I do what he says, instinctively holding onto the handle while my gaze snaps from the wolves behind us to what’s in front of us. A huge tree lies draped across the street, giving Maddox no room to drive around it.
Kiran, make sure you are ready to heal me when we crash!
“No fucking way,” Maddox mutters under his breath. “I am going to make it out of this, in one fucking piece.” He spins the car around so fast that it rotates a few times before it suddenly halts.
He did it! Stopped the car before we could crash. But we have a new problem ahead of us now. “Out,” I exclaim. “We either need to fight them or run.”
“They are too close,” Maddox blurts out. “Fight!”
*GWENDOLYN*
It’s late in the morning, actually almost around lunch, when Charlie and I make it to the packhouse in search of something edible… and company. We were up until late into the night, even after Gisela and then Dario went home. I guess having your mate out there just hits differently.
“Maddox wrote to me that they are on the way back,” Charlie says, relief etched onto her face. “I talked to Mom earlier this morning, and she told me to stay here for the week so I can get to know Maddox better. I have plans to show him Red Claw, too, though. Fingers crossed, he will actually want to get to know where I live and my family.”
“I am sure he will,” I say.
And if he doesn’t, I will have Felix or Elden or Arden or Aurelia kick sense into him. Or all four of them at once. And if nothing helps, I will ask Flora to do it. Something tells me he would be so terrified of her that he would agree to anything. But I hope there will be no need to go that far.
I hear a flapping noise, and Tiger lands on my shoulder. By now, I have gotten accustomed to her, and it seems like she is following me around more and more. It’s such a comforting feeling, giving me the security of never being alone.
I love my zoo. Today, my capybara and porcupine demanded some attention and wanted to have cuddles. It just feels like I am living my dream.
“Hey, girls!” Aurelia approaches, with long strides and smiles at us. “Where are you heading to?”
“Technically, I’d say breakfast,” I chuckle.
“Though we could also call it brunch,” Charlie adds. “We might have skipped breakfast for the sake of sleeping in and cuddling with a whole bunch of fur babies.”
“How about you join Arden and me?” Aurelia offers. “We both had to skip breakfast today. He had an appointment with the Council, and I had a meeting with a bunch of alphas.”
“Is the kitchen still operating?” Charlie asks. “Or maybe, it’s operating again? Sorry, I am not making any sense. It’s just that we are right between breakfast and lunch.”
“I got you,” Aurelia chuckles, leading us towards the back entrance of the packhouse. There, on the first floor, is a small private dining room that the alpha family sometimes uses when they have official guests.
In there, I spot Arden, currently putting some plates on the table, and a generous amount of quesadillas and tacos. “You are a lifesaver,” I exclaim.
Aurelia grins. She wraps her arms around Arden, who returns the gesture. I’ve noticed that Arden is more of a reserved character, but he always seems to light up when Aurelia is with him. They are such a handsome couple. He fumbles with something in his ear. While I try not to stare, I can’t help but throw secret looks at him. Felix mentioned he has a hearing impairment and sometimes switches off his hearing aid.
Now I feel bad that Charlie and I are ruining their couple time.
“We really don’t want to intrude,” I say.
“Gwen is right,” Charlie agrees. “We can just grab something and eat somewhere else.”
“Why would you?” Arden asks. “There is plenty of food and space here.”
Aurelia smiles at us. “If I’d wanted to have Arden fully to myself, I would have had brunch with him in our private suite.”
“We just wanted to unwind a little here,” Arden adds. “But we can still do that with you two,“ he pauses, a smile curling his lips as he looks at Tiger, “three here.”
“Well then, I am too hungry to argue,” I admit.
At that, Arden smiles, and Aurelia chuckles. “We are family,” she tells me. “You don’t need to walk on eggshells around us.”
Both Charlie and I are happy to dig in. It’s been a while since I had quesadillas. I ordered them for Faye sometimes when I had the money to spare. “These are fantastic,” I say.
“Thank you.” Arden inspects his plate, a deep frown on his face. “They could be better, though, but thank you for the feedback.”
