Page 11 of Autumn After

“That is good news.” So why did it make me a little bit sad?

“Even better news is that we have the next few hours to do whatever we want.”

“Oh? And do you know what you want to do with that time?” I asked, stepping close, knowing I very well had ideas.

“I do—we’re going to the coffee shop in town for one of their brand-new pumpkin spice lattes.”

That wasn’t where I was expecting that conversation to go.

“And call me a basic alpha all you want, but I think I need one of those today. And afterward, I thought maybe I could show you some of the packlands. We have an orchard and pumpkin fields.”

“This place is like a fall festival all wrapped into one.”

“Yeah, it pretty much is. It’s kind of our thing.”

“I do love fall. I should probably call my friend first. He needs to know that I’m okay so he doesn’t send some sort of search party after me.”

“Sure. Do you need some privacy to call him?”

I shook my head. “No. I’ll keep the conversation vague and short. Maybe a text message would be better?” No, after what I put Alex through in disappearing like I did, he deserved a conversation.

I picked up my phone, found Alex’s name, and hit dial.

He answered immediately. “Hello? Where are you. You better not be dead, Willow!”

“I’m not dead.” Far from. I was more alive than I’d ever been, and I had Cedric to thank for it. “I did take a slight detour, though…”

Alex sighed. “Willow…”

“I’m fine, I promise. And my truck is… mostly fine. I had a breakdown, but luckily, I found a place to stay.” That was mostly true. “And there’s actually a small festival in this town,” also mostly true, “so I’ll get to use my truck after all!” Yeah, that one was a total lie.

I couldn’t bear to tell Alex that I failed miserably with the food truck. It didn’t feel like a failure to me exactly, not really, but Alex wouldn’t see it that way. Not yet. And my family really wouldn’t see it that way.

“You’re safe? You promise me that you’re safe? Do you have enough money to stay there? I can send you some.”

“No, I’m good. I promise. Better than good.” I smiled at my mate who stood at my side. He leaned closer and buried his nose into my neck. He did that a lot. Scent-marking me, he called it. I loved it.

Alex was quiet for a moment. “I’m trusting you, Willow. I know how much this means to you, and I want to support your dreams. Just… keep in touch, please?”

“I can do that. And I promise I’ll call my parents soon.” Not that they’d really care. They were probably happy that I wasn’t around to bother them with the whole food truck thing anyway.

“Take care of yourself, okay?”

Little did he know that I had a wolf by my side who was hellbent on taking care of me. “I will. I promise.”

Chapter 8

Cedric

It was time to introduce Willow to the pack as my mate, and my nerves were shot. Sweat dripped down my spine, despite the cool weather, and I used my shorts to wipe down my clammy hands more than once. When he met my brother, that was easy—he was my brother, and Sid was the most easygoing guy in the pack. Besides, we were kind of surprised by his visit. And with my sister? Well, she could make anyone happy just by being in the same room with her. But this was different. This was meeting not only my extended family, but other pack members. Not all of them would be welcoming of a human in the pack. Some of themmight be disappointed that I didn’t choose a mate from within the pack.

They would need to accept a human as my mate. It was a tall order. Even if they couldn’t argue with fate, there still might be some concerns.

As we’d walked through the orchard earlier, we saw a couple of people in the distance, but it wasn’t me who was watching them from afar—it was them watching us. And I knew what that meant. There was some trepidation about having a human here. And make no mistake, they knew he was human. Any shifter could scent it.

Tonight, we were having a pack run. It was the perfect time to rip off the band-aid. Better to address the situation head-on rather than let rumors run wild. It wasn’t anything too formal or important, just a weekly gathering. And really, that was about it—or at least that was the official agenda. Me bringing Willow? Well, that changed the agenda a whole lot.

I intertwined my fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze. “Are you ready?”

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