“When aren’t they?” I muttered.

She sighed, and it was dreamy and definitely not because she was thinking about the council. “It’s so beautiful.”

“No more beautiful than you are, my mate.” She looked up at me and graced me with her smile, and I felt that smile in my heart. Reaching for her hand, I raised it to my mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

She hummed. “That would be nice.”

“You want to run as wolves?”

She shook her head. “No.”

“Why not?” My question had her shrugging, but I repeated, “Why not?”

“Just don’t feel like it.”

I squinted at her. “You think that if you shift, you’ll feel something else?”

She shoved me a little. “Since when could you read between the lines?”

I laughed. “Since always. Ethan just thinks I’m the dumb one.”

A gasp escaped her. “He doesn’t think that.”

“He does.” I shrugged. “It’s okay. I think he’s a boring fuck too.”

Sabina giggled. “Well, you’re both wrong, and I love you both exactly how you are,” she stated primly.

“You’ve got no taste. You like Eli too. He walks around like he’s got a stick up his ass.”

When Eli howled at that, making me fully aware that he was listening in on our conversation, I chuckled when she jumped.

“He can hear from that far?” We both could sense how far away the pack was, and I just shrugged.

“He’s powerful, and as a wolf, when he runs, when he lets the beast out full throttle, he will always be keyed into you and your needs first and foremost.”

A shaky sigh escaped her. “I’m still not sure how that happened.”

“It didn’t just happen, love. It was preordained by the very lady who made this.” I gently slapped the totem, shivering a little as I did so.

The magic in the circle was incredibly potent, and I’d just felt it filter through my bones like an electric shock.

The zap had me shaking my hand, then reaching for her. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

I tugged her into my side, and we started walking out of the circle.

With nowhere really to go, I turned her to the house where Ethan and I lived. Or used to live.

We’d need to move out soon enough, and I figured, like most women, she’d be curious about where we stayed.

“I heard that. I’m not most women,” she groused.

“No, but you’d still like to see our place, wouldn’t you?” I teased.

When she huffed, I knew I had my answer.

Behind us, I heard padding paws stepping through the mulch and dead leaves lining the forest floor, but concern didn’t filter through me because I knew it was the she-wolf.

“She’s protective of me,” was all she said, picking up yet again on my train of thought. That the bitch was protective of her was something I knew she liked. Didn’t get it, but she liked it nonetheless.

“I’m glad she is.”

And I was. I could feel it brimming in the she-wolf’s heart—a possessive protectiveness that would see the beast kill anyone who dared put Sabina in harm’s way.

Fuck, if her life goal and my life goal weren’t exactly the same.

“We’ll need to make sure if she bites someone, no one knows it’s her—”

“She won’t bite anyone,” Sabina scoffed, making me snort.

“She’s wild. Of course she will!” I tugged on her hand. “It’s okay.” I pressed another kiss to her knuckles.

She sighed, smiling into my eyes as my lips connected with her skin. “I meant to apologize to you.”

I arched a brow. “Why?”

Her hand came up to cup my cheek. “During our claiming, I treated you badly.”

My brow furrowed, but I knew what she meant. Aside from the natural wolf attack, I considered our claiming to be perfection—that she didn’t, that she felt guilty for her actions, was because she felt too much. “You were still a victim then. I understood it then, and I understand it now.”

Her lips twisted, but the smile that shone through was more genuine than I could bear. “You’re right. I was. But I’m not anymore.”

I winked at her. “Trust me, sweetheart, I know that. Anyway, no apologies. None are necessary. Come on. I want to show you my den.”

The walk to my cabin didn’t take long, not from the totem’s location, and when I guided her inside, she peered in each room, shaking her head and smiling as she did so.

“What’s got you smiling?”

She grinned. “It’s nothing like I thought it would be.”

My eyes widened. “Is that good or bad?”

“It’s neither. Just nice to know you two can surprise me.” She leaned up on her tiptoes, then pressed a kiss to my lips. I sighed into it, as did she, before she darted off and started exploring.

When she strode into Ethan’s room, I leaned against the jamb, watching her.

“Kali Sara, he likes books, doesn’t he?”

My mouth twisted into a smile. “Yeah. He likes them. A lot.” That was an understatement. The walls were lined with books, and every possible surface was stacked high with them—all types, thicknesses, and sizes.

“I hate reading,” I muttered.

She grinned at me. “Sacrilege.”

“It’s just not how I work. If you tell me a story, I’ll never forget it. But if you have me read it?” I blew out a breath. “I’ll hate every second of it.”

“I want to hear a story from you sometime.” She hummed. “Eli was saying you’re great at telling them.”

“Well, that’s not a way to give me stage fright, is it?” I grumbled, surprised that Eli had given me that compliment.

She snickered, but ceased trailing her hand over the books, the myriad tomes that Ethan considered priceless possessions, before she wandered over to me.

“I want to see your room now.”

“Who am I to disobey?”

She grinned, then laughed when I led her in there.

“Austin, really? Did it need to be so big?” was her first response.

I winked at her. “Big is as big does.”

“True,” she mused. “Your dick is as big as the TV.”

“Be grateful it isn’t, sassy monkey,” I chided, but I leaned over and nipped her bottom lip for her pains.

She chuckled, making my heart break in the best possible way, and then come together again at another sign of glee from her, and whispered, “I like this room.”

My brows rose. “There’s nothing special about it.”

“There is.” She huffed. “It’s your room.” A grin appeared on her lips, and it made me want to kiss her hard and deep and fast.

She loved me, that was clear to see, because this room was anything other than special.

It probably even smelled a bit like jock, but hell, I was a jock. An overgrown one who was being forced to grow up fast.

But I could deal with that for her.

A howl sounded outside, and I wasn’t shocked that the pack was running hard and fast. It startled her though. She jerked and almost fell back against me.