Page 33 of Wolf Forgotten

I knocked and then opened the door. She had her back to me, and a deep longing filled my chest. Was this what it was supposed to feel like to have a mate?

I shut the door behind me and sighed. "Look, I'm a dick." She snorted a tear-filled laugh. "I don't know how to do this. This whole thing is uncharted territory for me, and I'm sorry."

She sat up and turned to face me, wiping her cheeks. She had fire in her eyes, and I leaned back against the door, ready to take the tongue lashing she was about to give me.

"You can't just expect me to know all the wolf and pack rules. I didn't know what the fuck I was doing out there. They growled at me, and I defended myself the best way I knew how, by fighting. Maybe instead of being mad at me, you should be mad at the male members of your pack for approaching a female that's much smaller who was naked and alone." She scooted to the edge of the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. "And then you scolded me like I was a child. I don't like being bossed around by men. I swore when I was eighteen that I'd never let another man take advantage of me again."

"Did someone hurt you?" If someone had hurt her, I'd find them and kill them.

She bit her lip. "He's been dealt with. That's not the point. I won't be in a pack that uses wolf hierarchy to mistreat others."

I pushed off the door and sat next to her on the bed, leaving enough space between us so she wouldn't be uncomfortable. "Our wolves have a mind of their own."

"That's a bullshit excuse. I’ve only known my wolf for a day, and I already know I will eventually be the boss."

I fought a smile. "You're a little firecracker, aren't you?"

"Only when I need to be." She crawled back under the covers. "What now?"

I stood and looked down at her. Her red hair fanned across the pillow, and I was tempted to lie down next to her and run my fingers through it. That ship probably had sailed.

"You learn to be a wolf."

* * *

I lookedover to check on Ivy as we drove down the gravel road toward the highway. Her hand was resting on her cheek as she watched the scenery out the passenger side window.

After repeatedly apologizing the night before, there had been a few moments of awkwardness before I’d patted her head and went back to my room. Who the hell pats an attractive woman’s head? This idiot, that’s who.

I slowed the truck as we came to some of the pack’s teenagers playing catch in the middle of the road.

“How many of you are there?” Ivy didn’t look at me, but at least she was talking.

She had been quiet at breakfast and had shown little excitement when I announced we’d be going to her house to pick up things she needed. I thought she would have been happy at my olive branch.

“Three hundred and twenty-six, including you.” We were one of the smaller packs since conflict split us. Some chose sides and some left to live with other, less drama-filled packs.

I couldn’t blame them. If I would have had the choice, I would have left too.

“How do you not end up marrying your cousins?” She didn’t sound like she was joking.

A laugh burst out of me as I came to a stop at the end of the road. I waited until I turned onto the highway to answer. “Pack members move around to different packs when they're younger to go to college or to be closer to a job that's wolf shift friendly. Plus, there’s a dating app called Hounder.”

She clutched the door handle. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.” I briefly glanced over at her white knuckling the door. “Are you okay?”

“The last time you were at the wheel, we crashed.” She took a few deep breaths and her grip loosened. “What if someone in your pack falls in love with the enemy pack?”

I grumbled under my breath, and she finally turned her head to look at me with raised eyebrows. She probably didn’t want to hear about pack politics. Hell, even I got sick of the bullshit.

“I don’t want to bore you.” Pack relations was a topic that drove me up a wall. It wasn't that difficult to get along with others, even if you didn't like them. What made it difficult was when one party held some ill-conceived belief that the other had wronged them.

“It won’t bore me. They tried to kill us, didn’t they? I should know why.” She had a point.

“We used to be one pack under one alpha. My father and Silas's father were the alpha’s betas. When we were both around eight, the alpha was murdered, and they accused each other of killing him.” I shook my head, remembering the war that started between my father and Silas's. “They maintained that my father had done it so he could be the alpha of the pack.”

“And where are both of your fathers now?” she asked carefully. I could see where her mind went.

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