Page 51 of Wolf Marked

They ran for close to an hour, leaping over each other and making a game of the chase. Exhaustion tugged at Erec’s muscles, and when the sound of rushing water met Erec’s ears, he knew they couldn’t go any farther. He pounced onto Astrid, and they rolled together into the snow, playfully nipping and licking each other until they came to a stop.

They shifted at the same time and lay with their bare backs in the snow, breathing hard. The cold wetness against Erec’s hot skin was a mere tickle, unlike when he had first stripped off his clothes. Now, it was rather refreshing.

Because the trees were a little sparser in this part of the woods, the night stretched out above them. The moon was a massive gem against a black and diamond backdrop, and Erec marveled at the beauty of it. He and Astrid lay like that for a long time, saying nothing, not touching. Just staring up at the sky and listening to the sounds of the forest around them.

Erec didn’t know how much time had passed, but after a long stretch of silence, Astrid spoke.

“How old were you when Mikel took you in?” Her voice was no more than a feathery whisper.

The question took him off guard, but he saw no harm in answering it. “Three Moons, I think,” he mused, wondering what had sparked her sudden curiosity. Especially with hispast. “I don’t remember much before then, so that’s my guess. I must have been young.”

“When did you leave his pack?”

When Erec glanced at her, he found that she was watching him intently. “All these questions,” he said with a small laugh.

She shrugged. “I just thought that if we were going to be mates, I should know some things about you.”

That seemed fair enough. She wasn’t asking much from him, but he’d spent most of his adolescence trying to forget the years before. He definitely didn’t want to bring them up now. Not when they were full of a lot of guilt, fear, and shame.

He sighed. She was right. If they were going to be mates, she did deserve to know who he was. The good, the bad, and the regretful.

“The first time I left, I was ten. I came back and stayed for a few years before leaving again,” Erec said, peering back at the sky. “I left a final time when I had eighteen Blue Moons to me. Only came back to visit occasionally but never stayed.”

“Why did you leave so much?”

Erec squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment. There was a sickening feeling creeping into his gut. He didn’t want to admit to Astrid the real reason he had fled Mikel’s pack. He hadn’t even liked admitting it to himself all those years ago. It had only solidified his role as a coward.

Erec chose his words carefully when he continued. “I never felt like I belonged,” he settled with. “No matter how kind Mikel and his people were to me.”

“And?” She huffed.

Opening his eyes again, he cursed silently. How did she know he was holding something back?

Then he remembered the pack bond that linked them and cursed again, this time out loud. There would be no getting around it this time.

“Mikel wanted to make me alpha.” It came out in a defeated sigh. “He wanted me to take over the east-side pack.”

Astrid pushed herself up on her elbows so she could stare down at him with wide eyes. “Wait, what?”

“The man was like a father to me, but he thought of me as an actual son,” Erec went on. “He wanted me to be alpha after him. He wanted to give the title, the power, thepack—everything—to me.”

“Erec, that’s an honor,” she said. “Why did you leave then?”

There it was again. The churning of remorse and embarrassment in the bottom of his stomach. “Mikel thought I was something I wasn’t. I was not his son. I was—am—nothing but an orphan. I didn’t deserve it.”

“Why does that matter? Yes, alphahood usually ends up staying within a bloodline, like with Filip, but blood doesn’t make an alpha. Strength does. Courage. Leadership.”

“Packs thrive on unity and a family bond. I was an outsider. Mikel may not have had children of his own, but he had several other blood relatives that could fit the position. Hell, he had friends who’d been more loyal to him and commited to the pack than I had. No matter how many times I told the old man that, he wouldn’t change his mind.”

“He must have thought you could handle it, Erec. He must have seen something in you, something you couldn’t see in yourself,” she replied.

“That’s what he had said, too.”

On cue, Mikel’s voice echoed in his head.“Even though we don’t share the same blood, you are my son, Erec. I wouldn’t want anyone else to lead my pack when I’m gone. One day you’ll be able to see the greatness that I see in you.”

“I can’t lead an entire pack.” Erec’s mouth was suddenly dry, and he swallowed hard. “I couldn’t even save them when Jerrick invaded. I couldn’t even—”

Astrid’s fingers weaving through his stopped his sentence short.

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