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Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 63
“Maybe I’m not being clear enough, Night, so I want you to watch me as I say this to you—I never wanted to come here. All I wanted was to be free of my situation back home. I just wanted to feel…safe…” I trailed off. The moment I’d said, “watch me” and pointed to my mouth, his eyes had dropped to my lips. The furious, hot energy between us began to shift and morph into something more tender.Night’s own lips began to part as he looked at my mouth, and his eyes shifted from an intense emerald to a softer chartreuse shade of green. My stomach filled with flutters as he shifted toward me, bending slightly. Is…is he going to kiss me?Before I could find out, a howl pierced the night air. Night stiffened, his head cocking toward the sound of the howl. His expression darkened, and he pushed me toward the door.“Get inside, and don’t leave my mother’s side.”I stumbled against the door, looking at him with wide eyes. “Wait, what’s happening? What’s wrong?”He glanced back at me, and for a mo
Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 64
I hesitated, glancing up at her over the rim of my cup. There was disappointment in the furrow of her brow and the frown on her lips. It hurt to see that I was letting her down, so I quickly changed the subject.“You mentioned rain earlier,” I said. “We’re going to want to get a new roof on the schoolhouse before the real heat of the summer starts. And we’ll need to rethink the way we ration our food once it gets colder and food becomes more scarce.”She sighed and nodded, allowing me to shift gears. “You know, it’s funny you mention food. Thanks to Bryn, I’ve expanded the garden to nearly double what it was before. So you can expect an increase in fresh fruits and veggies shortly.”“Wait, really?” I knew Bryn was helping Mom out with her garden, but I’d had no idea she was so efficient. “She’s only been here a couple of weeks.”“I know. Isn’t she amazing? That girl might know more than I do about how to cater to the land and give it what it deserves. I think she works so hard because
Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 65
“Aw, Night, come on.” Her voice dropped into a whine. “I’ve never asked you for a favor or anything, but Bryn is so depressed and trapped inside all the time. Couldn’t she have free rein of the compound so she can breathe a little? Please? I’ll take full responsibility for her.”I snorted. “You can barely take care of a houseplant.”“Night—”I raised my hands, and she quieted. “Alright. I suppose I can ease up on her restrictions a little more.”Tavi’s eyes brightened. “That’s great! Night, I promise you won’t regret this!”I nodded along. I’d agreed begrudgingly since I couldn’t think of a good reason to keep tight reins on Bryn anymore. What she’d said last night about being unable to escape the camp was true; I would drop everything to track her down myself if I found out she had escaped into the forest. Keeping her bound to Mom’s cabin had been more to make sure Bryn stayed in line than anything, but now that she’d stopped trying to escape, those restrictions weren’t really necess
Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 66
Most wolves shift before their sixth birthday, but his birthday was right around the corner, and he still hadn’t managed to do it. He’d run away from his cabin when one of his siblings had teased him about it.My heart had broken for those teary, doe-brown eyes and the clenching of his little fists around his glass of milk. I sat next to him and wrapped an arm around him. While I had no experience being a wolf, I knew plenty about feeling left behind by my peers, so I could relate to Pax’s troubles in that way.“You need to be brave, little guy,” I’d told him. “Don’t you know that the best things take time?”He’d shaken his head, wiping at his tears with the sleeves of his shirt.I’d ruffled his golden blond hair and given him a smile. “I’m sure you’ll shift any day now. I can feel it in my bones.”“Really?”“Of course, Pax! You just have to wait a little while longer.”I was relieved that my words seemed to help, and he had finally been ready to return home. That night, he’d given me
Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 67
“It depends,” Jasper said. “Whenever we have time or if we badly need something that only the humans can provide. Colville takes a while to get to, so we rarely have wolves to spare for the trip. I think we go once every couple of months.”That was another difference between the Kings and the Wargs. The Kings had plenty of cities nearby that they frequented as often as they liked. Only male wolves were allowed to go, and from what I’d heard, the usual purpose of the trip was to fool around with human women, not bring back supplies. The Kings had so much excess material and clothes from the humans that the most fortunate families in the pack had to have small storage sheds just to have some place to store it all. Mom and I, of course, rarely benefitted from those sorts of goods.“Oh! There’s the schoolhouse,” Tavi said, pointing to a quaint brick building. “There’s a stubborn section of the roof that always leaks when it rains. Someone always repairs it, but it doesn’t help.” She turne
Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 68
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said. “Did I take up too much of your time?”“Not at all.” He gave me a shy grin. “I’m glad I spent the day with you.”I smiled back. His words were so sweet, but I wished I were hearing them from a different man.“I have plenty of time to walk you back to Violet’s,” he said. “I’ll even carry your books for you.” He easily lifted them with one arm.“What a gentleman.” I giggled. “Thanks, Jasper.”The sky went from azure to a deep cobalt as we reached Violet’s cabin. As the three of us walked up the steps, the door opened. To our surprise, Night stood in the doorway looking down at us.His gaze landed on me first, almost in greeting, before shifting to Jasper. Jasper was holding my books in one arm, and the other was draped over my shoulders. Night’s nostrils flared, a low rumble leaving his chest. Jasper stiffened and quickly removed his arm from me. I tried to suppress another shiver. That deep growl should not have been such a turn-on.“Night, it’s good to see you
Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 69
And then there was a knock on the door.“Come in!” I called, finishing up the table. I suspected that I was about to see Dom. He came around often to have tea with me and Violet (though I knew he was there to check in on me), but when I turned to the door, it was Night who stepped inside.“Oh.” I straightened in surprise. Butterflies filled my stomach at seeing him again so unexpectedly, but I tried to calm them down. He was probably still mad at me for the way I’d snapped at him earlier.“Violet’s already gone to bed,” I said carefully. “Do you want me to see if she’s awake?”“No. I came to speak to you.”“Oh,” I said again, feeling dumb. “I…do you want to sit down at the table?”He nodded, silently taking a seat. I sat across from him, my hands in my lap.“Sorry that the table’s wet,” I said. “I just wiped it down.”“That’s fine.”I pressed my lips together and wiped my hands over my jeans. Why isn’t he saying anything? I squirmed, desperately looking anywhere but directly at his ha
Outside The Pack (Mated To The Night Book 1) 70
23BRYNOver the next two days, I took full advantage of every moment of my newfound freedom. When I wasn’t in the kitchens or working in the garden, I was in the library reading.In the afternoon of my second day of freedom, Pax came by to visit me with his mother, Lillian. Lillian informed me that there was a stash of board games hidden in a compartment of one of the chairs, so Pax and I had a fun time searching for them. Then we played checkers while Lillian relaxed with a book.“Tomorrow, I’m going to shift in front of the whole pack,” he said. “You’re still coming, right?”“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.” I saw an easy strategy to win the game, but I chose to move my piece elsewhere to give Pax the win.“Yay!” Pax threw up his arms and beamed at me. “I can’t wait to show you my wolf!”“And I can’t wait to see him.” When I noticed he was debating where to place the next piece, I said, “Oh, no! You better not move to that spot there, or I’ll be in trouble.
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