Page 32 of Strawberry Moon

She was a spritely thing as a wolf, and I’d show every tooth as I grinned at her, waited for her to take off between tree trunks so I could run after her.

I’d always give her a head start.

She’d always let me catch her.

After she died, runs were never the same. It wasn’t just that she was gone, but the air had changed for everyone in the pack. Omegas were in danger. Alphas were edgy.

It was like this joyful, natural part of ourselves had been made dangerous. Omegas were dying, and we didn’t know why. We didn’t trust ourselves. Or I didn’t.

Sure as hell didn’t trust my wolf.

But that night, when Ridge and Alexis left for the pack run, it didn’t matter that my human thoughts rushed with anxiety and doubt or that I was no longer sure I was welcome on runs. My wolf wouldn’t let me sit back, wouldn’t let me sit another one out.

We’d invited Archer Sterling here. We’d, in a roundabout way, offered him help. If he showed up and we let him down, the wolf would never forgive me. I’d never forgive myself.

So I accepted a ride from Ridge and Alexis, and ignored the way the younger wolves made eyes at each other in the front seat while I rode in the truck bed, arms spread over the frame, head thrown back to look up at the sky. On the ride over, I watched it turn pink and orange, then purple, the sun casting cotton-candy light across the clouds.

Ridge pulled into the parking lot at The Cider House. There was no serious meeting today, but Linden would show up. He’d be there to talk to the pack, to make sure everybody was okay.

But truth was, things were good. The pack was healing. Linden didn’t need to do more than keep an eye on things, because nobody with sense wanted to disappoint him. He’d done right by us, and since the pack could finally see our way to a future without the Condition, nobody wanted to ruin that by stepping on Linden’s toes. Not even Skip Fucking Chadwick.

When Ridge came to a stop, I hopped out the back, my eyes already scanning the lot for Archer’s shiny little car.

There wasn’t a sign of it.

He wasn’t there.

Ridge came around from the driver’s side of his truck, and his hand fell heavy on my shoulder. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

I sounded snappish. Impatient. But Ridge just smiled. “Just checking in, man. Just checking in.”

As we made our way into The Cider House, we each stopped to grab a drink. Alexis was buzzy and excited. Linden was over at the bar, talking to Greta and Hazel while they pressed a new sweater into his hands. He clutched it to his chest, smiled, and went pink as bubblegum.

Me? I just sat there, slumped in front of Talin while I nursed my hard cider and scowled.

“Glad to see you came out tonight, Ford.” She flung a bar towel over her shoulder. “You actually going to run, or’d you come here to keep me company?”

I glared at her, whittling down a biting remark, but before I settled on it, her dark eyes floated past me. She looked at the door, and I twisted to see Archer Sterling standing there at the entrance.

The light of the bar bounced off his strawberry hair. Nervous as anything, he scratched his eyebrow, ducked his head, and looked around.

When he caught my eye, he sent me a tiny smile. Appeasing, like he was uncomfortable.

Then, his eyes locked on Linden and he made his way over there, to Linden’s usual spot at the end of the bar. I watched Linden introduce him to the Hagen sisters until a laugh dragged my attention back across the bar.

“Never seen a McKesson scowl clear up that fast.” Talin scoffed, her dark eyes settling on Archer at the far end. “Your wolf circling that new cub over there? You’ll want to be careful with that one.”

“He’s got nothing to do with what Sterling did—” I started.

But Talin was standing there, a tilt to her lips and a knowing look in her eyes. She put her hands on her hips.

“I mean ’cause he’s scared, Ford. The kid’s scared.”

Oh. She wasn’t worried about me. Not like everybody was.

She was worried about him, and heat flooded through my chest, but I couldn’t place why. Sure, there was some shame and embarrassment there, for being the kind of alpha who needed to be warned off hurting a brand-new omega. But there was also a cozy, fond feeling.

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