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“I know you won’t. It’s just…wolves are predators. There’s still this tiny part of me that feels like I should be on guard, even though most of me feels perfectly safe.”
He hated that she’d suffered as a child. He couldn’t imagine the terror and loss she had dealt with. “I wish I’d met you years ago, Dani,” he said, tightening his hold on her. “I wish I’d been there for you when you were scared and sad.”
“You’re going to make me cry,” she said.
Chuckling, he tipped her face up and brushed the tears away. “I think we both wish a lot of things were different, but we are where we are in our lives because of what we endured. You’re my family now, and I wouldn’t change anything about my past if it meant I didn’t have you in my life.”
Fresh tears surged over her cheeks. “I’m so glad you’re mine, Adam Cruz.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anyone else’s,” he promised.
After wiping the new tears from her cheeks, he kissed her gently and then opened the door to the alphas’ home. For many years, he had been at Acksel’s beck and call. He’d never felt put-upon or mistreated by Acksel or the alpha before him, but he’d never really felt like part of the pack. He always imagined that the ranked males—the ones who became protectors and held valued positions within the pack—felt like the pack was home for them. Now, with Dani at his side and their shared jobs as stewards, he felt like he had finally found a place to belong. He wouldn’t have thought he could find joy in repairing fences, chopping wood, and shoveling snow, but knowing that he and Dani were both working for the pack—that she would be with him during the day and waiting for him at home each night—made even the most mundane job enjoyable.
As he watched Dani hugging the females in the pack who had embraced her as one of their own already, he smiled to himself. Things finally seemed to be going his way.
“It’s about damn time,” Malachi Slattery said as he came to stand next to Adam.
“What is?”
“You finding your truemate. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks.”
Malachi turned to face him. “I don’t know if I ever told you this, but thank you for everything you’ve done for the pack.”
Adam frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, being an omega shouldn’t mean that you don’t get thanked. Kammie leaving the pack for the bear sleuth has made a lot of us take a hard look at our behavior. Brynn was upset to lose her, and she’s afraid that the current laws will force more omegas away.”
“I appreciate your thanks. It’s funny how we get used to things being a certain way, isn’t it? There’s a lot of ‘it’s always been this way’ in pack life.”
Malachi chuckled ruefully. “Yeah. Nila worries about what will happen when Jack grows up. If he can’t completely shift, then even if he’s a total badass he’ll be an omega.”
A wolf and a human’s child might or might not be able to shift; it depended on whether the child took more after the wolf parent or the human parent. “I think that when Acksel and Brynn’s kids reach the age of maturity, there will be changes in the law. If a pack doesn’t evolve with the times, wolves leave for greener pastures, like Kammie did.”
“Congratulations on your mating, Adam.”
“Thanks.”
Adam joined Dani where she stood talking to Brynn. “Would you really? That would be so cool,” Brynn was saying.
“What would be?” Adam asked.
“I offered to make a big batch of gravy and bring it over in freezer containers so she could have it whenever she likes,” Dani told him, smiling up at him.
“Your mate is a sweetheart,” Brynn said. “I hope you know that I’m going to trade the gravy for my famous black walnut cookies.”
“Famous according to who?” Acksel said, his nose wrinkling.
Brynn elbowed him. “Just because you don’t like black walnuts doesn’t mean they’re not awesome.”
“I love them,” Dani said.
“See? It’s just your screwy taste buds. You don’t like mushrooms or pineapple, either.” Brynn said.
“I know what Idolike to eat,” Acksel said gruffly. Brynn shivered visibly and then smacked him on the shoulder.
“Gross! We’ve got company.”
