AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Okay. Okay. He’s offering to bring me to see Jace and Duke. Friends… I wouldn’t necessarily use that word about Trish, but I’d like to see her, too.
Besides, this is Theo. If it was Walker offering, or even his grim-faced Beta, I might’ve said no out of pure spite. But it’s the friendly alpha who, so far, is the only person I’ve gotten to speak to in the district who hasn’t, at one point, really ticked me off.
Exhaling roughly, I force myself to smile. “Give me ten minutes to change and freshen up. I’ll be right out.”
“Take your time. There’s no rush.”
For him, maybe.
For me? Yeah. The prospect of seeing my packmates, of making sure that they’re getting on okay… it has me rushing back to my room. There’s a small bathroom attached to it, with a shower stall and a sink. Grabbing the first change of clean clothes I can find, I dash in there. No time for a shower, but I scrub my face, splash water in my hair so that I can wrangle it into a ponytail, slather on fresh deodorant, and brush my teeth. Once I’m as presentable as I’m going to get in a handful of minutes, I change my clothes, then shove my shoes back on.
When I leave the room, I find Elizabeth on the couch, Theo standing over her with an affable look on his handsome face. From what I can tell about her in the short time since I’ve known her, she looks way more relaxed, even if she’s perpetually guarded.
Maybe he’s one of the good ones. My mom told me that most of the wolves in the Wolf District were. They didn’t necessarily agree with the way that the Wicked Wolf ran things, but their paws were tied. The lower-ranks—the deltas, the gammas, the omegas—they need a powerful Alpha in charge. And if there’s one thing no one can deny, it’s that Walker is powerful.
Plus, he doesn’t set me wolf off the same way that some of the other Western Packs do. Maybe it’s because he seems kind and friendly, and his alpha wolf isn’t trying to play dominance games with mine so far. In fact, my wolf seems to think of him more as another ally than an enemy, and I trust my girl more than I trust myself.
“Okay. I’m ready.”
Theo turns slightly. “You want to come, Elizabeth?”
She shakes her head. “I think I’m gonna go back to sleep.”
Lucky. If it wasn’t for Theo’s tempting offer, I’d still be getting Z’s of my own.
“Maybe you can join me for lunch then.” Then, almost as an afterthought, he glances at me. “You, too, Gemma. If you want. No pressure.”
I get the vibe that he’s being a generous host if only to make up for my bio-dad’s well-earned reputation. The way he was looking at Elizabeth, it’s easy to see where his interest lies. He only asked me because he didn’t want to be rude.
In a flash, I remember how Elizabeth told me last night that, because of her curse, she can’t form a bond with another shifter. Though my ability to sense when someone is lying doesn’t seem to work the way it should around her—probably because of that same curse—I think she’s exaggerating a little. Maybe she can, maybe she can’t, but she definitely didn’t want to bond to Walker.
Not that I blame her.
But Theo… he seems like a cool wolf. And if I can’t figure out a way to get her out of here, if he takes her as his mate, maybe he could.
“We’ll have to see,” I say eventually. I’d prefer not to cockblock him. If he wants a quiet lunch with Elizabeth, there’s no reason I have to tag along. “But can we go see my packmates now?”
“Sure. They’re actually in a cabin not too far from here. I’ll take you right now.” He waves at Elizabeth. “I hope I’ll see you later.”
Elizabeth makes a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat as she returns the wave.
I wait for Theo to head toward the door first before flashing Elizabeth a thumb’s up behind his back. Her lips curve in a small smile that’s fleeting, but I know it’s there.
After that, my focus is entirely on making sure I can remember how to navigate my way to where Duke and Jace are staying.
When Theo says it’s not that far, he’s spot-on. Within ten minutes, he’s guiding me toward a row of three cabins. I know immediately which one belongs to my guards because there they are: Jace is sitting on the porch in front of the cabin, legs folded to his knees with his arms wrapped around them while Duke is pacing restlessly in front of him.
Thank the Luna.
As I approach them, I can’t help but do a double-take, just to make sure that I’m not seeing things wrong. Something about the big, dark-haired shifter wearing a hole in the grass has me having a hard time believing that it’s him.
Nope. That’s Duke, all right.
That’s unusual. Jace is normally the one who can’t be contained, burning off all of his excess dominance by constantly moving. He’s not an alpha, not quite, but he’s not a true delta wolf, either. Some blend of the two, he’s a born soldier. A guardian.
Duke, on the other hand, is built like a brickhouse. He has a tendency to loom, and he’s very sparing with his words as if each one costs him a dollar.
As soon as they recognize me, Jace jumps up to his feet. Duke stops pacing, though his eyes never stop moving, as if he’s searching for something he can’t quite find.
