Page 111 of Fated to the Warrior Wolf

G

I laughed and pressed a hand over my mouth as I read the last line.I love buying you pink purses. A wet droplet landed on the paper, and I snatched it away before more tears could fall to preserve the ink. Damn.

Gael had seen me struggling to get dressed this morning, and in only a few short hours, he’d taken care of it. He asked for literally nothing in return; he only wanted to take care of me and Petal, and something about that reality made me want to sob.

I ran my hand over the top of my exposed belly as I looked down at it.

“Your daddy is a really wonderful man, Petal. I don’t get a lot of things right. I’ve made so many mistakes, and I’ll always be honest about that. But your daddy? He wasn’t one of those mistakes. You’re so lucky to have him,” I whispered. “Webothare.”

I blew out a breath and opened the bag closest to me, with no small amount of trepidation. It was full of buttery-soft black maternity leggings.

I immediately shucked the too-tight exercise leggings I’d put on this morning and pulled the new ones on. They wereheaven. They glided over my belly with ease, and it felt like I could take my first full breath inweeks. The bag behind it was full of soft maternity T-shirts, each with funny sayings on them. With a smile, I pulled on a rose-colored one that saidlicensed to smuggle watermelons.

While I wanted to poke through it all, see what else he’d deemed necessary that took upthismuch space, I had a much more pressing need. I crossed to my desk—where I spotted a second stunning rose-leather purse, sitting there with a bow on it nonchalantly like that brand of bag didn’t cost more than mycarback home—yanked open the drawer, and scooped out every single letter he’d left me. There were so many, it took me a few seconds to gather them all up in a way that I wasn’t going to drop any. Then I slipped on my running shoes and headed for the back door, the precious cargo clutched to my chest.

I walkedmyself through the woods to a quiet spot where I knew I wouldn’t be bothered. There was an old nurse log with a soft moss blanket at the perfect height to make a seat. I stopped here sometimes when I’d pushed too hard, but this time I wasn’t even breathing heavily. My pulse was still pounding, though. Because I knew that once I opened these letters, there was no going back. No pretending that I didn’t care more about Gael than I was willing to admit, even to myself.

It was going to hurt, reading them. I knew it intrinsically. But I was ready. Ready to hold those feelings, take them out of the closet, and give them their moment to wreck me. I’d wrecked him today, so it was only fair.

I shook out all my muscles, making myself take a moment to loosen up, and then lifted the flap on the top letter. There was no date on it, so I didn’t know which order it had come in.

Dear Princess,

Something not many people know about me is that after I had my first shift at thirteen?—

My jaw dropped. Thirteen? That was so young. I hadn’t shifted until I was almost sixteen. I kept reading.

—I was sent to an enclave for training. In the past, only second sons were sent away to become warriors, but since I was the second child and only son, my father thought it likely I would have to protect my own throne. Little did he know I would grow up to want nothing to do with the throne at all.

But I spent seven years at the enclave. That’s actually where I met Kane for the first time. He was sent there on a tour. If he had a younger brother, his brother would have been sent to train, as well. But as you know, he was an only child when his parents passed.

I learned a lot of things there. How to fight with almost any weapon. How to survive on a few hours of sleep. How to survive alone in the woods as a man, not just as a wolf. How to use myself as a human shield. It’s funny, because while my father never intended it, he forged me into the perfect weapon to be the high alpha’s second.

Always,

G

That was unexpected, on so many levels. He hadn’t been angry or … I don’t know. He hadn’t even mentioned our broken relationship. It was a nice letter telling me about his past. So, what was in the rest of them? Maybe the angry one had been earlier on?

I flipped the pile over and picked the one that had been at the very bottom.

Dear Princess,

I admit I should have told you much sooner about who I am and my family. That was a mistake I regret. I know you don’t want to speak to me right now, and that’s okay. I hope these notes will let you learn a bit more about my past, and also show you that I’m holding nothing else back from you or our daughter. I’m going to tell you anything I can think of, whether it’s important or not.

But first, I’d like to tell you that you aremyprincess. I know, it came as a shock. But it just… felt right. If I had to be a prince, the least I could do was make you my princess. I’m sorry if that seems stupid or trite. I’ve heard the way you talk about yourself and the way others have said derogatory things about you in the past. But I don’t see you as your bloodline. I couldn’t care less that you’re half-human.

In my eyes, you’re perfect. Fit to wear my family’s crown. And if you want, one day, I’ll get it for you. My father would be overjoyed. Whatever we decide, when that day comes, we’ll decide it together. Petal would look as beautiful as her mother in the christening gown, of that I have no doubt.

Always,

G

I bit my lip as I lowered the letter to my lap. He wasn’t angry? These were make-up letters, anecdotes and snippets from his life so far. I was suddenly anxious to read every single word, perhaps twice. I craved knowing him so much, it was overwhelming. I carefully set the letter I’d finished on my other side and picked up the next one.

It contained a charming story about the time he’d broken his first bone, at twelve, spying on his older sister and falling out of the tree outside her bedroom window. I laughed so hard, I had to stop reading to catch my breath, because the way he described himself lying stunned on the ground while the limbs spun overhead was utterly ridiculous.

I got so caught up binge reading every single letter and absorbing all the tiny details of his life, I almost didn’t catch the rustle in the undergrowth. I don’t know what it was that alerted me finally, but I fixated on the low murmur of someone talking first, my head snapping up to scan my surroundings. I didn’tseeanyone, but my wolf was edgy, all the hair along her ruff and back standing up at attention.

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