Page 69 of Fated to the Feral Wolf

Leigh handed me her soda, flipped him the bird over her shoulder, and then took an overly aggressive bite of her sandwich.

I was pretty sure she was imagining her wolf ripping a chunk out of Gael’s hide.

“We’re heading to Johnson City pack grounds. That way you three can gather more of your things, we can get the packtransfer paperwork finalized, and hopefully meet with Karissma,” Kane told us as we headed for the plane.

“Great,” Leigh muttered around a mouthful of sandwich. “Bureaucracy and long-lost relatives. What could possibly go wrong next?”

I really wished she’d stop asking questions we didn’t want the answers to.

Despite our tensionover the looming ODL threat, landing in Texas went off without a hitch. It had been four days since our escapade in Colorado, we were about done packing, and there was not a whisper of trouble in the wind. No sign of ODL retribution, or even the fact that they knew Brielle was the omega.

Meanwhile, the little plane—of death, Leigh added any time it was mentioned—had left, replaced by the full-sized Pack Blackwater jet, awaiting our convenience at the nearby private airport. The Johnson City pack didn’t have an airstrip or a plane of their own.

My days were spent tying up loose ends together as a pack, but my nights were spent in my room with Dirge, making love and listening to classical composers until we drifted off in each other’s arms. It was a little slice of paradise in the midst of turmoil, and each time we came together, a little more of our mate markings filled in. Mine had completed, finally, while Dirge’s were slowly crossing the broad expanse of his chest.

To my surprise, where my marks went straight across, almost like the graceful curve of butterfly wings, Dirge’s extended down, filling in over his left pectoral and skating down his abdomen. His eight-pack was starting to take on color, and I waited eagerly each night to see what would happen next, even though I hated that the markings hurt him.

I was pulling on my second-favorite blue sneakers when Dirge cleared his throat from the doorway. The scent of strong coffee and hazelnut creamer wafted my way, and I think I fell in love with him a tiny bit more. He was enjoying our foray into domesticity, and in between helping me haul boxes, he was studying my every move so he could learn how I liked things. He’d been working on my coffee order yesterday, and from the smell of it, he’d nailed it.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked, passing me the coffee once I straightened.

“Just reflecting, thinking about how different it is having you here with me than it was before.”

“Good different, I hope.”

I stood as I sipped the coffee, closing my eyes at the perfect blend of sweetness and depth. “Verygood different.”

He stepped up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist. “Well, I’ll just have to keep working until I get to excellent, then.” He rumbled low in his chest, a contented sound, as I leaned back into him. “What do you have left to pack?”

I sighed. “Me? Nothing. We all agreed to leave the furniture, and we took the last load of boxes last night after the pizza break. My instruments will be the last thing to load up on the day of. Alpha Todd’s second has our transfer paperwork finalized. All three of us have to go sign at noon.”

“Are you sad about the piano?” he asked.

I shrugged. “A little, but I got it secondhand, and it’s over the weight limit for the pack jet with all our other stuff. I’ll just have to buy one locally once we’re settled down. At least I’ll have my keyboard with us now.”

He nodded gravely. “We’ll get you a new one. A fancy one, on me, and you can pick out anything you want.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I’m not spending your money. I have a little bit in savings, and the music store is buying this one back from me.” He opened his mouth as if to argue, but I cut him off. “In the meantime, I really need to go help Leigh. She doesn’t have a mate, and she’s got way more stuff than me. Maybe more than me and Bri put together.”

He chuckled. “I can swing by this afternoon to lend a hand, but Kane’s asked any of us who are free to visit his loaner office. Apparently, he’s expecting forensic results on the knife and wants to debrief with his people working on Alpha Varga and things overseas.”

“Do you want me to come?” I spun in his grip so I could look up at him, careful not to slosh a precious drip of my hazelnutty perfection.

“Entirely up to you. If you want to help Leigh, I can fill you in after?”

“Deal,” I said with a nod. Dirge smiled and pressed a kiss to my lips.

When we parted ways in the hall, I was humming the tune that had been playing on repeat in my brain since my night of meditation. Each time, a little more detail filled in, the song growing more complex. And now I finally had my instruments back to work on it.

FORTY-THREE

Dirge

Kane’s loaner office was barely bigger than a broom closet, and with four of us squished in there—Brielle had also opted to help Leigh pack, rather than deal with politics and investigations—it was about one degree of separation from a sardine can.

Kane seemed a bit peeved as he dug through a pile of papers on his temporary desk, but I was enjoying our time in Texas. Not the heat; that could fuck right off. But getting a glimpse into Shay’s normal life, learning about my girl? That was something I would happily spend all my time doing.

I was the last one in, so I shut the door carefully behind me, then stood in front of it. It was that or Gael’s lap, and we weren’t that close. Yet. He was growing on me, slowly, especially knowing that he cared about Leigh.

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