Page 70 of Alpha Claimed

She yipped with delight, ran to the piece of wood, and ran her fingers over it, remembering where she'd left off days before.

"I'm gonna bring a table down from upstairs and set all your goodies out."

She nodded and continued to feel the wood. Then she went to the wall and pulled down a small chainsaw. Most of the big carving was done, so it was time to start on the finer details.

River tied her hair up in a ponytail and started up the chainsaw. The smell of the motor oil made her smile. Memories of her dad came back to her, and her eyes misted.

She looked around the barn as Apollo returned with a circular table. Her chest squeezed at the sight of him, and her wolf chuffed.

Home.

Yeah,said River. We'rehome.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

APOLLO

Apollo stared at River, chisel in her hand and a Twizzler hanging out of her mouth, working meticulously on her carving. She stepped back and wiped at the piece, chewed the licorice into her mouth, and finished it.

In the hours that they'd been in the barn, she'd finished off two packs of Twizzlers, a bag of chocolate, a bag of circus peanuts, a container of cotton candy, two large oatmeal cookies, and a six-pack of cola. He had no idea how she wasn't bouncing off the walls. Or throwing up. Just one more of the mysteries that made up River.

She walked to the wall and put the chisel back. Then, she grabbed a small Dremel tool and went toward the wood but stopped and walked to him instead.

"Aren't you bored?"

Apollo picked several flecks of wood shavings out of her hair. "Nope."

"I would be going crazy just sitting here the way you have."

"Especially if you'd eaten all that sugar."

She looked at the table. "I overdid it, didn't I?"

He shrugged. "Just wait until you see me at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet."

"Were you able to get any work done with the noisy chainsaw and tools?"

Apollo nodded. "I put off the calls I could until later and did a lot through text. I've never been a fan of texting before, but I feel it will be quite helpful moving forward."

She snorted, "Well, I hope we don't become one of those couples who go out together, but sit on our phones and text other people."

Apollo chuckled. "Kitten, when we are out together, you will have my undivided attention every second. So much that you will get sick of me. If you want to go out now, I can prove it."

"Sure, I-" Her eyes widened. "What time is it?"

Apollo looked at his phone. "Five thirty."

"Shit!"

Just then, the door to the barn cracked open, and Ares stormed in, eyes icy and body rigid.

"Ares-" River headed toward him.

"I should have known you'd do this." He strode toward Apollo. "All day. I gave you all day with her, and even that wasn't enough. You had to ruin the evening for me as well."

He stopped feet from Apollo, and River stepped between them.

"Ares. It's not like that. It's not-"

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