Page 41 of Reformed Wolf

“Lame,” Stuart said, rolling his eyes. “I say we play poker. Loser has to do the winner’s chores. I’ll wager my biffy duty.”

Sasha nodded quickly, his curls bouncing. “I’m in! I’ll throw in my hunting. I’m so bad at it, and I always get blood in my fur. It’s disgusting.”

I was still standing, staring down at my packmates chatting like this was the most normal thing in the world. Vesta met my twitchy glare, her white eyes somehow filled with mirth, a smile toying at the corner of her wrinkled lips.

When I turned back to the circle, I caught Brody looking away quickly, his expression suspiciously bland. “All right, what the hell is going on?” I snapped. I no longer had any control of my face. I could only imagine the frustration that was currently written all over it.

Four faces turned up at me, all with the same blank innocence that somehow screamed guilt. Something tweaked in the back of my mind, like an itty-bitty bell. Ding! I narrowed my eyes at Brody. “You’re stalling.”

He spat out an overly dramatic scoff. “What? Stalling? Me? That’s ridiculous.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second. “How about strip poker?”

I wasn’t buying their bullshit for another second. I reached inside myself to the mating bond and gave it a sharp pluck, like a guitar string, sending the vibration all the way through the woods to my mate. On the other end of the line, I felt Tristan’s surprise, but also a cheeky kind of mischief, as well as a bone-deep exhaustion.

“Why is my mate tired?” I asked, brow pinched.

Again, four blank faces, four fake shrugs. Vesta laughed and said, “I told you it wouldn’t work.”

I growled. “You guys aren’t my friends anymore.” Then I stuck my tongue out at them and stormed out the door. They were still sitting in the same spots when I popped my head back in just to throw my clothes at them. “Could you guys bring these back for me? Thanks, bye.”

Then I took my fur and ran. Screw the winding path; the shortest route home was a straight line, and the terrain didn’t slow my panther down a single bit. It felt amazing to stretch our legs, to truly let our power loose. Even reserving some energy, pacing myself, I felt like we could run all day. Leaping over mossy rocks, fallen logs, and streams, it took far less time to get back to camp than it had to hike to Vesta’s cabin.

As we approached camp, though, I began to be aware of a few things. One, I heard the rumble of engines, and the air was ripe with so many scents—sawdust, melted plastic, diesel fumes. What the hell was going on?!

With a final burst of speed, we bolted into the clearing, landing in a crouch where I knew my mate would be. Sure enough, he was standing there waiting for us, arms crossed over his chest, amused smirk on those kissable lips. “I was wondering how long it would take before you got suspicious.”

I’d planned to be angry with him. I didn’t even know what I was angry about, but I didn’t like being kept in the dark. “I hate surprises,” I snarled as I shifted back to my skin.

“I promise you’ll like this one,” he said, easing closer cautiously in case I decided to attack, then he brushed a soft kiss on my mouth. He licked along my lower lip, nipping it with his teeth. “Forgive me?”

I grunted. “Depends on the surprise, I guess.” In truth, as his fingers slid over the curve of my hip, I was already starting to forget why I was mad in the first place. My cock began to thicken from the friction of his jeans, and since I was already naked, we were halfway to a good time. “Lose the pants,” I grunted, slipping my fingers under his shirt to tangle in the hair on his stomach.

Tris reached down and gripped my wrists, groaning, his eyes just a little unfocused. “I’m afraid that’ll have to wait. We have guests.”

I couldn’t believe how easily distracted I’d been by my mate that I’d completely ignored everything else going on. Of course we had guests, that was obvious, and way more than just a few of them. Their scents overlapped until I couldn’t distinguish one from another, though I could tell all of them were shifters.

Tristan smugly handed me a pair of sweats, and I shoved my legs into them while trying to get a peek at all the activity going on in the camp. My jaw hinged open in awe. “What the hell, Tris. What have you done?”

His grin was blinding, his pride shining through. “Let me give you a tour,” he said, draping an arm over my shoulders. We couldn’t get very close because the entire clearing had been turned into a construction zone, but he started pointing out a few things.

“Over there, you can see they’re installing a couple solar panels. We won’t get a whole lot of electricity from them, but it’s enough for a few basics you might’ve been missing. Over here,” he said, guiding me off to the right through the trees, “we have our brand-new compost toilet. I know, I know, not as glamorous as the electricity, but it’s a massive step up from the outhouse we had before.”

The next stop was the kitchen which they’d only just finished building earlier this week. It hadn’t been more than a few rough walls when I left this morning, but now it had been completely transformed! The floor was covered in a durable tile, the walls were insulated for the winter months, covered in drywall, and painted a warm earth tone. “Careful, the paint’s still wet,” he told me all casually. There was even an indoor eating area. And a stove and a fridge and… “Is that a cappuccino maker?!” I felt like my brain was going to start leaking out of my ears.

The squeal I made was probably in a pitch only dogs could hear, but because, you know, wolf shifter, Damon popped his head in the door. “Crazy, right? Did you see my new greenhouse?” His eyes lit up with childhood-Christmas-morning glee.

“It’s not yours,” Tristan scolded teasingly, even though we all knew the garden was Damon’s baby.

I didn’t have a chance to give input because we were already on the move again. The way the bond started to vibrate, I knew my mate was getting really excited. He took me by the hand and almost dragged me toward a new building that hadn’t been there this morning. “This… is our new home.” He swept his arm out, and even though he didn’t say it, I could practically hear the “Ta-da!”

“I—it’s—but what—” I was entirely speechless, which only seemed to delight him even more.

He opened the door to show me around. It was way larger than what we’d had before, with a huge, thick mattress and all new bedding, plus a crib by the floor-to-ceiling window that looked out at the woods. “There’s a second smaller bedroom through there, which can be the nursery, but I thought you might want to help decorate.”

I nodded vaguely. There was a plush rug on the beautiful cork floor, and there must’ve been something really wrong with me, because the only thing I could think about was what a nightmare it would be to get dirt out of the fibers.

“What was wrong with our old cabin?” I asked without thinking.

Tristan’s smile wobbled. “You don’t like it?”

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