My heart races a little faster. Dare’s been through a lot—he’s lost a lot—so I try to be understanding of the scars he carries. He’s not usually so open with his feelings, and his openness and honesty in this moment touches me.
“I can see how that could happen,” I say quietly. “But it’s not your fault, Dare. You did what you thought was right.”
“And maybe it was right for me. At the time.” He grimaces, shaking his head. “But in the middle of all that, I lost some of the qualities that made me a good alpha. My pack wouldn’t even recognize me now. Fuck, I don’t recognize me.”
He leans in and nuzzles my face with his. His chest rises and falls against mine, and I wish for a second that I could freeze time. I want to remain here, feeling him breathe, forever.
“You make me want to be a better man,” he murmurs. “I want to be capable of caring for you, taking care of you. Now and always.”
I cup his face in my hands and push him back just enough so that I can meet his gaze. I see something in his gold-flecked brown eyes that makes me feel like he’s a man who was once lost, but who’s found the map to lead him home.
Me, I hope.
“I want to take care of you, too,” I tell him, a smile tugging up the corner of my lips. “And you are capable of caring for me, Dare. You’re one of the best men I’ve ever known.”
He leans in and kisses me once more, but not before I see the shimmer in his eyes.
Oh, man. Big, dark, handsome alpha emotions might be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
If his kiss is meant to be chaste, it definitely doesn’t remain that way. Heat rises between us again almost immediately, and I feel his cock twitch inside me like it’s considering whether it can
handle another round. If it weren’t for the fact that we’ll be missed, we’d probably have another go against the tree. As it is, it’s a near thing, especially with him still deep inside me and growing harder by the moment.
But Dare breaks the kiss with a bit of reluctance, and then pulls out of me before he gently lowers me to my feet. My legs are a bit weak and shaky, but everything in me is satisfied. I lean against the tree for support and focus on some deep breaths to curb the need he stoked back to life.
When we’re both semi-composed, we shift back to wolf form and head back toward the North Pack village.
We race through the afternoon sunlight, egging each other on and declaring ourselves the faster wolf. I know damn good and well I could never outrun any of my four mates—they’ve been wolves longer than I have, and are much more used to running on four legs. But it’s a fun game, and the way Dare’s tongue lolls out of his mouth, his snout open in a lupine smile, makes me feel lighthearted.
This small bit of fun makes me feel like everything is going to be okay.
We stop by Ridge’s cabin and grab clothes, since shifting back at the meeting house left what we were wearing before in pieces on the council floor. As I step into another borrowed shirt and pair of pants from Amora, I realize I should probably never get attached to any clothes I wear.
The magic of the shift has some mild healing properties, so the hickey Dare left on my neck actually isn’t all that obvious. I’m not sure most observers will even notice it, although I’m positive my mates will. Dare’s gaze drops to it as he takes my hand to lead me out of the house, and from the way his eyes darken, I’m sure he can see it. And he likes it almost as much as I do.
At the meeting house, the pack has mostly dispersed and gone back about their business, but my other mates are still there, as well as the group of elders.
As we enter the building, everyone present looks up at us, and all conversation stutters to a halt. A look passes between Ridge and Dare, and I get the sense that they’re silently working things out. Dare almost ripped apart a North pack shifter. Regardless of the fact that he was standing up for me, something like that wouldn’t sit well with the alpha. Were it anybody else, he’d probably be punished for the infraction. But it seems they come to an understanding, because I can read the apology on Dare’s face, and the forgiveness on Ridge’s.
As Dare and I join the crowd, conversation resumes as if it never ended.
“I’m inclined to think there’s much more to your mate than meets the eye,” one of the elders is saying. I don’t know his name, but his voice isn’t hard, nor does he look at me in suspicion. Mostly, he seems kind of curious. “We know she’s a wolf-witch hybrid, of course, and mated to four different alphas. Which begs the question, what other incredible gifts might she harbor?”
Great. They’re talking about me. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since the entire meeting was essentially called to fill the pack in on who and what I am. If it’d had a written agenda, there would’ve been only one item of business to cover.
Sable is a wolf and a witch. What the fuck do we do about it?
“Ideally, we need to know more about witches and what they’re capable of,” Archer replies with a nod. “I can continue to teach her what I know and help her harness the easy stuff, but that’s not going to be enough.”
“She’s strong,” Ridge agrees. “Maybe even stronger than a normal witch.”
Elder Jihoon speaks up, glancing over at me. “So the idea is to help Sable get her powers fully under control before she becomes a problem.”
“She’s not going to become a problem,” Trystan snaps, but I reach out and touch his arm, giving a small shake of my head.
I am a problem. And I’m enough of a problem that I need my mates to stop reacting violently and acerbically anytime someone says a sideways word about me.
Elder Jihoon ignores Trystan’s outburst and turns to meet Ridge’s eye. “I might, perhaps, have something helpful to the cause at home. Something you should see. If you’ll all come with me?”