Page 7 of The Witch’s Daughter

“Alpha Oscar didn’t take a Luna,” I pointed out, sick of this conversation. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to. None of them were her.

“And you saw how that worked for Oscar.” Victor motioned with his eyes toward the door Liz left through minutes ago.

“I’m too busy to worry about mating,” I tried another tactic. It was the truth. In extracting Alpha Oscar’s influence out of every nook and cranny of this pack, I’d barely had time to breathe over the past year.

Victor gave me a sad smile. “Youth is wasted on the young. At your age and with your looks, I’d have all the senoritas lined up at my door.”

“Careful, or I’ll tell Rosie,” I warned.

His fangs extended. “You wouldn’t.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Are you challenging me, Beta?”

“Never.” He rolled his eyes and bared the side of his neck, showing his respect. “Though if I were younger…”

“Sure you would. Anyway…” I changed topics, needing to get on the road soon. “Everything should be set for the weekend. When I get back, we’ll go over the soil reports. Until then, if there are any issues, you can send a runner after me. I already got permission from Alpha Kera for a messenger to cross into her territory if needed.”

“You know, I can manage the day-to-day operations in this pack without you holding my hand,” Victor smirked. “Even if you wanted to take a longer vacation.”

“I still haven’t decided,” I said, knowing he was talking about the summons that sat folded and tucked into my new bag. “We’ll see what Alpha Kera and the rest of them have to say about this.”

“Take your time.” Victor stood and crossed the distance between us, hesitating before he rested a hand on my shoulder. “And happy birthday, Alpha.”

*

So far, so good.

My wolf looped his head through the new pack strap designed for our beasts to travel with clothes and other essentials our human bodies required. It held. Thank the gods.

He shook his all-black fur and set out on a trot through the fields of our territory, stepping lightly through the rows of corn and wheat, as I pushed out my senses to get a feel for how the land was doing.

Magic spread from me, a breeze that ruffled the leaves and stalks, and I caught snips of chatter from the shifters working the fields today.

“Is that him?”

“No way.”

“I swear, I felt the earth move.”

“He doesn’t move the ground, crazy.”

I pulled my magic back to me, satisfied that the land was healing. Alpha Oscar had overused the soil like he’d done his pack, raping it of its very essence. But slowly, I was bringing it back.

The laughter of the shifters that followed my journey through the crops growing this summer was welcome music to my ears.

“Fernand,” I used my pack link to speak to the supervisor on shift, sensing him out checking the rows. “Do me a favor and let everyone go home early today. Tell them to enjoy the weekend. Full pay.”

“You serious, Alpha?” I heard his shock before he regained his composure. “Whatever you say. Is it a special occasion? Are you going somewhere?”

My good mood dropped just a bit, but of course they wouldn’t know. I didn’t make a habit of sharing much about myself. There was no reason to. My duty was to my pack and the land under my paws. It wasn’t the other way around.

So instead of telling them what day it was, I just smiled. Today didn’t need to be about me. I had something else planned, anyway. “Tell them I’m off to meet a beautiful woman.”

Howls of laughter chased me out of the fields. Excitement thrummed through my wolf’s veins at the thought of seeing her again. I tried to remind him not to get his hopes up, but he was determined. Like always. The curse of an alpha wolf.

As the first of his massive paws hit the dirt road leading out of Cadejo lands, the strap on the brand new travel bag snapped.

You’ve got to be kidding. Both my wolf and I growled at the same time.