A New Kind of Family #4
I shifted on my feet, wanting those strong arms wrapped around me like they had been on the night of my initiation. I had never felt the urge to be with anyone so strongly, and that need only seemed to be growing the longer we waited.
I’m not sure how much longer I can hold out. It gets more and more difficult not to throw myself at him when we’re alone.
“Shade! Yoo-hoo, Shade! Are you in there?” Taffy chuckled as she waved a hand in front of my face, trying to get my attention.
“Huh?” I mumbled, blinking in surprise as I finally noticed she and Dillon were standing beside me. “Oh! Uh, hey. Did you ask me something?”
They flashed each other an amused glance before turning back toward me.
“Hmm, whatever could you have been thinking so hard about?” Taffy teased, her eyes darting toward Caelan as a knowing smile crossed her lips. “I wonder.”
“Oh…uh…,” I stammered, my blushing cheeks giving me away.
“I’m sure she was just strategizing for the challenges,” Dillon said with a wink. “Isn’t that right, Shade?”
“Yeah, sure,” Taffy chuckled sarcastically. “I always get that dreamy look in my eyes when I think about bloodshed too.”
“Fine. You caught me,” I muttered. “I was thinking about them for a second though, I promise. Then I got…distracted.”
I honestly hadn’t been able to stop thinking about them since I learned about Dark Moon’s challenge.
I already didn’t like the idea of Caelan having to fight my father, but I didn’t consider him much of a threat. My father wasn’t weak, but it’d been a long time since he’d gone into battle personally. He was happier to command his troops from a distance than to get directly involved.
And Caelan was a young alpha in his prime. I had no doubt that he’d put my father in his place quickly and without much difficulty.
Alpha Huxley was a different matter entirely. I’d seen that wolf fight on more than one occasion. He was vicious, brutal, and not above playing dirty. He was the real threat.
“I’m worried about Alpha Huxley,” I admitted. “He’ll do whatever it takes to win a fight, and he wouldn’t hesitate to kill Caelan if he got the chance.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Taffy assured me with a confident grin.
“Caelan knows what he’s doing. He’s trained with multiple packs and knows a variety of techniques.
He’s well-versed in more fighting styles than I can name.
He and Dillon are probably two of the best-trained warriors in the country. ”
“You guys trained with other packs?” I asked Dillon.
“Yeah. Caelan and I have trained in packs all over the world,” Dillon said with a shrug. “It was something Luna Maty and Alpha Leal arranged. Kind of like an exchange program. We would go somewhere for a few weeks while two of that pack’s warriors came here.”
“And when they returned to Harvest Moon, they taught all of us what they had learned,” Taffy added, smiling at her mate proudly.
“Wow,” I remarked in surprise. “I didn’t realize that Harvest Moon’s training program was so extensive.”
I probably should spend a little more time getting to know my mate and new pack. We’ve been so worried about the challenges that we haven’t talked about anything else when we’re together, if we talk at all.
My cheeks warmed at the thought as I watched Caelan dance around the practice dummy. His movements were beautifully fluid but ultimately deadly.
Suddenly, he stopped, raising his nose to the air and breathing in deeply. He turned, his eyes landing on me as a wide smile appeared on his face. He hurried over, scooping me up and kissing me like his life depended on it.
I leaned into him, not caring for a second that his sweat-soaked skin was pressed against me or that his betas were standing right there. As long as he kept his lips on mine, the rest of the world didn’t exist. It was just me and him.
I grinned, draping my arms around his neck. I could definitely get used to this.
Knowing You Better
SHADE
“I’m so happy to see you, baby,” Caelan said, waving to Taffy and Dillon as they left to give us a little privacy. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I know you’re busy, but…uh, I thought you might be hungry,” I explained as I held up the picnic basket Taffy had helped me prepare. “It’s nearly lunchtime.”
“You brought me food?” he asked quietly as he glanced down at the basket in my hands.
My shoulders slumped, my confidence instantly deflating.
“It’s stupid. You’ve probably got too much going on to take a break. I’ll just get out of your hair and let you get back to training,” I babbled as I turned to walk away.
“Shade, wait!” Caelan said, catching my arm and pulling me back. “Baby, I’m never too busy for you.” He lifted my chin, capturing my gaze with his own. “And I’m starving. I would love to have a picnic with you.”
