Pack.
With that one thought in my head, I set off at a run, the wind ruffling my fur and the forest floor firm under my paws.
* * *
Instead of headingto the main house, I veered around it and into the forest that gave my pack its name. With so much magic in the air, the trees grew thick and tall, cutting out sunlight and giving the whole place a darker, creepier feel.
If you’re a human, that is.
To me and my pack, it was home. Our own safe haven away from the curious eyes of anyone not of a paranormal persuasion.
The Dark Forest housed the rest of my pack and anyone else who sought shelter on our land. And that’s where I headed.
As I passed the tree line, the air dropped a little cooler, the surrounding colours muted with the absence of bright sunlight. I felt I could breathe properly for the first time that day.
No trace of Gabriel fucking Mason in here.
The pack meeting last night had served its purpose, almost everyone was now aware to be on their guard. That we had hunters in the area and until we knew more about them, no one was to go anywhere alone, and they were definitely not to be trusted.
But not everyone had made it last night.
I knew for a fact that some had actively ignored my text because they were too fucking stubborn for their own good. And that was where I headed first.
The house I wanted sat deep in the forest, no immediate neighbours because in her own words, “What the fuck do I want neighbours for?”
On silent feet, I padded through the trees, the small house visible up ahead. Before I got much closer, a familiar scent caught my attention. I wasn’t surprised he’d managed to get so close without me realising. The fae were stealthy fuckers.
Axel stepped out into my path and leant against the nearest tree.
Dressed in his usual attire of tight black jeans, T-shirt, and a leather jacket, he looked as hot as ever. Bright blue eyes gave me a curious look. “I know you’re not stupid enough to call on Nell like that.” He waved a hand at me. “You know she hates wolves.”
Nell’s shifted form was a jaguar. She’d long since left her pack behind to live alone in my forest, claiming she was too old for all that nonsense.
I shifted back, sucking in a sharp breath as my body realigned itself. I took a moment to get my bearings. “She doesn’t hate wolves,” I shot back, matching his grin. “She just thinks we’re beneath her.”
Axel laughed, head thrown back, showing the beautiful pale skin of his throat. He was striking, with short silver hair and high, sharp cheekbones. Otherworldly like all fae. I didn’t know his exact age, but I’d put him somewhere similar to my own. If things were different, I might have tried for more than friends, and maybe he’d have let me.
But Axel wasn’t for me.
That didn’t stop him from giving me a thorough once-over. “I don’t think Nell will appreciate this view half as much as I do.” Crooking his finger, he started walking backwards. “Come with me, I’m sure I’ve got something you can borrow.”
“I doubt that.” Axel was about four inches shorter than me and slender where I was broad. I followed him anyway because he was also right. Despite shifters being well used to nudity, Nell wouldn’t let me through her door if I was naked. I tended to forget little things like that when I was a wolf.
Axel lived closer to my pack, in a clearing neighbouring the other non-humans who’d decided to take up my offer of a safe place to live.
The only difference was that Axel’s house backed onto a gateway to the Fae Realm. It wasn’t visible to anyone who didn’t carry fae blood, but I felt its presence. Magic thrummed in the air, getting stronger as we approached. As always when I visited this part of the forest, my gaze was drawn to the oak trees behind his house. The doorway to another world, one which I’d never seen and wasn’t likely to either.
It also led to my dad.
“Have you heard from him recently?” Axel asked, as though reading my mind.
“Not for a few weeks.” He might have left this world behind, but we still kept in touch. Not as often as I’d like, but this forest still held painful memories for him. “I don’t want to talk about my dad, though,” I said, as Axel disappeared into his bedroom.
He came back a few moments later brandishing a pair of joggers and a top. They looked way too big to be his, and I raised an eyebrow as he held them out to me. “Do I even want to know?” Axel liked sex. A lot of sex with a variety of partners. As a good chunk of my pack could attest.
He grinned, eyes full of mischief. “Probably not.”
They fit surprisingly well. Clearly whoever the owner was, they were more than likely a shifter. I pulled the top to my nose and sniffed, much to his amusement. They held a faint trace of my own pack scent too, and yep, that was about as much investigation as I wanted to do.
