AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of course. I also wanted to thank you for stepping up in your role and helping around the community. Rodney has nothing but good things to say about you. I also appreciate the way you’ve treated my granddaughter.”
How did he know how I treated her? Did he have spies? Could he read minds?
“One more thing, you can shift tonight. Rainer will be at your home at eight.”
Relief washed over me. I expected to wait much longer, and it had already been two weeks since my last shift. “Thank you. I appreciate Rainer taking the time to supervise.”
“I wish we could do more, but we have to consider the safety of the pack. The elders and my sons and I might know that you’re not a threat, but that doesn’t mean my pack is ready to trust you. I could force it upon them as their Alpha, but that’s not how I like to lead.”
“I understand.” And I did. I wouldn’t want the entire pack resenting me. They didn’t feel safe with me around. I had to respect that.
Running nextto Saige was in my top three favorite things in the world. Watching the graceful movements of her wolf was memorizing. It killed me when she went out each night to run with one of her uncles without me.
Not only did I want to shift, but I wanted to be there to protect her. The only thing keeping me sane during that half hour every day was knowing Kaden was with her. He wouldn’t let anything happen to our mate. Tonight, I didn’t let any of the normal stress into my mind. All my focus centered on the rhythmic thuds of my paws against the packed snow.
The stares and whispers of the patrols we passed didn’t bother me. Nothing could ruin this for me.
I’ve counted thirty guards so far.Kaden let me know.
We agreed to monitor the trends of the nightly patrol, but I hadn’t been paying enough attention to guess if he was right or not.
Hearing anything interesting?
Nothing worth mentioning.
Good. They weren’t talking about us, at least, not in a threatening way. My hope that we’d fade into the background as time went on was still going strong. Unlike at the Academy, we rarely went anywhere as a full group, so we drew very little attention from the pack.
Do you smell that?
Saige’s question drew my attention back to our surroundings.
Sulfur?I guessed.
Hot spring off to your left. I noticed it a few weeks ago. Sometimes there are people in it, but it’s empty right now.Kaden dipped low between us before soaring back up.
A hot spring?I’ve never been in one.Saige’s tail wagged, and I almost laughed.
Let’s go,I suggested.
But your run–
Has been great. Let’s check it out.
Should we tell Niall and Theo? They can meet us here,Saige suggested.
Kaden shook his head, and I chuffed.
It would take too long for them to get here.
We can bring them here another time,Kaden suggested.
I shifted back to my human form and called to Rainer
He glanced over his shoulder and shifted back. “Something wrong?”
“No, we were just thinking it would be fun to swim.”
His grin quickly disappeared. “You’ll have to walk back.”
