AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How does he know? We can pretend that he doesn’t spend most nights sleeping outside on my porch and that I have no clue he’s out there. His lingering scent and the blanket I leave for him make it obvious it’s bullshit. I feel safer having him close, and he’s right. He’s a protector to his core.
I never told him about my nightmares, though. So how does he know?
“Duke—”
“It’s okay. I’ll ask Ryker to keep me off of the overnights.”
“What? No. I don’t… you don’t have to do that.”
“And like I told you before, I know. But unless you ask me not to, I’m going to do it anyway.” He waits a beat, before rumbling, “So? Are you going to ask me?”
I’m not, and we both know it. If I wanted him to leave me alone, I would’ve marked my immediate territory last September, made it clear that he wasn’t welcome so close. No male shifter could sleep on a she-wolf’s porch without her permission, express or otherwise. I want him there. I just wish he had a different reason to stay with me than the one he has.
Pity.
As if I could pretend otherwise. Nope, especially when he clears his throat and says, “Have you shifted recently? Let your wolf out for a run?”
When my gaze drops to the dirt, he makes a sympathetic sound in the back of his throat. “It’ll do you good, Trish. If you get in touch with your wolf, it might stop the nightmares.”
Right. The nightmares where I’m trapped in my fur again, with the Wicked Wolf chasing me.
“I never said I had any nightmares,” I tell him. “Besides, I’m fine. I’m home. I’m safe.”
And Walker’s dead. He can never hurt me again.
“You are,” he says, a finality to the two words that chases the dread settling in my gut away… for the moment, at least. “But… I’ve been thinking. Maybe you should visit Dahlia. She might be able to help you more than I can.”
I dare a glance up at him. Instead of the pity I expect, his expression has turned earnest.
That’s the only reason that I decide to be honest and admit, “I have. And you’re right. She helps a lot, but I’m not the only shifter in Accalia. I can’t monopolize all of her time.”
Dahlia is our Omega. Her rank of wolf is the glue that holds a pack together. Like a therapist in the human world, just talking to the spiky-haired, blonde wolf leaves you feeling a bit more at peace than you did before. She’s also a schoolteacher for the young pups, so there are a lot of calls on her time. She’s kind enough to see me when she can—and, I admit, it’s probably more due to her good-hearted, omega nature than because any of my packmates think Trish Danvers is worthy of their sympathy—and, like Duke, Dahlia helps keeps the nightmares away for a while.
When Gem first came to join our pack, everyone believed she was another omega. She’d been pretending to be one her entire life, and because her dominance was so different than any other rank-and-file she-wolf, it made sense she was an omega. The only other female alpha in shifter tradition was our revered goddess, the Luna herself. No one ever guessed she could be the second—but Shane knew. He knew, and he told me, and I used Gem’s hidden secret to blackmail Ryker into rejecting her.
I can’t change what I’ve done. I can only admit that I was wrong, and try to be better in the future. Dahlia is our only Omega. With Gem, we thought we’d have a second, but we don’t. I’m not the only one who needs Dahlia’s wolf to deal with my own demons.
That’s why, when Duke says, “You need her. It’s not monopolizing anything if you need her more,” I shake my head.
“Why not?”
My knee-jerk reaction is to tell the truth. “Because I’m not important enough.”
“Of course you are.”
“That’s sweet, Duke, but I know what I am. Who I am.”
“So do I.”
That has my head finally looking up again. As we continued to walk, I’d avoided meeting his eyes as we drew up to my cabin, but when Duke’s voice goes impossibly deep, I have to see if I imagined what I heard.
I… I don’t think I did.
His eyes have melted to a soft golden shade. His jaw is chiseled, his features hard, but there’s a sudden gentleness to them as he tucks his chin into his chest, making it easier for him to stare directly into my face.
He lifts his hand. I can feel the heat pouring off of his fingers as he ghosts his thumb over my cheek. He never makes contact, but he doesn’t have to. I shiver anyway.
“What?” I ask.
