We reached the lodge, and Riven escorted me into the restaurant. Freshly caught venison was tonight’s special. I’d never eaten venison, but it melted in my mouth, and accompanied by a glass of wine and the warmth from the fire, it eased my worries about my situation and Riven.
“Do you get many people like me staying here?” I dabbed at my mouth with a napkin.
“Your situation is unique.” It wasn’t the first time he’d said that.
“But what makes me so special?”
“Your case requires discretion.”
Hmmm, but everyone staying here, staff and guests, probably knew who I was. This wasn’t how witsec worked in the movies. I couldn’t get my head around it.
Riven’s voice broke into my thoughts. “The lodge is especially designed to keep our special guests hiddenfrom the rest of the world. Everyone on this piece of land has been vetted.”
We were going round and round, me wondering if this was where I was supposed to be and him assuring me it was.
After the meal, we strolled back to the cabin. It was a clear night, and there was no snowfall, but a howl punctuated the night’s stillness. I clung to Riven, forgetting that he had reared away from physical contact earlier.
“Is that a wolf?” I shivered because we were surrounded by ancient forests. There were wild animals who roamed those woods, maybe more dangerous than any bad guys.
He put an arm around me, the heat from his body lighting a fire in mine. “Yes, but they won't bother us. They're talking to each other.”
“What are they saying?” That was a joke, but Riven's thoughtful expression suggested he was considering my question. He put his gloved hand over mine.
“That depends.” He peered up at the stars and then at me. “Sometimes they're establishing territory or calling the pack together. And other times…” He paused. “They're looking for their mate.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure if that was sweet or sad. What if they’d found their mate but that wolf wasn’t interested or had found another mate?
FOUR
RIVEN
I slipped out of the cabin before dawn while Indigo was sleeping. My wolf wanted to shift, but I kept my human form in case Indigo woke up. I pounded along the trail, trying not to think about him, the future, and everything in between.
I trawled through my memories of shifters, particularly wolves, whose fated mates were humans. Few came to mind, some of which ended in disaster, and only one couple mated that I was aware of and were together long-term. It brought on a world of pain for the shifter when their mate left or couldn’t balance the human/shifter divide.
But Indigo had walked into my life, and he was all I could think about. I couldn’t escape him because his scent clung to me and that had my wolf pacing restlessly within me, wanting us to mate.
Not yet. I didn’t add, “Maybe not ever.”
He still didn't know what I was, so how could I expect him to understand he was my fate?
“Thought I'd find you brooding up here.”
I didn't turn at Taylor’s voice and waited for him to bring up Indigo.
“I'm not brooding.” I squinted against the rising sun. “I'm thinking.”
He shoulder-bumped me. “Thinking about your mate?”
I ignored his teasing smile. “Word travels fast.”
“Small pack, big news.” He side-eyed me. “He's cute. For a human.”
“He's more than cute.”
Taylor's smile widened. “Oh? Do tell.”
If he expected me to provide intimate details, he was out of luck. Not that there were any to share. I kicked a clump of snow. “What am I going to do?”
