Lyall takes my hand and leads me from the room. Anders and Jamie follow. “Do you want to go?”
The idea was exciting once I adjusted to it, but now that we aren’t being forced to leave… I squeeze his hand. “Your family is here. So is mine. Let’s face it, they couldn’t function without us.”
Tossing back his head, Lyall laughs. “Nay, I don’t believe they could.”
“Heard that,” Anders growls, elbowing Lyall in the head.
“Congrats, you two!” Jamie says, slapping my back as he passes. “We should have dinner sometime. Our place.”
“Sounds good,” I reply, loving the sound of an evening with Lyall’s family.
“Anders.” Lyall tugs on his twin’s arm, taking him aside. He whispers something too low for me to catch. Anders hands him a duffel bag, which Lyall slings over his shoulder. I wonder what that’s all about?
Once we’re downstairs, we say goodbye to Anders and Jamie. It’s a beautiful day, even if it is freezing. It snowed recently but the streets have been salted and shoveled. The sky is clear and blue without a threat of more snow.
“Wanna walk around a bit?”
Lyall puts his arm around my shoulders. “You lead, and I’ll follow.”
We spent the rest of the day walking along the Hudson River, stopping for some beers at a bar. My feet ache, and I’d love nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep nextto Lyall, but he insists on a trip to Central Park. “There’s a spot there where we’re allowed to shift. The witches have glamoured the area so humans won’t notice.”
I yawn into the back of my fist. “Okay, but I’m not chasing your fluffy ass around the park.”
A quick train ride later, and we’re walking beneath the canopies of green leaves. Lyall stops outside Sheep Meadow. It’s a huge open space, perfect for wolves to run. Lyall examines the trunk of a tree, running his fingers over a symbol carved into the wood. “Should be the place.” He sets his duffel bag down and pulls out his white fur cloak while I find a spot beneath a tree to sit.
“Have fun, sweetheart.”
The white fur catches the sunlight when Lyall throws it over his shoulders. “Sure you don’t want to join me?”
I snort, resting my back against the tree. “As if I could keep up with you.”
Lyall grabs something inside the bag. “With this, you might.” He pulls out a thick pelt of fur. One I vaguely recognize.
“Is that…” I push myself up, exhaustion forgotten.
Lyall smiles, holding out the fur cloak. I clasp the fur between my fingers, the pelt dense and coarse. “It’s yours.”
How could he still have it? A breathless laugh escapes me even as I blink hard against the sting of tears. “You kept it? All this time?”
He swings the cloak over my shoulders, a warm, comforting weight against my back. “Of course. I never gave up, Soren. I believed the gods would bring you back to me. It was only a matter of when.”
His words break my heart and make it soar all at once. I take him into my arms, pressing my face into his shoulder. “Thank you for waiting for me.”
His hand settles at the nape of my neck, warm as sunlight. “You are worth it, love.”
I never thought I’d find someone like him. After so much heartbreak, I’d convinced myself I would be alone forever. Now I know I’ll never have to be. I’ve found the kind of love I thought only existed in my dreams.
“Ready to run?” Lyall asks, his grin full of mischief.
“Hell yeah. So, how do I do this?” How can a pelt of fur change my whole body into a wolf?
Lyall scratches his chin thoughtfully. “I do not know.”
“Don’t you do this all the time?”
“Aye. It’s like asking me how to breathe. I don’t know how. I just do it. Mayhap, if you lower yourself to the floor… like this.” Lyall gets on all fours. I mimic him, feeling stupid when nothing happens.
“Okay… so what now? Do I have to howl, chase my nonexistent tail—” The colors of the world shift before my eyes. Everything sharpens, like I put on glasses. “Whoa.” The fur on my back shivers, making me gasp when it starts tomove.Fur descends over my arms, crawls down my back.
