SHADOW
My eyes filled with tears. I’d never laughed so loud in a while- one big belly laugh.
I may be a human now, but I learned a lot in a short while. Or I just learned from the best, and my determination and vulnerability were my best motivations for getting something done despite the pain, the hollowness, and those bruises I still carried with me.
“There’s no way she did that,” Zack still tried to convince Califf that I cheated.
“Well, it’s just the two of you who made the shots. Just give the money she won, or she will shoot you with a silver bullet from a thousand yards, dumbass. Don’t underestimate a well-motivated woman.”
He scratched his head, pulled out his wallet, took fifty dollars, and slapped it on my hand. “Cheater.”
I laughed out loud again with a little exaggeration, holding my tummy while Califf shook his head in amusement.
“I wish I bet for higher. How about you, Alpha?”
“Fine.” He studied me for a while before he made a decision. “If I win, you will go on a date with me.”
My smile faded. One thing I didn’t know about Califf was if he was a good shooter. “And if I win?”
“Name it, baby. Whatever you want.”
I tapped a finger on my chin and thought of something I wanted. I couldn’t think of anything. “Never mind.”
“What? Are you scared of losing in the game or going on a date with me?”
“I can’t think of anything I want,” I told him truthfully. “Pack our things. We’re going down for a hunt.”
“Finally.” Zack threw his hands in the air.
Thirty minutes later, we found a good spot. Califf was a baby, spreading his jacket behind the log as if he were not a werewolf who ran barefoot and rolled on the ground.
“I’ll find a spot. Just make sure not to shoot me. I’ll link if I find something.” Zack paused when he realized something.
“It’s all right. Just stay on the line.”
“I’ll go up the tree.” That cracked me.
“So you have a monkey gene, too?”
“You won. Now shut it.” He walked away from us with a hunting rifle, still upset.
I chuckled. “You better start calling, Zack. I’m sure you mimic animal sounds better than me.”
“You bruised his ego.” Califf set up ours and put on a silencer.
“How good are you?”
“With what?”
“Shooting, Alpha. What else?” I lay down on my tummy. This was the closest we had since things went south back in Italy. Right now, it was just the two of us in the middle of the forest between mountains.
“You know I’m good.” He smiled wickedly, eyes glinting. “I wonder why I haven’t gotten you knocked up.”
I gave him a blank face. “You know what I was asking. Can you be just a human and less an alpha for today?”
He still had a smile on his face. “I couldn’t beat you, but I would try my luck just to have dinner with you.”
“Maybe you can beat me.”
“Is that why you didn’t wanna try?” I felt his eyes on me, but I chose to ignore it.
He rested, leaned on the log, and asked, “Do you still trust me?”
“You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“Then come back home with me, baby. They missed you and kept asking about you. I also miss you around.”
“I’m not ready.”
Minutes later, he hadn’t said a word. I didn’t know what was in his head right now, and I hadn’t spotted anything. His eyes were closed, but I knew he could sense me.
“You wanna go back?”
He shook his head. “And then kick me out to go back to the pack? I’d rather be here with you.”
“They need you. Kindra needs Duke. You need to be there, Alpha, not as my husband.”
“I need you too, baby.” He opened his eyes. And I felt his touch on my cheek.
There you go, those familiar emotions that taunted me, the touch that lit the fire inside me, that taunting, intense gaze. My love for him was indeed real and deep, with or without the mating bond. It didn’t vanish with my wolf.
“Whatever you are going through, I want to be a part of it. I want to feel your happiness, sadness, and misery, baby.”
I cleared my throat when my emotions became too much to bear. “When I’m ready.”
“All right.”
“Now get up, big guy. Use that damn eyesight.”
He chuckled and lay on his tummy beside me. He moved the bipod. “I still can’t believe you managed to convince your father to buy you this. And you use this to hunt? You’re a high-maintenance woman and badass, baby.”
“Just the weapons. I told him to buy me a house.”
His head snapped at me. “Did he?”
“He was already canvassing with the realtor, then I found out he owned a house in Southampton. So I asked him if I could borrow a key.”
“And he said it’s yours?” He smiled genuinely. For arrogant and self-centered men, having a woman from a family wealthier than them would be insecurity, but not in his case. Maybe that was one of the reasons why I loved him.
“In his own words, yes.”
“So you’ve been in Southampton?”
“Just a day. I got bored alone. It felt like killing myself slowly. The view was spectacular, though. Would you come with me?”
His brow arched. “You’re asking me if I want to come with you?”
“Never-” He pressed a finger against my lips.
“Yes, baby. I’d love to come with you.”
“Just us?”
“No. The entire pack.” He rolled my eyes. “Of course. Just us.”
“Did you just roll my eyes on me?” I blinked in surprise. “Califf Stone, the badass ruthless alpha, rolled his eyes at me. That’s astonishing!”
“You have to keep it between us,” he whispered in my ears. Goosebumps erupted all over my skin.
I sucked a breath in anticipation. “Oh, yeah? Your Alpha ego is at peril.”
“When are we leaving?” He ran his nose on the shell of my ear.
“Jeez. Calm your horses down.”
“Just got carried away. And I missed you.” Califf held my hand and pressed it against his lips.
When my heart galloped, I pulled my hand and looked away.