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Not resigned terror, but a tentative sense of welcome.
Warily, she relented to the stiff embrace, settling against the unfamiliar contours of his larger, harder body.
“I didn’t know,” he said against her scalp. “But I’m here now… For what it’s worth, I’m here.”
She wasn’t sure what to think of the offer. There would be time to mull over the details later. Either way, for the first time, fear wasn’t the overriding emotion she felt toward the idea of having a father in her life again.
Just a strange sense of relief.
Maybe hope, too.
* * *
“How do you feel?” Bill asked as she rejoined him once Loreck retreated. Together, they lingered on the edge of the main compound, just as dawn was beginning to light the sky. In the short time since the challenge, he’d managed to change and shower away the dirt and grime, but one look at his face revealed the drastic shift in status he was struggling to adjust to.
Loren watched him through her lashes, struck by what a difference a few hours could make. Gone was the perpetual frown. His lips were in a softer line, not quite a smile. But close enough.
“I feel… Afraid,” she admitted finally. Looking past him, she eyed a sliver of sky visible behind the canopy of branches overhead. “This is a lot to get used to.”
An understatement if there ever were one. A part of her quivered at the many changes that were destined to come—forming a relationship with her newfound father being on that list.
“I know.” Bill sighed and offered his hand, gripping hers gently. “I think we should get started with the introductions and go from there. Later, we can move onto the trickier subjects.”
Like Kyle, and his eventual punishment for treason, should he return. Hours after Lukka’s defeat, and no one had seen him anywhere within the territory. Loren felt a pinch of guilt that she might have been responsible for his escape.
Another dilemma to add to the growing pile.
For the time being, she pushed the stress aside, to focus on one of the few bright spots to look forward to.
“You plan on introducing me to everyone?” She wasn’t sure if the sound trickling from her throat was a laugh or a groan.
Bill seemed to assume it was the former. “One step at a time,” he said, guiding her to face him. “I think introductions would be a good place to start before we move onto diplomacy, at least.”
There was so much requiring his input or judgment. Helming the pack and assessing the damage Lukka had done for one, let alone what would happen with Micha, or Naomi. Then there was the issue of where she truly belonged—on Black Mountain with Bill?
Or with Loreck Eislander…
Loren knew she would have dwelt on the milieu of problems for hours if it weren’t for the strength seeping into her from an outside source.
It reassured her enough to push the worries aside for now.
Whatever awaited them, they would face it together.
As one. Eyeing the man across from her, she could think of several far worse positions to be in.
“I think I could use more lessons on the mating bond in the meantime,” she suggested, feeling her cheeks ignite. Still, she felt a stubborn sense of pride as she met Bill’s gaze and saw him swallow.
“That can be arranged…” He moved closer and released her hand in favor of palming her waist, groaning under his breath at the feel.
She inhaled in anticipation, lowering her gaze to his mouth. Their relationship still felt so strange, navigated on two planes at once—mental and physical. At the same time, nothing had ever seemed more natural. More right…
Until Bill frowned and cut his gaze to something behind her.
“One thing I miss about exile?” he said with a hint of amusement, “Privacy.”
Loren whirled around to find what had his attention—namely, who.
Micha stood in between two trees, wearing an ill-fitting oversized shirt he must have borrowed and a pair of sweats. Sporting his sheepish grin, he appeared completely unaffected by any of the upheaval that had just taken place. At least, Loren would have thought so until she met his gaze and noted a hint of seriousness she wasn’t used to finding there.
