering our first kiss and wanting another. He must have sensed it, leaning down, brushing his lips againstmine—and just like the first time, I felt myself needing more.
I pulled him to me, wrapping my arms around his neck. As I deepened the kiss, he sank into it, and I reached for his shirt. But unlike in my dream, he broke the kiss and took a step back.
“Sylvia, this is what you want?”
I nodded and signedyesover and over again.
“Thank the Goddess,” he said, scooping me up, “because I want this, too.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sylvia
The alpha had never been pushy with me, never attempted to tell me what to do or even try to push for more than a sweet hug or kiss. But his scent wrapped around me all the time, and after spending the day with all of them, the heat throbbed within me. I’d heard whispers of what it would be like, but no words could truly describe it or how it felt when my alphas were holding me.
At first, with Dax, I’d felt guilty that I was using him to ease the burn, but he’d assured me that nothing could be further from the truth. They were my mates, and making love to me was a natural outcome of being fated.
