My pack is safe.
A pack that now included Gabriel.
My soulmate.
Done talking, I lay back down and turned on my side to cuddle up behind him. He sighed in his sleep as I wrapped an arm around his waist, drawing him back against my chest. With my nose brushing the back of his neck, I inhaled slow and steady, his familiar scent a balm to my aching body.
This was all I needed for now.
He was all I’d ever need.
More images flashed in my head as I drifted off.
Hands in my fur.
Whispered words that brought a smile to my face, and a warmth so deep I felt it in my bones.
* * *
Gabriel
The Dark Forest Pack were not what I’d expected.
At all.
Not that I had all that much experience of pack life. All my dealings with shifters tended to be on a one-on-one basis, even now.
It had been two weeks since Tombs tried to kill us all, and I’d spent every day of it at the main pack house, with Rys. For the first eight of those days, he’d been unconscious, so I’d been left to navigate things without him.
Thank fuck for Sasha.
As one of Rys’s betas, and with Talis out of action, she took it on herself to introduce me to the whole pack, including those that lived deep in the forest. The ones, she informed me, that weren’t strictly pack but Rys treated them that way anyway.
For the most part, I’d been welcomed with open arms.
Meeting Nell had been…interesting.
With Sasha leading by example, I’d been accepted into Rys’s pack as though I’d always belonged there. It was both overwhelming and wonderful. From having no family this side of the gateway, I suddenly had a whole pack.
It’d take a little getting used to, but I liked it.
The feeling of belonging that everyone gifted me with such willingness floored me.
And then there was Rys.
Hard to believe that three weeks ago we couldn’t be in the same room without sniping at each other. Now I struggled to keep my hands off him.
“There you are.”
I smiled into my mug as Rys’s strong arms wrapped around me from behind.
“I was just enjoying the peace and quiet.” One thing the main house had very little of. I minded less than I thought I would.
Rys laughed. “Make the most of it.” Warm lips brushed the back of my neck and I shivered.
“Don’t start anything, we have to leave soon.”
“I know,” he grumbled. “Hopefully this’ll be the last time for a while.”
