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Tavi and I giggled.
“Oh, over there is the Elders’ home.”
Tavi pointed to a cabin whose door was painted white. It was larger than the other cabins, but not by much. It seemed that, like the Kings' pack Elders, the Wargs Elders lived communally in one cabin. When I was younger, it used to confuse me that they would want to live apart from their families, but Mom explained that the Elders were “elder” for a reason—their families were full-grown adults with little ones of their own. If they wanted to see their grandchildren, they could leave their home to do so at any time, but tradition dictated that the Elders lived together.
“I don’t think you’ve met them yet. They tend to keep to themselves unless they have something important to say.”
“And over there’s the fighting ring and training grounds,” Jasper said, pointing. Next to the Elders’ cabin was a clearing where the ground had been packed tight and smooth.
“Is that where Night trains the squads?” I asked.
“Yep, Dom too,” Tavi said.
I stared at the grounds and imagined Night there, with his shirt off, his body hard and glistening with sweat as he beat his opponents to the ground. I closed my eyes and shivered.
“You cold?” Jasper asked, pulling me close to him. “I can lend you some heat.”
My face warmed because I’d been caught, but I kept my head down. “Oh. Thanks, Jasper.”
“Anytime. And you know,” he leaned close to whisper near my ear, “I’m going to make the core hunting team soon.”
Before I could congratulate him, I spotted a small wooden sign embedded in the ground, with the word “Library” carefully painted on it in black letters. Without thinking, I slipped out from under Jasper’s arm so I could run into the single-story, wooden building. It wasn’t extravagant, but books lined the wooden shelves that were built into the walls. In the back was a reading nook—a few handmade chairs with worn cushions sat beneath a window.
I clasped my hands together and held them against my chest as I took in the space. The building smelled like the pages of a well-loved book, and it gave me an immediate feeling of comfort.
Tavi and Jasper walked in after me, and I turned to them with wide, shining eyes. “This place is amazing!” I exclaimed. “There are so many books here that I’ve never even heard of.”
“I was hoping you’d see the library,” Tavi said. “I’ve been wanting to bring you here ever since you asked Preston for a book from Colville.”
I grinned. “Can we stay here for a little while?” I asked. “I know you’ve got more places to show me on the tour, but—”
“Of course we can! This was the real point of the tour anyway, so spend as much time here as you like.”
I whooped with joy and grabbed the first book that caught my eye. The next few hours went by quickly as I took my time browsing and skimming the books. Jasper and Tavi talked quietly to each other as they watched me with smiles on their faces. I wanted to take all of the books home, but knew that I wouldn’t be able to take the entire library with me!
At the Kings' pack, the library wasn’t well stocked or interesting. Most of the texts there were historical in nature or were just storage of extra books that the schoolhouse didn’t need. What few novels it had, I’d read multiple times over already.
Finally, I narrowed the books down to around ten that I wanted to read now, each of a different genre. “Could I check these out?” I asked, a bit embarrassed by my obsession now.
Tavi nodded. “There’s a book here where you write down what you’ve got.”
The book in question was large, and the pages were blank. Tavi explained that I needed to write down my name and the titles that I was borrowing. I set the stack down on the table and carefully wrote out the information. I grew more and more excited to read each book as I jotted down their titles. When I was finished, Tavi took the pen.
“Try to remember your page number,” Tavi said, tapping the bottom right corner of the book. “When you return the book, just put a little checkmark or cross next to it.”
“Gotcha.” I watched as Tavi wrote down the page number on the back of my hand.
“I need to start working soon,” Jasper said, glancing out of the window at the darkening sky.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. “Did I take up too much of your time?”
“Not at all.” He gave me a shy grin. “I’m glad I spent the day with you.”
I smiled back. His words were so sweet, but I wished I were hearing them from a different man.
“I have plenty of time to walk you back to Violet’s,” he said. “I’ll even carry your books for you.” He easily lifted them with one arm.
“What a gentleman.” I giggled. “Thanks, Jasper.”
