She looked at the stove, where the stew still bubbled away, then burst out laughing. “You know what? I think I agree with you.”After, Bryn added some paprika to the stew, and we sat down for dinner.“Tell me how your day went,” I said.“Pretty good. We got the garden prepped for the winter frost, and I asked everyone how safe they felt here.”“What did they say?”“Most of them felt safe, but some of the kids have been getting into fights at school.”I frowned. “I haven’t heard about that.”“Neither have I. Two women almost got into a fight about it, but Tavi stepped in and calmed everyone down.”“Thank the Fates for that.” After assuring the Kings Council that things were going well, I could imagine their reaction if they heard that parents had started fighting each other because of their pups. And the fact that it was Tavi who stepped in was great to hear. “Tavi’s come a long way.”Bryn smiled a little. “She really has. If you’d seen her, you would’ve been very proud. She helped me
“So am I. You remember how awful things were before. No one would spend time with us because Gregor forbade it.”I nodded. The first twenty-one years of my life had been hell because of that, and yet so many things had changed that I hardly thought about it anymore.“Now, I have my old friends back, plus some new ones. You know Mabel, don’t you?”I grinned. “Oh, yes. When Night took me to the Wargs Pack, she helped me get a position in the kitchen. I met a lot of Wargs when I cleaned and cooked.”Mom’s eyes brightened. Her hair was tied back in its usual long braid, but she’d wound it around so it sat in a cute bun at the top of her head. It made her look like a ballerina. “Oh, she didn’t mention that. Sometimes I look at you, Bryn, and I think you’re a completely different person from the person I raised. You’re so determined to see things through no matter what gets in your way, and you don’t back down when the pack gives you trouble. But you’re still so sweet, so kind. It’s nice to
I narrowed my eyes at her. Something in her tone told me she and Violet had already started. “I guess I can talk to Night about it—”“Wonderful!” she cut me off with a beaming smile. “Don’t worry about anything, honey. Violet and I have got this covered.”“Right…” I’d have to accept that it was out of my hands for now, but I hoped they weren’t planning on filling every space in our home with baby things.When we were done planting the new herbs, I left my mother to clean up. We’d talked so much that I hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. If I stayed to help clean up, I’d be late for my meeting with the elders.Months ago, I’d done a memory walk ritual to learn more about my birth mother, Blossom. Now, I was finally going to hear what the elders had found out. I knocked on the door of the white cabin, and Elder Sage answered the door.“You’re late,” he pointed out.“Am I?” I raised a brow. “I think I’m right on time.”He turned away from me, quiet disapproval evident in his stiff s
“We’re learning new things every day,” Elder Thread said, “but that’s all we have on the symbols for now.”“Thank you for keeping me informed. Let me know if you come across any more relevant information.” Feeling numb, I stood and walked to the door. As I thought about what they’d told me, an intense cold settled over me.I pressed my hands more firmly to my belly, as if I could push my baby into a more protected part of my body.Chapter 6NightDom and I watched the builders finish painting the latest cabin they’d constructed near the southwest corner of Kings territory. Among them were Steven and Aiden, two wolves we’d met months ago when we started the rebuilding project. They worked alongside Wargs, joking and laughing as they put the finishing touches on the home.“I hadn’t expected that craftsmen and builders would be the quickest to be accepted by the Kings,” Dom said. “But they’ve fit in quickly.”I nodded. “It was good to show our people how the Redwolfs mistreated their bui
“From the moment Bryn became alpha of the Kings, it’s been a balancing act for us. We never wanted to ignore the Wargs, but while we tried to get Kings to warm up to a merger, the Wargs had to wait. As alpha, I’m still getting the hang of things, but I hate that I’ve given the impression that I don’t care about my home. I plan on correcting that as soon as possible.”“Right.” Uncrossing his arms, he looked down. “That is helpful to hear, but I won’t put my stock in your words until I see some action to back them up.”I nodded. “Of course.”“Well…I’ll continue my walk. We can talk more about your plans soon.”Again, I nodded, and Graham walked away.When I turned my attention to Dom, I found him grinning at me. “Look at you, being all diplomatic.”I scoffed and pushed his shoulder. “Fuck off.”“No, really. Who would’ve thought you’d get a member of our council to shut up?” He chuckled. “So, what’s next for you?”“I should probably talk to Lance. Know where he’d be?”“I spoke to Lance e
“You know, you’re asking for help,” he said, “but you’re acting like you’re trying to beat me, not spar with me.”I smirked. “No idea what you mean.”“Ha. Liar.” He lunged at me, grabbing hold of my shirt.I jerked back, and my shirt tore. As bits of cotton drifted away in the wind, Lance and I looked at each other. All pretense of this being a training session had disappeared the moment we heard the fabric tear. It wasn’t first blood, but it was close enough.Lance grinned. “First point’s mine.”“The next point won’t be.”When we stepped toward each other again, we didn’t speak—talking would waste breath. He jumped around, light on his feet. His attacks were quicker, perfectly accurate. When I went harder to get him off his game, he smirked and matched my ferocity. He was so fast, all I could do was duck and weave between attacks. I stepped back, trying to get space between us, but he closed the distance. I had a greater arm span than him. If he gave me the inches I needed, this woul
He grunted in response, which rubbed me the wrong way. Why was he acting like this? He’d started being more open about his days, but the way he was acting now reminded me of when we’d first met. Back then, he’d been rude and cagey—a real asshole, to be honest. I’d thought we’d left that phase of our life behind, dammit.While he finished up his shower, I yanked sheets from the mattress and replaced them with clean linens that smelled like lavender. The calming scent did nothing to settle my nerves, though.Eventually, he emerged from the shower in a cloud of steam with a towel wrapped around his waist. No matter how frustrated I was with him, I couldn’t help noticing what a beautiful man he was—hard muscles imprinted with scars from past battles, intricate tattoos that spread from his tanned right shoulder to his wrist. I loved watching his hard muscles shift under his soft skin.When he dropped the towel, I tore my eyes away from him and focused on the laundry. I would not let his se
Now the tears were flowing freely. I rubbed uselessly at my eyes, but I couldn’t stop them.“Baby.” Night’s arms went around me, and he pulled me against him. I pressed my damp face to his chest, and he rubbed my back as my shoulders trembled. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”“You’re just saying that because I started crying,” I muttered.I felt his chuckle rumble through his chest, and I pressed closer to him. “No. It’s because you’re right. I lost control earlier today. I was just too ashamed to admit it.”I sniffled. “You don’t have to be ashamed around me.” I peered up at him, looking deep into his viridian eyes. “I’m going to be here for you no matter what. There’s nothing you could say that would make me stop loving you.”“You mean that, don’t you?” he asked gently.“Of course I do.”He bent to kiss me. I leaned into the kiss, only for him to pull away and drag his shirt over his head. I kissed his collarbone as I slipped my dress down my body. When it pooled around my feet, Night pul