SHADOW
“How did you get in here? I remember locking the door.” I just went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came back, Califf was already in my room or the mate’s chamber.
He pointed at the closet before he took off his shirt.
“Wait. Wait. Let’s have some ground rules here, Alpha.”
He sighed audibly. “Another rule? I think I’ve had enough dos and don’ts from you. I’m sleeping beside you tonight.” He crawled into bed, taking all the space in the center. I had no choice but to sleep next to him, or I would end up falling to the floor.
“What’s wrong with your bed? Does it have bed bugs? Or does it smell hers?”
He yawned or faked it. “My wolf needs you.”
I propped my hands on my hips. “You should try new excuses. That wolf needs me is getting old.”
“Just come to bed. I promise I won’t bite.” He smirked. “Unless you started it.”
“Shut your smirk off, Alpha. Why don’t we sleep in your bed instead? I bet you have bigger than this.”
“Fine. Let’s go.” He dragged himself out of bed and walked towards the door. “Take your phone with you.” It was a bluff, but he bit it and didn’t hesitate. That was first.
“No. I changed my mind.”
“You didn’t, baby.” Did she just call me baby? “You thought I’m some jerk who takes his room as his man cave. You’re welcome to come anytime. We don’t keep secrets, remember?”
“I’m not gonna invade your privacy.”
“Well, you may. I just want to prove to you that I’m taking our deal seriously. Don’t worry. I didn’t sleep with anyone in that bed.” He offered his hand. “Come on. We’re going for a run in the morning.”
I grabbed my phone and took the hand he offered. The moment our hands linked, I felt a strong pull towards him.
He opened the door, and I instantly smelled his strong scent and cologne wafting in the room. I didn’t catch a female or sex scent, though. His room was bigger than I had. His four-poster king bed made of oak wood had a lot of pillows for a man, an ottoman at the bottom, two bedside tables, and a dark nylon carpeted floor. The other door was probably the bathroom, and to my right was his closet, with a hidden door to my room.
“Which side do you usually sleep?”
“Any side.” My pulse suddenly raced. He had no idea I hadn’t slept in bed with anyone.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” I swallowed as I got in his bed, which was surprisingly soft.
“Did you talk to Kent?”
“In the morning. He’s sleeping at this time.” I grabbed a pillow and placed it on my supposed space before I lay down.
He came into bed and did the same as I did next to mine. “You’re nervous.”
“I don’t wanna get embarrassed waking up in the morning wrapped around you.”
He laughed softly.
“That’s the first time I heard you laugh.”
He froze. “Really? I laughed in the office earlier.”
I nodded as I placed my phone on the nightstand.
“Lights on or lights off?”
“Either. I can sleep even if there’s a bomb dropped next door.”
When he turned to face me, I stiffened. Then, he may have realized something, making him chuckle. Instead of making fun of me, he took my hand and pressed his lips.
“You have to trust me that I won’t force myself on you. If we ever kiss and I go far, just tell me to stop, and I will. We are made to be together, but it doesn’t mean I will not honor you.”
“Thanks for being cool about it.”
“My wolf is happy to have you here. Your scent makes him calm.”
“So does mine.”
I breathed deeply before I closed my eyes. I couldn’t help but hear his heartbeat. It was fast and steady. I tried shutting my senses off, but it didn’t work. “Why is your heart beating fast?”
“Because of you. Your scent, your skin, your body had that effect on me.”
“Can you hear mine?”
“Yeah. You’re nervous.”
I chuckled nervously. “This is insane.”
“Don’t think about it. Just relax and close your eyes.”
Opening my eyes, I licked my dry lips and cleared my throat. “Can you hug me?”
He didn’t blink for a few seconds. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. It’s not like we didn’t hug, roll on the grass, and kiss, right?”
Guilt flashed in his eyes. “I almost bit you.”
“It’s fine. You didn’t do it and mean it.” I moved my body next to him. We barely touched, but my wolf was purring.
Califf slipped his arm behind my neck, his other arm on my waist, and then his leg over mine. “Better?”
“Yeah.” I gave my back to his body. He was hard everywhere, those muscles on his chest and his abs deliciously pressed against my back.
I wasn’t lean and muscular like most werewolves, but I liked my hourglass body as it was. I felt so much better now. I felt secure in his arms, and I almost moaned as he breathed right on the back of my neck.
“You smell good.” He pressed his nose against my hair.
“You feel good.” I bit my lip. My face warmed that I just blurted it out.
“Really? You like this being in my arms.”
“Mostly my wolf. She likes it when we are not fighting.”
“Me too, baby, but we should sleep, or something else wakes up.” He planted a kiss on my exposed shoulder. “Good night, Shadow.”
“Night, Alpha.”
***
I gasped. My eyes went wide, and my head lifted from my pillow. My pulse was still racing. The unfamiliar surroundings brought me back to the reality that I slept in Califf’s bed.
His arms and legs tightened around me. “Shadow, what’s wrong?”
I swallowed hard before I spoke. “I could still smell blood.”
“What do you mean?” He rubbed his eye with the back of his finger. “I don’t smell anything.”
“I was dreaming. Gray and red wolves were lifeless with bites on their necks.”
