Kellan tried so hard not to laugh; he pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, but it could not be contained. I must have looked like a right old bag of dicks, and when he finally let loose, he howled and crouched forward, taking me with him like I was no heavier than said bag of appendages.
“Oh, Shortcake. You’re fucking adorable. If you’re still walking, Slade didn’t go too hard on you. He knows better.”
Waving down at my useless legs, I snarled. “What part of collapsed in the snow screamsI can walkto you?”
Kellan released me suddenly and my legs caught, the ache in them not quite as pronounced as before. “You’re stronger than you believe, pretty mate,” he told me, eyes sparkling as his laughter faded.
“I’ve never had anyone believe in me,” I replied, with a shake of my head. “You’d think I’d have learned to believe in myself to make up for it.”
Kellan brushed back the loose strands of my braid. “You do believe in yourself. If you didn’t, you’d never have had the strength to fight our bond and stay out of the cities. You’re not weak, you just show your strength in different ways. Ways that I, personally, love.”
Gah, Kellan was my destruction and salvation wrapped up in one shifter. “You know I bonded to you not even a month after we met, right? I’d hardly call thatfighting a mate bond.”
When his expression shuttered, I hurried to add, “Not that I have any regrets or would change a thing, I promise. I just wanted to point out… fuck, ignore me. I don’t know why I’m babbling like an idiot.”
Slade’s deep rumble saved me from further word vomit when he appeared seemingly out of nowhere, food in hand. “You saved Kellan’s life despite your fears and misgivings. I’d say that qualifies as another form of bravery and strength. It’s all about perspective, Snow, and at times, yours is skewed.”
I barely managed to contain my eyeroll. “Why, thank you, oh wise one. Any of my other flaws you’d like to point out for me?”
It wasn’t like I wanted these alphas to spend all day every day showering me in love and compliments—wait, I didn’tnotwant that, but reality dictated that it wasn’t possible. Today, though, after his ass-kicking, I didn’t need one more negative word from Slade Riverson.
“Well…” he started.
Kellan’s eyes widened as he made a very subtle gesture toshut the fuck up,and Slade immediately complied.
A huffed snort escaped me. “It’s okay, Scary Shifter, I’m quite self-aware when it comes to my flaws. I’m working on acknowledging my strengths too, because I do agree with parts of what Kellan said. I have been through a lot, and I kind of feel like I deserve a bit of this happiness.”
“You absolutely deserve it,” Slade said with force, and for a brief moment his hard exterior softened.
He handed me the plate of food he’d been holding and my mouth watered at the meat-based selection, which included beef, turkey, chicken breast, and sliced sausage.
“Oh, I forgive you,” I cried, making weird, happy sounds. “All is forgiven. We’re back to being besties who prank each other.”
Kellan coughed up a furball behind us, but I was locked in on Slade’s expression, determined to notice even the smallest reaction. All morning he’d ignored my attempts to get him to break first and yell at me over my prank, and even now he remained impassive.
“Besties,” he murmured, like it was a foreign word he had no understanding of. With a shake of his head, he handed over the water too. “Give your full attention to Kellan. He’s unsurpassed in weapons.”
When he walked away, Kellan pressed in closer to my spine, his alpha heat easing the chill from my rest in the snow. “He hasn’t mentioned your prank yet?” he asked, keeping his voice extra low in case Slade heard, even though the dragon shifter was already gone from sight.
“Not a single freaking comment or reaction,” I whispered back. “I mean, unless you count kicking my ass all morning, but I get the sense he would have done that either way.”
“Oh yeah, he’s the best with ass-kicking,” Kellan confirmed. “Just be careful, Shortcake. Slade doesn’t usually let infractions against his boundaries slide. I’m not worried he’ll hurt you. I wouldn’t have assisted you if I thought there was any chance of that, but that doesn’t mean he won’t find another, creative way to return the favor.”
A shiver traced down my spine, and this one had absolutely nothing to do with the cold. I also couldn’t tell if it was fear—it didn’t quite feel like fear…
Stuffing my face seemed like a great distraction. I chose a piece of beef first, biting into the tender, pink meat. “Oh, so good,” I groaned, closing my eyes.
When I opened them again, Kellan was watching me with a hunger that had nothing to do with food. I did enjoy foodas much as the next shifter, but my groans might have been exaggerated for another reason. I needed a tiny hit of that addictive, starving look that stirred my omega essence. “You want to share?” I asked, feigning innocence as I lifted the plate higher.
The blue in Kellan’s eyes almost reached that violet hue. “You eat first, always.”
Right.
Making short work of the food, I was full after a third of the plate, and when I handed the rest to Kellan, hewolfedit down in seconds. I sipped on a bottle of water as he discarded the plate and grabbed his black case. “Come on, we need to head inside,” he told me, staying at my side as we made our way into the hall. “They’ve got a shooting range and sparring mat back here,” he added. “How are your legs doing?”
“Back to normal,” I said, bouncing a little to prove it. “I swear, my shifter healing is getting faster. The pack runs are strengthening my beast.”
His smile was tinged in sadness. “I hate that you spent so many years hiding a huge part of yourself. Years spent containing the wild heart of your beast. That part alone makes me want to tear your mom and that fucking pack apart, although there are plenty of other reasons to destroy them.”
