Page 40 of Reformed Wolf

Brody was ahead of me, leading our little convoy, Malachi strapped to his back with a long swath of fabric. Every now and then Brody would pass a snack over his shoulder to keep the toddler happy. I thought about telling Brody about all the food smeared across the back of his neck, but I had a feeling he already knew.

They’d told me this was supposed to be some kind of omegas bonding time or whatever, but it seemed an odd choice of activity. We saw each other every single day, so why the hell did we need to leave camp in order to “bond.” It was making me feel all kinds of antsy. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but something wasn’t right. And the longer we walked, the more not right it became. Maybe it was just because this was the farthest I’d been from my mate since we marked each other. I could still feel him there, humming happily along through the bond, anchored somewhere deep in my soul. I rubbed at my chest, frowning. He was fine, downright gleeful actually, which only made me frown harder. He wanted time away from me. Maybe this whole little trip had nothing to do with bonding after all, and it was just to give my fucking mate some quiet time with the other alphas.

The forest was really beautiful, the air fragrant with newly blooming wildflowers after a recent rain. The weather was perfect, the sun cutting sharp beams of golden light through the trees’ overstory, and it was warm but not so hot that I’d sweat through my shirt. It should’ve been a perfect way to spend a summer day, and yet… I found myself trying to pick up the pace a little, nudging past Brody to take the lead.

Brody cast me a sly look from the corner of his eye. “Hey, what’s the rush?

“Oh, you know… just eager to get there,” I said stiffly. That was a lie. It was that I was eager to get home, and the sooner we got to Vesta’s, the sooner we could leave. If my mate thought it would be so great without me, I’d show him a thing or two. Maybe I’d claim his hole tonight, see how he liked getting dicked around.

I hadn’t even noticed I was stomping ahead until Brody’s voice came from quite a distance behind. “So, what’s your plan to lead the way? You don’t even know where we’re going.”

I stopped where I was, glancing around for some kind of sign I was on the right track. A giant neon sign maybe, saying “Vesta’s House This Way.” No such luck, so I turned around in a huff to glare at him. His teasing smirk plucked at me, snagging into my tender nerves, and it took a huge amount of effort not to snap at him. But a tiny, whispering voice in the recesses of my hormonal mind reminded me that he was the Alpha Omega. I was probably supposed to show him a modicum of respect.

My panther offered to handle things for me, whatever that meant, but I had a suspicion he just wanted to play with Mal, probably licking all the snacks off his chubby cheeks.

“Fine,” I sighed, my head hanging low toward my chest, and I grudgingly got back into line behind Brody.

Tara giggled behind me, and I gritted my teeth. Brody walked for only another hundred yards and announced, “We’re here!”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I grunted. “If you’d let me keep walking, I would’ve found it on my own.”

He just shrugged and smiled again; he had the patience of a saint, and I wanted nothing more right now than to make him snap. “What can I say? I never said you were headed in the wrong direction. You should learn to trust yourself more. You’re actually quite intuitive.”

Growling, I marched past him into a clearing, and the stunning vista blasted my foul mood on its ass. This was the cutest cabin I’d ever seen! It looked like something out of a Bob Ross painting, with all its happy little flowers and moss and climbing vines. But… it didn’t look habitable.

“Vesta lives here?” I asked incredulously.

“Uh-huh. Come on, she’s probably expecting us.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “What do you mean probably? Didn’t you ask if this trip was okay before you planned it?”

Stuart laughed. “Oh, no. You don’t need to plan to visit Vesta. She just knows, you know, with her witchy mind powers.” He wiggled his fingers at me as if it was supposed to signify magic, and for extra measure, tacked on a spooky, “Woooooo.”

Sasha bumped my shoulder on the way past. “I’ll bet she’s already got the table set and lunch cooking over the fire.”

The door opened before we could get there, and Vesta’s bent frame appeared in the doorway. “Now, why on earth would I make lunch when I know you brought food?” she asked, cackling as she waved us in. “And Tara, don’t even try to tell me you didn’t bring cinnamon buns, I know they are in your bag. It’s not nice to tease an old woman.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said, smirking as she slipped her backpack off and pulled out the container of pastries.

Our small gathering barely fit in the one-room shack, and as it was, most of us sat on the floor because of a lack of chairs. It was fine, I didn’t mind—much. Living in the woods had taken a huge reordering of the way my brain worked. Before, I’d taken every luxury for granted. I had never given a second thought about where our food came from or the work that went into preparing it. A soft bed, plush carpets, windows and doors and walls—they were all just… there, as if they’d poofed into existence fully formed. If I wanted the internet, I pushed a button. If I wanted light, I flicked a switch. And when I wanted a hot shower, all I had to do was turn a dial and presto! Like magic!

Except it wasn’t magic, not really.

Living out here in the woods had been a huge eye-opener, and while it hadn’t been easy, not for one fucking second, it had certainly been worthwhile. It was satisfying in a way nothing in my life ever had been before. So, I would be grateful for my seat on Vesta’s floor and the venison sandwich in my belly.

Once the food was consumed and the sun had begun its descent, I assumed we would get going back to camp. I’d been distracted from the distance to my mate for a little while, but now that itchy feeling was back. We must’ve been here long enough. I pushed up from my spot on the floor and brushed off the back of my jeans.

“Well, I guess we’ll—” I began.

“Yes! A game of cards,” Brody said, clapping his hands. “Great idea, Dylan!”

“I-I said what now?” How could he have possibly mistaken what I’d said so thoroughly? “No, I didn’t—”

Tara stood up quickly, glancing sidelong at the Alpha Omega. “Yes!” she squeaked. “Cards, right. I’ve got a deck in my bag.”

Vesta’s chuckle was rough and smoky. “It’s not going to work,” she said, shaking her head, rocking gently in her chair in front of the cold fireplace.

Tara had come back with her deck of cards, and everyone shuffled into a circle as she began to deal. “Crazy Eights?”

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