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Chapter One
Jillian
I never thought Dean would stay gone so long.
At least I knew where he was. With the Midnight Alder pack, trying to get his head on straight. But when he left, I expected a week, two at most. He left in spring, and we were now in high summer. Crops were growing tall, the baby farm animals in the barns getting bigger every day. And I hadn’t even received so much as a letter.
I’d give anything for a piece of him, even a scribble on a gum wrapper.
Had he decided he couldn’t cope with sharing me with Shane? Although I dug deep inside, I couldn’t find a spot of guilt. Mates were bestowed by the goddess, the gods…Fate…different shifters described it in various ways, but we all accepted that receiving this connection was to be prized. And enjoyed.
And honored.
All shifters except, apparently, Dean. Not that I could blame him, entirely. The poor guy had grown up woefully ignorant of his heritage. His parents were human. He either had a shifter ancestor whose genetics had chosen him as a vessel for their latent characteristics, or perhaps there had been a mix-up in the hospital. Or maybe he was adopted and his parents had never admitted as much. For some odd reason, humans sometimes hid such a thing as if it were shameful instead of joyous for parents to bring a child into their home. Either because they couldn’t have their own or maybe because the child was in need. To me, it was something kind and glorious and should never be hidden.
“Jillian, are you coming in?” Shane stood in the doorway, tall and handsome, kind and responsible, great in bed, and everything a girl could want in a mate. Was it greedy to cast one last look toward the woods before going inside?
I lifted the basket I’d set on the ground beside me. I needed to get these hung up to dry before I started dinner.
Shane met me halfway to the house and slung an arm around my shoulders. “Better idea. How about I start dinner while you take care of your herbs?” He dropped a kiss on my head and started indoors.
I blinked at him. He’d tried a few times so I knew for a fact he could burn water. Our woodstove was difficult for the uninitiated, and I gave him slack for that. I handed him my basket and pulled out my whiteboard and marker.Are you too hungry to wait a little? I can do the herbs after dinner.
He held the door for me, and I stepped inside then paused, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dimness. Our home was far nicer than it had been before my mates came into my life. It still had bundles of herbs hanging from the rafters everywhere, lending that dusty, sweet, spicy scent I loved, but beneath them, the furnishings were comfortable and neat. White muslin curtains fluttered in any passing breeze. The bed was piled with soft, comfortable quilts, and we had a nice woodstove for cooking as well as, of course, the hearth.
Waving to Shane to leave my basket by the door, I cut up the rabbit my mate had brought home and thoughtfully skinned and left ready for me to work with. Braised rabbit, cabbage, and some boiled potatoes would make a fine meal for us both. As well as the berries I’d picked early that morning from the brambles deep in the forest.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to do that, Jillian?” I was chopping onions, carrots, and celery for the braise when Shane came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I think I’m improving.”
I didn’t answer that, having seen zero signs of improvement. And it wouldn’t take me long to get everything ready. This was one case where not being able to speak was helpful because anything I said would likely hurt his feelings. Shane wanted to help so much; he was kindness incarnate.
Name one other wolf shifter who would have held back waiting for the female’s first mate to get over his hesitation. Not that Dean actually did get over it. He tried. He said he did. But I prayed every morning and night to the Lady that the Midnight Alder pack would help him adjust to shifter life in a way we at Crystal Canyon had not been able to.
His family lived not far away as well, and I wondered if he would find time to visit with them.
Honestly, I didn’t care what else he did as long as he came back to me. His absence left a large hole in my heart.
Chapter Two
If I could talk, I would ask what the hell was going on. Never, since I could pick up more than a small toy, was I allowed to skip out on a day of work other than Sundays.
“The alpha is having visitors and specifically said that you are to have a day off, Jillian. In fact, if we see you working today, we are to report it to him.” Not the first time it was made clear I wasn’t presentable for company.
Shane stepped forward to look at the paper Ruston was waving that apparently held this information, but the beta pulled it to his chest. “You heard me.”
“What about me? I’m her mate.”
Ruston cocked on eyebrow. “Just her. You have plenty to do.”
Well, damn.
“Have a good day. Try not to get into trouble, Jillian,” Shane said with a tone and a wink that meant he was joking.
I stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do with myself.
I wasn’t allowed off the pack lands like the others, and, even if I was, Shane would throw a fit if I were to go off without him, especially with creepy men poking around the woods.
A thought came to mind. There was a gem mine on the other side of the lands that I’d never been to. I’d heard rumors of the others talking about it. They had, in the past, been profitable. The alpha had decided he wanted to explore it for more income options.