He maneuvered the basket into one hand while taking hold of mine with the other. I followed him to a grassy hill overlooking the training grounds, smiling as he unrolled the blanket I’d brought along.
We sat, and I began pulling out what I’d packed for our lunch.
“So, what are we having?” Caelan asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
“Well, Taffy said you stick to a pretty strict diet when you’re training, so I made us a lemon chicken salad.”
“You made this?” he asked with wide eyes as I presented him with one of the containers.
“Yes,” I replied hesitantly. “Why? What’s wrong with it? Does it smell funny? Look gross? You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to.”
“Baby, I promise it looks and smells great,” he explained with an easy smile. “I guess I just didn’t expect you to cook for me. That’s all.”
“I wanted to do something special for you,” I replied with a shy shrug. “We haven’t gotten to spend much time together lately. We’ve been so worried about the challenges.”
“You wanted to spend more time with me, huh?” he teased with a grin.
“Of course,” I replied, my cheeks heating as I glanced down at his lips. “But today I figured we could maybe talk a little more. I feel there’s still so much I don’t know about you, and I want to know everything.”
“We have had other things on our mind when we’re able to catch a moment together, haven’t we?” he offered with a cheeky smile. “We have our whole lives to learn everything we want to know about each other, Shade, but I’m more than happy to answer any questions you have right now.”
“Thank you. Um, what’s your favorite color?” I asked before taking a bite of my salad.
“Blue. Light blue,” he replied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and causing me to giggle.
“For real?” I pressed, feeling like he was only saying what he thought I wanted to hear.
“For real. Even before I met you, I always really liked that color. But after I saw these eyes”—he ran his thumb delicately across my cheek—“the color was locked in at the number one spot permanently.”
I stared at him lovingly as my heart fluttered.
How does he always manage to make me feel like this? One touch, one look, one kind word, and I’m rendered completely helpless. It’s intoxicating. I don’t even care if it’s just some lame pick up line. It’s working.
“I thought you said you had more questions for me,” he teased.
The blush on my cheeks spread quickly, turning my face bright red.
“And that is my second favorite color,” he remarked, pointing to my face.
“You’re only making it worse,” I groaned as I tried to hide behind my hands.
He laughed, a lyrical and alluring sound that I wanted to hear all the time.
“What’s your favorite food?” I said when I finally managed to get myself under control.
“I’m a simple guy.” He shrugged. “Nothing beats a good hamburger. I’ve had fantastic meals from all over during my travels, but there’s just something about the wholesomeness of a simple burger that can’t be beat.”
“Wow. That was more profound than I expected,” I admitted.
“What can I say? More than just a pretty face,” he joked with a wink.
“What’s your favorite dessert?” I asked.
“Cherry pie,” he answered without hesitation. “And it’s also my favorite scent, if you were wondering,” he offered with a mischievous grin as he leaned over and took a long sniff of my hair.
“Are you saying I smell like cherry pie?” I asked with a giggle as he sighed happily.
“Like fresh from the oven. Sweet and tart with just a hint of spice,” he whispered, his voice growing husky as he took another whiff. “Good enough to eat.”
Oh my Goddess. I’m not going to survive this lunch if he keeps saying things like that.
“Uh…Taffy and Dillon mentioned that you’ve traveled a lot,” I said quickly, tripping over the words as I tried to refocus on my main goal. “I didn’t realize it was so extensive. How many other countries have you visited?”
He smiled as he took another bite of his salad, like he knew the exact effect he was having on me.
“Including this one? Twenty-seven,” he replied after a moment. “Dillon and I started traveling for training and other pack business when we were teenagers. It wasn’t until my father handed down the alpha title that I started sticking closer to home.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise. “Twenty-seven?!”
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” he confirmed with a nod. “Some places we stayed in for several months while we trained with their warriors. Other times it was only for a week or two as we settled some pack business.”
He leaned back on his elbows as he looked over his territory.
“Not every pack appreciates venturing beyond their own borders, but we’ve seen the value in it. When you have allies across the world, you have access to a bounty of friends and resources. You also open yourself up to a wealth of knowledge that you might not have otherwise had access to.”
“So, which one was your favorite?” I asked, smiling at the wisdom in his words.
“Now? I would have to say this one because it’s the one you’re in,” he replied with a cheesy grin, causing me to giggle once again.
“Be serious,” I chuckled.