Page 28 of A True Mate Bond

She nodded and they made their way back to the village. The path was a little overgrown but still visible, which he was glad about.

“Maybe one day I won’t get lost here anymore. I never seem to see these paths until someone shows them to me. It’s the same with the dirt road that leads to the guesthouse and Tristan’s home. I didn’t even notice it until you turned onto it.”

“Don’t worry too much about it. Take your time. Remember we all grew up here. Just like you get lost here, most of us would get lost in a city.”

“Every city has street signs and here it’s just like, please turn by the next tree to the west and ten trees down to the east is your destination.” She amused him–he loved her joking side. They stepped out onto the village clearing. “Maybe I should put a bow or something on this tree right here, so I know where to go when I want to go home.” She giggled, but he liked that idea. “Is there anything else planned for today?”

“Mother has invited us for dinner, but I’m sure she doesn’t mind if we come a little early and also grab a late lunch. You must be hungry.”

“Is it already past lunch?”

He nodded.

“I didn’t even notice the time passing so fast.”

They made their way through the village and to the main house. She seemed nervous as they walked past the houses and toward the little hill. She was still anxious about the others in the pack, and he knew it would stay like this until she got to know them better. Hopefully the shopping trip with the other women would do the trick. He wanted her to feel welcomed here and loved just as much as everyone else in the pack. He wanted her to feel free of anxiety eventually. This was her home now, and he wanted her to feel comfortable.

“Do you know how Layla is doing?”

“She’s doing well. Michael has looked exhausted every time I’ve seen him, but he said they are doing great, and Layla is slowly recovering.”

“Where do they live? Maybe I can visit her soon and offer her some help. I’m sure Alizia is still a handful.”

He pointed at a house a little to the south. “I’m sure she will accept any and all help you can give her.”

Blake opened the door to the main house and let Niev step in before he followed her. Without Alizia and Darron running around, the house seemed quiet. He could only hear his father sorting through papers in the office.

“Blake is that you?” Mayra appeared in the door frame to the living room. “And Niev!” She walked toward her and pulled her into her usual motherly hug before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I was hoping you would come and spend the afternoon with us before we have dinner together.”

“We thought it might be easier to just stay in the village instead of driving home and having to return later.”

“Of course. You know you two are always welcome.” She tilted her head and gave Niev a worried look. “That also means you haven’t had lunch yet.”

Niev shook her head, and his mother grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the kitchen.

“You two go ahead. I would like to talk to Father first.”

Niev nodded, and Blake opened the office door.

“May I come in?”

His father looked up from the stack of papers in front of him and nodded.

“I’ve showed Niev the houses and we would like to accept your offer and move to the village.”

A warm smile spread on his father’s face. “It’ll take us some time to fix them for you. While we were handling the Skadu Pack situation we had to put a stop to the manufactory. We’ll be having to work overtime to get back on track and not lose our customers.”

“I’ll start helping out tomorrow just as you asked of me.”

“What about Niev? I don’t like the thought of her being all alone out there in your cabin all day.”

“I believe she’ll want to spend the days with Christa, and she has mentioned she would like to give Layla a helping hand–unless you’d like her to take on a different task. I’m sure she’ll be grateful for anything to keep her busy.”

“No, Christa would like to mentor Niev. She sees great potential in her and would like for her to expand her knowledge while she can, before the babies arrive.” He gave Blake a look he couldn’t quite read. “I’ve heard you have taken her to the guest house.”

“It was her desire to visit them and to help them with their wounded.”

“Was she asked by anyone to do so?”

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