Cora and Warrick, who’d diverted from the main path at some point, burst into the clearing, and I wasn’t surprised by Warrick playfully nudging his mate. He rolled her over onto her back to nuzzle against her throat.
Hunter did the same to me, his massive head firm against my side until I went down, and he licked along the edge of my jaw. His rough tongue felt good, and I yelped lightheartedly, trying to bowl him over too. With his boulder-like density, I had no hope.
He didn’t budge even when I ran full force into his side, bruising only myself and my ego.
I swear he laughed a little, his lips lifting as his chest rumbled.
Warrick and Cora headed for the stream, and I watched them, happy to see how strongly their bond shone. To the point Ialmostcaught a glimpse of what appeared to be tangible connections as they lapped up water and splashed in the shallows.
My observations were interrupted by Slade gracefully sliding to the ground, his long legs sprawled out in front of him as he leaned back against a nearby tree in the shade. As promised, he’d had absolutely no issue keeping up with us, and through a few of the denser paths, the branches appeared to all but shift out of his way as he moved. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that Slade commanded nature, and nature obeyed.
When Hunter finally allowed me to regain my footing, I padded toward the stream to find Finley, in his bear form,perched in the middle. His huge paws plunged into the current, and for all his terrifying grizzly form, he looked cute as he swiped through the water, like he was trying to catch a?—
He stabbed a dark pink fish with his eight-inch claws and lifted it to his mouth, tearing the head right off it.Well…that was one way to fish.
My wolf was thirsty, so we moved downstream and lapped at the frosty water, enjoying the fresh taste of the stream. Hunter remained close by, ever vigilant as he observed the clearing, scented the air, and kept a general eye on our surroundings.
It reminded me of a story Ophelia Locker, a lady I worked with in Vegas two years ago, told me. She said whenever she went out at night with her husband, she switched her brain off. I never truly understood what she meant at the time, but she explained that when she was alone she always kept a close eye on her surroundings, calculated the risk of every path she took, and always held her keys or mace in hand to use as a weapon.
Human women didn’t have the luxury of just strolling around at night without fear, but when she was with her big, burly, tatted husband, he was the protector, and she just got to… exist.
At the time, I’d internally laughed at the thought of ever trusting a male shifter enough to switch off my own protective instincts. But with Hunter and this pack… I mean, I didn’t just stop overseeing my own safety, but I shared it, which allowed moments of enjoying my run without fear.
For the first time in my life there was a pack at my back, and considering how hard I’d fought against this fate, and how wrong I’d been about it, I was starting to wonder if I’d been wrong about more than just that.
Could these alphas truly turn on me one day and become a threat?
They werenothinglike the Rogers pack, and therefore… maybe… they could handle the power.
It was a terrifying, alluring thought.
When I’d drank my fill, and was sated and relaxed, I padded back toward Slade. My wolf understood not to touch him as she lay down, leaving a few inches between his legs and our body. Hunter settled in on my other side, and he had no qualms about space, pressing into my side, the heat of his energy countering the chill of the air.
Even at a distance Slade gave off just as much heat, and I was relaxed and drowsy, resting my head on my paws as I drifted off into a snooze. In my half-asleep state, a solid but gentle weight pressed to the base of my skull, and my wolf internally preened at Slade touching us. The pressure against my head was soothing, regulating my beast.
Finley’s scent drifted closer, and while he didn’t touch me, his presence helped me drift off to sleep. Sleep away my pain and worry, and fears over Kellan.
Sleep away the concern that my presence in these alphas’ lives was going to get one of them killed.
Finley blamed me for Kellan, and deep inside I agreed with him. I kept that pain and anger tucked away with the memories of finding my mom hanging like a husk in the street.
She’d never been a good mother, and I wasn’t sure she deserved a different ending to the one she got, but we continued to share the same fate. Even if mine already felt different with this pack of alphas who brought me moments of peace and protection.
Her pack had never done that for her. Not even once, despite her dependency on them. It was always her sacrificing everything, and them taking and taking.
They’d been assholes in the truest sense, and when they’d stood there and laughed as I tried to cut her down from her place of death, I’d known I had to run.
From them, and all the alphas I believed were the same.
I’d been successful for a while too, until fate chose a different path for me.
Did that mean my fate no longer aligned with Mom’s?
Would I get a different ending?
CHAPTER 20
EMME
