Page 47 of The Wolf's Surrogate

“In the meantime, do you want to meet the pack?”

I sat up with my hand resting over my heart. “You’re going to let me leave the house?”

“Well, now that it isn’t a secret—”

Within seconds, I was on my feet and collecting my clothes. I yanked on my underwear, my baggy jeans, my tight white blouse with the colorful fish print. I rushed over to the doorway where my boots had been lazily discarded at some point between seeing Liam as a wolf and him railing me like an animal.

My entire body flushed with desire at the memory of him claiming me. Would it be like that every time? I wasn’t complaining in the least. That was the best sex of my life.

Liam was chuckling while getting dressed. Memphis was nowhere to be found, and I almost felt bad about him getting scared off by Liam’s shift. I probably would have done the same if I hadn’t felt such a strong pull toward Liam in his animalisticstate. Something about him just called to me. I wasn’t sure what it was.

I saluted Liam while standing at the door. “All dressed and ready to go, sir!”

“At ease, soldier.”

His chuckles danced through the air, tickling me in such subliminal ways that I obeyed his playful command instantly. Once his boots were on and tied, he walked toward me with his hand outstretched.

He gave my hand a light squeeze. “There are a lot more than wolves in the shifter world.”

“Like bears? And tigers?” I stood on my toes. “Are there birds too?”

He nodded. “And dragons.”

My eyelids snapped wide open. “Are they…bigdragons?”

“Milton is the only dragon I’ve heard about in this pack, and he’s taller than a skyscraper in his natural form.”

“Oh boy.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think he’s visiting right now. But even if he was, you don’t have to worry about anything. Nobody here will hurt you.”

“Promise?”

I didn’t mean to sound so small, yet the request popped from my lips unprompted. The softness in his eyes and the sweetness in his smile answered it without having to say a word. Still, it felt good to have him tug me close to him and whisper, “I promise.”

Seconds later, we were outside on the sidewalk leading toward the neighborhood. We were walking past other people. My excitement boiled over and I waved at passersby and admired the yard gardens. I’d glimpsed so many of them over the past week of coming and going. It was nice to see everything at a slower pace.

It was nice to experience it.

Past the neighborhoods was a series of paths veering off to the left. Buildings sprang up around us, mostly two-story spaces that appeared to form their own miniature town. There was a school, a community center, and a greenhouse.

Liam pointed to the greenhouse in particular. “That’s where Fred and my sister, Kylie, live.”

“Are they together?”

He nodded. “They’re mates.”

“Mates?” I repeated the word in my mind, the sound of it striking a chord in my heart. “Is that marriage for shifters?”

“Basically.”

I hummed while squeezing his hand. I hadn’t dared let it go this entire walk. And I just didn’t want to let it go. Everything about it felt natural and real, especially after the sex we’d just had.

Just beyond the buildings was a giant field that spread toward a series of barns. On the other side of that was an even bigger patch of land with a lighter development of houses and a couple of buildings.

I gawked at it all, totally engulfed in the sight of this life existing right outside of town. Ocean waves sounded in the distance and a breeze carried the smell of salt. I stopped, yanking on Liam’s hand by accident. “Y’all are close to the beach?”

“Yeah, we can go sometime if you like.”

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