She has always been a sweet girl, and I don’t want her to feel ostracized as I did. While I don’t entirely trust Caleb’s military friends yet, something in me feels compelled to at least try.
Caleb isn’t far, as he has maintained all night. When he’s close, he touches my back or my waist, sometimes moving to my upper arm for a gentle squeeze, almost like he’s reminding himself that I’m still there. That I’m with him.
The bond has been warm and steady all night, grounding but also overwhelming as it always seems to be. The heat is constant, even if it still makes me uneasy when I think about it for too long.
Whenever Astrid wanders off, I catch his gaze on her. He isn’t hovering or intrusive about it, but aware and watchful. It’s quietly protective in a way that lights something within me.
I’ve grown softer around him despite knowing how dangerous that is. I don’t know whether his protectiveness is temporary or real and long-lasting. But somehow, something in me silently hopes it isn’t just an obligation.
Still, even if it’s hard at times, I let myself relax, if only a fraction.
“Mama, look!” Astrid says, catching our attention as she races over with a big smile on her face. She holds up a small wooden carving, seemingly from one of the older wolves who had spent some time whittling it for her.
“What do you have?” I ask, bending in front of her to see it better.
“It’s a wolf,” she says proudly, giving it a little wave in front of us. “It looks like Caleb.”
At that, Caleb’s chest puffs slightly, but he likely wouldn’t admit it. Then, he crouches to her level, and he smiles more softly than I’ve ever seen.
“That looks exactly like me,” he murmurs, lips pulling. “Are you going to take care of him?”
She nods without hesitation. “He’s in my pack now. Just like the other one.”
A few other pack members nearby seem to melt at that, chuckling lightly, but Caleb keeps his complete focus on Astrid, looking at her like men do when they have something to care so fiercely about. Like she’s something precious.
Something that’s his.
My heart skips a beat at that.
For a moment, he doesn’t just look like a man caring for his mate’s child, but like a father.
Flickering beneath the surface, his emotions touch our bond, distinctly tender and protective. It’s quick, but I feel it, and I don’t know what to make of it.
When Astrid throws her arms around his neck in a boisterous hug, Caleb freezes for half a second with slight shockbefore he softens and puts his arms around her, lifting her with ease. She giggles as he spins her once, making the others laugh.
Taking in the scene is enough to make me feel like my heart could give out at any moment.
From the inside, our arrangement has been nothing short of complicated. But from the outside, we look like a family. One that has been together all along.
The realization leaves me with an ache I never prepared for.
I’m still trying to contend with it while I glance across the clearing, seeing as Caleb chats with Zane and Hunter while Astrid hangs out around my feet, moving around and through my legs idly as she starts to tucker out for the night.
“You were quite the charmer tonight, huh?” Dominic says as he approaches, looking down at her. “Next time, you’ll have to show me how the potato sack race is done. Deal?”
Immediately, her smile grows again as she clings to my leg, and she nods. “Deal.”
Then, he looks to me with a more relaxed expression. “You’ve handled tonight well.”
Still somewhat tense around him and the others, I force myself to at least sound more confident than I feel. It’s not exactly easy when all of Caleb’s friends are bulky, intimidating military guys.
“I’m holding up.”
“You know, I’ve never seen this side of him before,” he murmurs, glancing between me and Caleb, who’s approached by Jack now. He grins. “That’s how I know he’s not lying about you.”
Unable to stop it, my cheeks warm at the implication. “Honestly, I’ve never seen it before either.”
Dominic chuckles and continues about something military related, but I tune it out as I take in the way Jack’s body language seems a bit off. He moves with an easy grin, but there’s a weird sort of tension in his shoulders, and he walks with too much purpose for his approach to be casual.