“Lie back down. It’s just a dream.”
“I know. Since we met, I have had three dreams. The first one was people lying in a pool of blood. The second one when you watched me sleeping.” It might be embarrassing to admit, but he had to know. “I dreamed of us together.”
“Okay.” He was amazingly calm about this.
“Then this one. Two wolves are dead. I’m scared, Califf.”
“Come here.”
I turned and faced him. I could feel he was sincerely concerned, so I asked, “Do you know who I was before I told you about me?”
“I had a feeling that you are different. I saw you in your wolf form.”
My eyes grew big. “When?”
“When I followed you. You didn’t notice me before you shifted back. And I haven’t seen a female white wolf before. Stories said the white wolf has a special gift. They’re in line with the moon goddess. They are also very rare.”
“I’m nothing special, believe me.”
“You’re special enough for me.” He pressed his lips against mine. “You have to know that I will protect you with my life. I’m yours to serve you, Shadow. I’m your slave.”
“I don’t want a slave. I just want you, and we protect each other.”
He smiled, a kind of smile that was beautiful, reaching his eyes. “I’m grateful you gave me this chance.”
“I was ready to-” He kissed me again. “It’s okay. I don’t want to hear about it. I want to hear from you that you won’t take your life for granted. I don’t want you to play hero. You’re so much more important to the pack, and you’re my other half. Without you, or if you get hurt, it will hurt me so fucking much. Do you understand me? You’re free to go shopping, to a cafe, whenever you wanna go, but with a chaperone.”
I nodded. “Okay, but I want my things from Kent.”
He smiled. “About that. They’re on their way.”
“Really? How?” I was breathless in excitement.
“I will do everything to see you smile.”
“Thank you.” I kissed him hard and quickly and hugged him tight. “You have no idea how you make me happy.”
“That’s the plan, Shadow.”
In the morning, we went out for a run through the woods. When we reached the clearing, he decided to take me to the border to meet the patrol. A wrangler was already there, and Zack and Tor were waiting for us.
“Alpha, Shadow,” Tor addressed us to our presence.
“How’s your run, Alpha?” Zack asked.
“Good. How was your patrol last night?” Califf helped me to the passenger’s seat while the two climbed back.
“Clear. Only a few bunnies and raccoons, Alpha.” Tor answered.
Califf drove towards the road, but I sensed something else. “Has everyone reported to Lyon?”
“Yeah. Something’s wrong, Alpha?” I felt the worry in Zack’s voice.
“No.”
“So, you’ve decided to join us, Shadow?”
“No. She won’t be joining you,” Califf answered sternly.
I looked away. The forest seemed so peaceful and calm, while humans didn’t have any idea what was behind those trees.
“You’re silent,” I heard him say.
“What were you hiding, Zack?” I didn’t turn to see his reaction. I heard his heartbeat increasing.
“What do you mean?”
“Did something happen in the patrol last night?”
“I already told Alpha about it.”
“I didn’t say about the patrol.”
“I’m not sure what you meant, Shadow.”
“Care to elaborate?” Califf asked.
“I haven’t confirmed it from Lyon, but Preston and Sam smelled a different scent last night.”
“We’re going to that area. Let me talk to Lyon to meet him there.”
“Northeast, Alpha.”
Califf drove faster, more than 60mph. “Seatbelt, Shadow.”
I buckled my seatbelt because I was a human. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the place. Lyon was already there with, among others.
“Alpha. Shadow.”
“Where is it?”
“We didn’t go there. We don’t wanna contaminate the area with our scents.”
“Just follow us behind.” Califf walked ahead of us. He was familiar with the area. This was his territory, after all. “Can you keep up?”
I raised a brow. “Me? Wanna try?”
He smiled. “No need to show off. Will you tell me if you smell something?”
“Do you think she can smell better than us?” It was the Asian guy, Kairo, who asked.
“Watch your tone on how you speak to her,” Califf growled beside me.
“I’m sorry, Alpha.” He slightly bowed his head. “Sorry, Shadow.”
I suddenly caught something as we got closer. “Stop! Don’t move.”
“Why. What’s going on?” Raiden asked, their black tracker. His voice panicked.
“You heard something?” Califf asked me.
I closed my eyes and blocked their breathing and heartbeat. I focused on the surroundings, animals, insects, the rustling of leaves, and the wind blowing until I heard a howl in the far distance. “Someone is hurt.”
“How did you know?”
“Stop asking her,” Califf grunted at Kairo. “Can you tell where?”
“Three o’clock.” I pointed directly to the right. “Don’t jump in there. There might be traps or something.”
“She’s right,” Lyon agreed. “Check for broken twigs, leaves, and branches. Use your senses.”
“If you smell something, use your pack link,” Califf told them.
Zack told me Lyon was an expert in Scout and Raiden, too. Tor was an excellent hunter. That was why the two of them went ahead of us. Zack remained behind us.
Minutes later, Califf received a report. “They found two severely wounded individuals.”
We followed their trail to the injured werewolves.
“I wanna help,” I whispered to Califf.
He shook his head. “They need a healer. Bring them to the infirmary. Then I will interrogate them later.”
I gripped Califf’s arm as I sensed something else. “We’re not alone.”