Chapter 45
Valarie
It smelled like apples, like home, even though I was far from the Autumn Pack’s orchards.
Instead, I had found and bought a small house bordering an orchard on the outskirts of the Kingdom.
It was surrounded by a forest that lacked pine trees, and deer often came in to steal the apples, but it was more than I’d ever imagined having for myself.
Myself. It was my home—small, with two bedrooms, but well-kept and with good bones.
The status of beta allowed me to search for whatever work I wanted, and there was more than enough opportunity in the Kingdom. But I hadn’t settled on anything yet in the months after the change of leadership.
Instead, I stayed on as a kind of contractor, helping Sophia and Daniele with whatever they needed. But I’d already gone into the city several times to consider my options.
There was a rustle at the edge of the property, and I looked up from turning over a large patch of dirt that would be a vegetable garden in the future.
In a burst of leaves and birds rising from the treetops from the disruption, Gabriel stumbled into the yard, breathing heavily from his run.
He was covered in a sheen of sweat that made his pale skin glimmer in the afternoon light. But so many days living out in the country, outside, were giving him a bit of a tan. He no longer got sunburn, at least.
“Hey,” he said casually, with a grin, as he walked toward me.
I raised an eyebrow.
“No shirt? You’re going to get cut up that way, running through all those mountain laurel.”
He shrugged and looked down at his arms which were, in fact, cut up.
“I’m hoping I’ll start to toughen up soon.”
“Well, the exercise is obviously doing you good.” I couldn’t keep the appreciation from my voice as I looked him over.
As Alpha, he’d been impressive—tall and cold, intimidating.
But now, demoted to a beta and living on the edge of the Kingdom, he finally looked himself. Still gorgeous. Still intimidating when he wanted to be (although that was usually only in the bedroom), but goofier and more carefree.
His hair was often mussed up, his clothing almost never immaculate.
Every day he marveled at how small our house was. But he loved it. Wandered from one room to the next, touching everything that was ours, calm in such a removed setting.
“I was thinking,” he panted, still working to catch his breath as I continued to turn over the earth, “of going up to the palace later. To have dinner with Mother and, if you want, to visit your family?”
I smiled up at him.
“I’d like that. I’m not sure if Jason will be there, but my parents should be.”
My family had ultimately sold their house in the Autumn territory and taken Gabriel up on his offer, which was still honored since it had been made when he was reigning Alpha.
They lived now in a simple townhouse in the city, my father and brother working for their respective unions, and my mother finding a job at one of the fabric stores. But they each had their own plans.
“Did your mom find a shop yet?” Gabriel asked, sitting unceremoniously on the ground.
I grinned now, unable to stop myself. Every day it was amazing to see him so comfortable.
“No, not yet. She’s looking for something a bit closer to the palace, I think, so she can be closer to the clients who commission her. But she’s been so used to being tight on money for so long that the rent there absolutely appalls her.”
“Yeah, well I can understand that. But hopefully she can get settled somewhere soon. Maybe I can pull a few strings...”
He trailed off thoughtfully and I rolled my eyes. It was a nice thought, but we both knew that stepping down from Alpha—Alpha of all the packs—meant giving up certain perks.
The Alpha Pack had responded well to him stepping down. He was still respected, but needed to earn it, and that meant not asking for favors every time we went into the Kingdom.
He’d managed to find a place with the hunters, though, and enjoyed the work. It meant running the land almost every day, and as part of his training, he would have the opportunity in a few weeks to travel to other territories and see how they hunted and what they hunted.
He couldn’t be more thrilled.
It would be weird having him gone for so long, but I knew it was what he wanted. And my mother had already offered to visit regularly during the months he was gone.
She was completely charmed by Gabriel, blushed every time he walked into the room and hugged her.
My father was less impressed, but happy for me. He’d heard about Gabriel’s past reputation, but also about his father’s fair rule as an Alpha and Gabriel’s speech about things needing to change.
Speaking of...
“The mating moon is coming up next week,” I said, trying to sound casual as Gabriel started toward the porch to grab his shirt.
He tugged it over his head and shoulders and looked at me.
“Yes?”
“Well. I was wondering if you... still felt the same way. About—”
He laughed, loud and unchecked, his face opening up.
“If I still want to run it with you? And be mated?” He grinned on the last word, making me blush.
We were mates by default, by common law.
But neither of us were interested in a wedding ceremony.
It felt too formal. So, when Sophia had brought up Gabriel’s idea of continuing traditions, bringing them back to the packs, and said she planned on moving forward with that. .. I couldn’t help thinking...
“Of course I want to,” he said softly, the grin turning to a smile as he came over to kiss me.
I got a little distracted by the kiss and lost my balance, barely saving myself by grabbing onto his shoulders.
“So, you and me. The mating moon. That lake... again.”
I laughed and shoved him, taking hold of my shovel once more.
“There’s nothing I want more,” he continued. “But you’ve been getting out of shape, Val. If you’re going to keep up with me, you should probably start running the trails with me in the morning.”
Eyebrows raised, he backed away, knowing I’d be coming for him if he kept up the taunting.
“After all, what’s going to happen if some other female outruns you and catches up to me?”
I gave in, lunging forward and tackling him, barely catching him around the waist. We went down, laughing in the dirt, not worried in the least about our clothes getting dirty as we rolled around.
I bit his shoulder and he yelped, scrambling to overturn me and pin me down into the earth.
He buried his face in my neck and inhaled deeply. It was becoming a habit, but I didn’t mind, stilling as he took in my scent.
“Mate,” he muttered into my skin.
I let my eyelids drop in satisfaction until he started tickling me. Then I howled, clawing at him, the two of us fighting for dominance. Both betas—both feeling more ourselves than we ever had before.