Page 53 of To Challenge a Wolf

“I know, Jamie.”

They hiked for hours, all over his land. Vivian seemed to understand what it meant to him after the life he’d led, having something so vast to call his own. He didn’t have to tell her. Shefollowed him to the farthest edge and took it all in, the long-distance view of the slope that led home, through his woods to the well-spaced cabins and yards and finally to the dirt road that from here was only a rust-colored thread.

“How did it come to be yours?” she said.

“Well, my neighbors in that direction”—he pointed north, toward the distant cabin and cultivated acres of produce—“are Rebecca and Arlo. I purchased this place from them.”

“The cabin and everything?”

“The occupants before me had been a middle-aged couple with a son who was also a wolf. He was still a pup but nearly grown, maybe seventeen or eighteen, and he went out hiking by himself. Left pack territory, maybe by mistake though I’m not sure how. Property lines are sort of instinctive.”

Foreboding entered Vivian’s scent. “You’re going to tell me something awful happened to him.”

“He got injured somehow, was bleeding internally. By the time he was found, it was too late.”

“Oh, Rhett. How awful for them.”

“Yeah. And every wolf grieves hard for lost pack. We take loss pretty badly, all of us, like it’s built in somehow that we can’t process or endure it. But I guess, with all your experience, you know that.”

Vivian set her hand on his forearm. “I know from research. I’ve never interacted with a grieving pack.”

“I have.” A shudder rippled through him at the memory of the heaviness in the air, the suffocating salty odor of sorrow. “Once I came on a pack who had lost one of their elder wolves. He’d lived long and died peacefully, expectedly at a hundred and seven years old. But it didn’t make the grief softer for them. So I know my pack suffered when William died. And when this pup died. Both accidental deaths. Seems that has to be even worse than a quiet passing in bed.”

“I’m sorry for your pack,” she whispered. “And I’m sorry for those other wolves too, grieving their elder.”

“I didn’t pick a fight there, Viv.” His chest pinched at the idea she might assume he had. “I left them alone and moved on the same day.”

Vivian rubbed his arm. “I know that. You’re an honorable wolf who would respect any pack’s grief.”

“Thanks.”

When they kissed, it was a mutual decision, or maybe not a decision at all. They found each other, lips soft and giving, the kiss filled not with passion but with understanding. Rhett cupped the back of her head and relished the poke against his palm of razored hairs that defined the overall cut.

Vivian eased back and gestured to the view in front of them. “So Arlo and Rebecca bought this land from the bereaved parents? But that means the wolf left his pack.”

“Yeah.” He shook his head. “Arlo told me it broke the wolf’s heart to leave, but it was breaking his mate’s heart every day to stay. To be reminded. So he put his mate’s wellbeing first and sold the place, and they found a new start in another pack.”

“I wonder how they are today.”

“They disappeared, no contact. I guess she needed a fresh start, and staying in touch might’ve been more painful for him too, might have kept him torn between two packs.”

“But your pack grieved the loss of them too.”

“Four people lost over the last eight or nine years.” He shook his head to clear the scenes he imagined based on Arlo’s storytelling. “Anyway this place had been vacant for several years when I came. I bought it cash and got to work fixing it up.”

“And installing a safe room.” She nudged his arm with hers.

A memory he enjoyed now. He flashed his teeth, and Vivian gave a quiet laugh. “It was tricky, let me tell you. I hired Trevor for a lot of it, but—”

“Trevor?”

“He’s our resident contractor and carpenter. He’s dang handy. It was hard to find something he couldn’t do, but of course he’s no plumber or electrician. He can handle some rudimentary plumbing, but I got all firm with him and said that wasn’t good enough. I wanted licensed professionals working on my home.”

“I guess he’s not the type to get huffy about that.”

“Nah, not Trevor. He recommended a few people in town, but I couldn’t hire them.”

Her lips pursed adorably. “Oh?”

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