Page 23 of Love in the Forest
He chuckled. “Oh, I want.”
~ ~ ~
Abby took her time getting ready. She had only one chance to make a good impression. She asked Braden for suggestions for what she should wear.
He said wolves loved jeans and that was good enough for her.
By the time they were in the air, she was nervous. Braden insisted on doing the flying, which was fine with her. He held her tight around the waist and she kept one foot planted on his boot. It worked.
She insisted she cover them with her invisibility shroud. No sense tempting fate by running into a rogue pack of any species while in Crescent Territory, the Graveyard, or Savage.
By the time, he landed them outside his pack’s large complex, most of which was underground, her heart raced like a mouse being chased by a hungry cat.
She tried to calm down but couldn’t.
She was a vampire in Savage. Wolves were known to tear her species apart.
“Remove the shroud.”
She shook her head. “I’m too frightened.”
He slid his arm around her waist and drew her close. “I won’t let anything happen to you. And remember, I’m the alpha of this pack. My wolves will obey me.”
She met his gaze and saw how serious he was. “I can feel how much you love your wolves and that they are devoted to you. I can sense the pack beyond these doors. Wow, those are big doors.”
He chuckled. “Yes, they are.”
“And we’re really doing this?”
“Come on. Have some faith.”
She opened her mouth then closed it. How often had she said those exact words to the vampires under her care? Life required faith, not the mind-blowing ‘I can conquer all’, but faith that the day’s path would reveal itself and that living one night at a time was everything.
He added, “I’m thinking of the words from your meditation chapel. What were they? “
“Have faith in your path, in your journey and in the night.” She smiled. “I just never thought I’d be applying it to a situation where I was laying my life before an entire pack of wolves.”
He let go of her, but only long enough to take her hand. “I’m going to let my lead beta know that he can open the doors. He’s already aware we’re here.”
She drew in a deep breath and tried not to shake too much.
“Now release the invisibility shroud.”
“Right.” She let go of the cloak and her heart started racing all over again.
The doors opened slowly and what she saw scared her even more. The large entrance was filled with at least two hundred wolves.
“I asked for all of them to be here.”
“I guess you did,” she whispered.
As he moved forward, she tracked with him. Her throat was tight, and she could hardly breathe.
He moved far enough inside that she could hear the doors closing behind her then being locked.
Oh, God.
She almost reached for her invisibility shroud once more but lifted her chin instead. Braden was right. She needed to have faith.
