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Rylan
Having Pearl literally fall into my arms was not how I saw the night going, not that I’m complaining. The rightness I felt with her cradled against my chest was a feeling I wouldn’t soon forget. This was where she belonged, I could feel it.
Her hood had slipped from her head during the fall, revealing an astonishing sight. Her hair, usually a beautiful ebony, was now white. I stared at the unexpected color. It was different, but she was still beautiful, and I’d think that even if she shaved her head.
“It’s different.” I grinned, referring to her new hair color.
“Yeah,” she said, her cheeks a bright red color. “You can put me down.”
“I suppose I could, but it’s not every day a beautiful wolf falls into my arms,” I said, cheekily.
“I find that hard to believe,” she grumbled, and I didn’t think she’d meant for me to hear it.
“What do you mean by that?” I loosened my hold on her legs letting them fall to the ground.
“Well, you’re handsome, and you’ve been to other packs. Don’t tell me none of the females have thrown themselves at you.” Her eyebrows rose in question, but the only thing I’d heard was that she’d called me handsome.
“You think I’m handsome?” My hands moved to her waist.
“Fishing for compliments isn’t like you,” she said, her eyes darting to mine after her statement.
I bit my cheek, surprised she knew that, but I decided not to say anything. She smelled uncomfortable, and the last thing I wanted to do was make it worse.
“You’re right.” I held on to her waist for a moment longer to make sure she was steady before releasing her. “I wasn’t expecting anyone tonight.”
“Me either.” She looked around at the bookshelves, her eyes alight with interest.
“How’d you get in here?” This whole floor was supposed to be off limits to everyone.
“I got permission,” she answered, her shoulder hunching defensively.
“Oh, cool. Do you need help finding whatever you’re looking for?” I put my hands in my pocket and rocked back on my heels.
I was no expert on finding things here, but I’d been here all day, so I knew where some stuff was.
“There doesn’t seem to be any system of organization.” She frowned as she approached a shelf with piles of papers stacked on it.
“Nope.” I rubbed the back of my neck.
The truth was it had been hell trying to find the information I needed. I was tempted to leave a note for the archivist, but I didn’t know how long it would take, so I decided to find it myself, even if it took all night.
“What are you doing here?” Pearl asked, changing the subject.
“Researching.”
She rolled her eyes at my one-word response then turned around and walked down an aisle with bookshelves on either side. Her fingers touched the spines of books that were stacked neatly there, her eyes reading the titles.
I followed her, though I was itching to get back to my own research. I was so close to figuring out what Faela had done to get incarcerated. The whole thing was fishy right from the start. She had a normal childhood and was sheltered by her brothers and parents. Seemed everyone close to her knew that she was the next Alpha Seeker. It was strange seeing the names of people that I had only read a little bit about in the alpha journal that was given to me from the Aibek pack.
Faela’s parents had passed on about a century ago, which was right around the time of her imprisonment. The timing was suspicious, but I didn’t think that she in any way caused her parents’ deaths. Her brothers, on the other hand, were stubborn and power hungry, but I couldn’t see them doing anything to hurt their family or her.
“Is everything okay?” Pearl asked, making me blink and come out of the trance I’d been in.
“Yeah, just thinking. I have more questions than answers.” I sighed, shaking my head in frustration.
“I know the feeling,” she said, a frown pulling down the corners of her mouth. “Anything I can help with?”
I searched her face, wondering if she was being sincere. Our last interaction had left me doubting and worrying that it was too late for us. Hope filled my chest at her offer. This wasn’t how I pictured us starting over, but I wasn’t going to be picky.
