I sighed but I was still smiling. “You’re going to ruin her good manners,” I toldFlint.
He grinned. “She’s still a pup. She has plenty of time to learn manners, especially now that you’re not living under sometyrant.”
His words hit me in the core. For some reason, up until this point my mind hadn’t truly settled on the fact that we weresafenow. No more schedules, no more strict rules, no moreGunner.
“So I really don’t have to do anything?” I asked. “I can just… walk into town and live my lifenormally?”
“Of course,” Flintgrunted.
“That’s so… normal,” I said with alaugh.
“Sure is.” He stood up. “If you don’t mind, let me show you around. I’d like to introduce you to the pack.” In a voice only I could hear, he murmured, “No offense, Charlie, but you still have that Scarlet Ridge scent on you, so I need everyone to understand that you’re not one of themanymore.”
“I totally understand,” I said, sighing. “I hope it doesn’t take too long for it to wearoff.”
“Don’t worry. Even underneath the Scarlet Ridge stench, you have a nice natural scent. I’m sure it won’t takelong.”
Am I hearing things correctly? Did he just say I have a nicescent?
Flint was already walking off to get dressed, so he didn’t see the blush creeping onto my face, which was totally fine byme.
I forced myself not to read too much into that comment. Casey and I popped back into the bedroom to get ready for the day when I realized we reallydidonly have the clothes on our backs from our escape. I was just thinking about what to do when Flint knocked gently on thedoor.
“Come in,” I toldhim.
He peeked inside, holding out a fistful of clothes. “Figured you might need something to wear. Might be a bit big on you, though. Especially thepup.”
“Thank you,” I said, taking the green plaid shirt and jeans. They were definitely too big on me, but I wasn’t complaining; clean, comfortable clothes that smelled like Flint were all I could ask for rightnow.
“Just throw the dirty stuff on the floor,” he told us. “That’s what Jericho does all the time anyway. We’ll deal with the laundrylater.”
Casey was drowning in the white graphic tee I’d given her. It looked more like a dress than a t-shirt.
“Look, daddy! It’s me!” she said, pointing at the wolf on the front of theshirt.
“It is you,” I agreed with a smile. “Flint knew exactly what you’d want towear.”
She nodded seriously. “He’ssmart.”
Flint, who had his back turned to us and was waiting in the doorway, let out a small chuckle. “That’s the best compliment anyone’s ever givenme.”
When we were dressed - me wearing my best Flint impression and Casey in her white-wolf “dress” - Flint led us down the path that snaked down from his front porch. I gazed in awe of my surroundings. The pine and birch forest surrounding his cabin looked completely different in the daylight - rich, beautiful and lush. There was a timeless, magical quality in theair.
“This is such an amazing place to live,” I commented. “You’re solucky.”
Flint opened his mouth for a second, then closed it before saying, “I guess Iam.”
“Where are we going, Mr. Flint?” Casey asked. We held hands as we descended the trail and she swung them back andforth.
“Just Flint is fine,” he said in a gentle tone. “We’re heading into town to meet up with my hunting party. I’m going to introduce you to themproperly.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “That’s what you were doing last night, wasn’tit?”
Flint nodded. “Yes. We do a biweekly hunt to provide for the pack’s community kitchen. Every family is allowed to take as much food as they need. Its especially useful for new alpha and omega couples with growing families, so we like to keep it well-stocked.”
“Look! There’s a butterfly!” Casey laughed, shifted to her wolf form and began chasing it down the trail. She didn’t go too far so I was fine with her having somefun.
“That’s incredible,” I said, turning back to Flint. “We didn’t have anything like that at Scarlet Ridge. You kind of just ate what the government handed out - which wasn’t really much for an omega likeme.”
