Page 23 of Wolf Forgotten

Cole's eyes widened, and he stepped closer to Ivy, narrowing his eyes. "Who sent you?"

"Whosentme? You have got to be kidding me. Youkidnappedme and locked me away, or did you forget about that already?" She turned and put one arm over her breasts and one over her southern lady bits.

I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling. I loved the way she wasn't scared of Cole and gave him sass he didn't know what to do with. Any other female would have been on the ground with his wolf at their throat by now.

Cole laughed and looked her up and down. “Nudity doesn’t bother us. Soon it won’t bother you either.” He turned back toward the house. "Let's go."

She scowled at his back and followed a few feet behind him as we walked the way we had run from.

She turned her head back toward me. “You can walk in front of me.”

"I won't look." At least I didn't think I would. I was a respectable wolf, not a horn dog.

"Listen here... What's your name?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Elias, but everyone calls me Eli. You can call me whichever you prefer." She could call me ass and I would be happy.

"Eli, I don't care if you say you won't look. I want you walking in front of me, eyes on your buddy's ass and not on mine. Got it?" Sara chuffed, and Ivy looked at her. "You too, I don't care if you're female."

"Who's going to protect your back?" I moved in front of her. "Your back is the most vulnerable."

"I can protect my own ass. Thank you very much."

Cole snorted and shook his head as we made our way back to the house. It would have been faster to shift and run back, but Ivy's reaction to being a wolf hadn't been the best.

The walk back would take about twenty minutes with how far we had run. About halfway, I stopped and carried Sara. I didn't know why she felt the need to run after us, but it was too far and fast for her.

"Is she okay?" Ivy was walking only slightly behind me now. "Why hasn't she shifted back?"

"She's fine. She's not used to running so far. Her prosthetic is back at the house and walking with just one leg in a forest is not the easiest thing to do." Sara made an annoyed noise in her throat.

"She doesn't have something for her wolf?" Ivy reached a tentative hand forward. "Is it okay if I pet her?"

"We rarely pet each other. It's an intimate gesture." I grinned, thinking about petting her sometime soon. "As for something to help her wolf... she refuses because it makes her look weak."

"Oh." She dropped her hand as she fell into step beside me. "Does that matter?"

"Yes. We have a hierarchy." I sighed and kept my eyes straight ahead. "It will be interesting to see where you fit in."

"And Cole is what? The resident asshole of the pack?" She laughed, and I wanted to put my arm around her and kiss her forehead. He was prickly at times, but he would also be the first to give his life to protect members of his pack.

Cole's back tensed, and he clenched his fists at his side. I was glad he was holding his alpha instincts in because the last thing we needed was for her to be more scared than she already was. All things considered, she was handling the news she was a wolf fairly well.

"Cole is the alpha. He is the most dominant member of the pack, just like his father was before he got up there in age and had to retire." Being alpha was a lot of work and stress. I would never want to be in charge of keeping the peace and ensuring our entire kind wasn't discovered.

"So, an asshole. Got it. What are you? A beta?"

Did I have to answer her? Telling her I was the omega was akin to getting kicked in the nuts. It had taken a long time to make the adjustment to being the pack's emotional support scratching post, but the alternative was unacceptable.

Sara was the true omega, and while most acknowledged me in the role, a few made their opinions known anytime we were in wolf form. It was one of the many reasons Sara hated being a wolf.

"He's the heart of the pack." Cole turned his head just enough so we could see the side of his face, but he wasn't looking back at Ivy. "Without him, we'd be a mess."

My face flamed, and I rubbed the back of my neck. "The pack would be fine."

My family house came into view, and I breathed a sigh of relief that the conversation would end. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of my position in the pack, I just didn't want my mate to perceive me as weak before she even understood what my role was.

When we got to the back door, Ivy came to an abrupt stop and looked down at the hammer and then at my face. "Wait, didn't I hit you in the jaw with the hammer?"

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