A really huge pet with jaws that couldsnap a man in half. But a pet all the same.
She reached up and scratched his ear,and he made a humming sound of contentment.
Wrath inhaled and growled. “I smellmeat roasting. Creek must have lunch ready.”
She sniffed the air and smiled whenshe caught the scent. “Yum. I’m starving. There was this horny malein the bathing room with me earlier.”
He chuckled lasciviously. “I wasn’tthe only horny one.”
“True.”
They found Creek and the other packmembers at a cooking fire, where chunks of meat threaded ontoskewers were roasting. Wrath fished out two skewers from near theflames and handed one to Trinity. They sat on a cut log and ate thetender, flavorful meat. Conversation flowed, the males discussingeverything from the weather to the upcoming hunt. She loved tolisten to them talk. For so long she’d thought they were only inher imagination, but now she could see them and talk to them. Itwas an amazing feeling.
Wrath tossed his skewer on a pile tobe cleaned and rose to his feet. “I need a volunteer to go withTrinity, Creek, and Mytan to hunt for wild fruit andvegetables.”
Trinity stood. The males looked ateach other, and then Jet said, “I’ll go. I wouldn’t mind taking awalk.”
“I’ll grab some packs,”Creek said, hurrying away.
Magnus put the fire out and said, “Ifyou see any aloe vera, try to pull up a plant with the rootsintact, so I can keep it going in a pot.”
“Sure, I know what thatlooks like,” Trinity said. “My mom used to keep an aloe plant onthe kitchen windowsill for burns.”
“It’s really handy. I mean,I can heal a lot of stuff with my abilities, but if I can easediscomfort with a plant leaf without expending my energy, that’s agood thing, too.”
She nodded. Tilting her face to Wrathfor a kiss, she smiled when he growled softly as their lipsmet.
“See you soon,” shesaid.
“Keep your alpha femalesafe,” Wrath said, giving Creek and Jet hard looks. Mytan snuffledat him, and he patted him on his neck. “You keep her safe, too, youbig brute.”
Creek handed them packs, and Trinityput hers over her shoulder and waved at her mate before she leftwith the others and headed into the woods. Creek talked about thepatches of wild berries he’d seen in previous springs, along withwild yams, which made Trinity think about Thanksgiving.
“Are there wild turkeysaround?” she asked.
“In the fall,” Creek said.“You can hear them in the mornings when they’re moving around andlooking for food.”
“Can I ask you something?”Jet said.
“Of course,” shesaid.
“Did you ever see thefuture in your dreams?”
“Not really. Not likeprophetically or anything. Most of the dreams were just me andWrath together, and he’d tell me about the things that werehappening to him and the pack. Some things I did see before theyhappened, but not anything significant. Like I never saw someonedie and it really happened a month later. Why?”
Jet, who had inky black hair and darkblue eyes, blew out a breath. “I was wondering if you’d ever seenany of us find our true mate.”
“No,” she said. “I didn’t.I wish I had.”
“I’m twenty-six,” he said.“I know I’m a few years from going insane with blood lust, but itgets harder every year to handle the feelings. If I thought my truemate was out there somewhere, if you had a clue where she was andcould help me find her, I’d... well, it’s not going to happen, butit sure would’ve been nice.”
She put her hand on his shoulder andthey stopped walking. He looked down at her, his eyes filled withsadness. “I’m sorry,” she said.
He shook his head. “Nothing toapologize for.”
“I know, but I’m stillgoing to. Wrath and I found each other when the odds were againstus. I believe that everyone has a true mate out there somewhere,but wolves—purebred and Blood Wolves—are at a disadvantage becauseof their biology. If there was anything I wish I could change, itwould be that.”
“So you really don’t wantto go home? Your world is so different from ours.”
“Home is where Wrath is. Idon’t want to go back to my old life for anything. Whatever I lostby coming here, I’ve gained more by being with Wrath and you guys.I couldn’t be happier, I promise.”
Creek smiled broadly. “It’s good forthe alpha female to be happy.”
“You know it,” Trinitysaid.
They continued their walk, finding apatch of wild blackberries and patches of aloe and mint, which shewas looking forward to adding to her morning tea. They’d started todig for yams with sticks, when Mytan jumped in the middle of themand used his great big paws like shovels, unearthing the yams andsending them flying along with dirt and vines.
They laughed, chasing after thevegetables, and dropping them into one of the packs. She sat on herheels after encouraging Mytan to stop because half his body haddisappeared into the hole he’d dug, which was plenty deepenough.
“I should’ve used him forthe garden,” Creek said, tossing a blackberry into hismouth.
“Next time,” she said. “Ifyou could rig a plow, I bet he would pull it for you.”
“Maybe for you,” Jet said,leaning back and looking up at the sky through the trees. “He’syour buddy, we’re just along for the ride.”
Mytan put his head in her lap and letout a deep sigh.
She looked around and realized wherethey were. “Do you know what’s near here?”
“No, what?” Creekasked.
“Mytan’s lair. Can we gothere?”
“If you want,” Jet said.“But we should head back soon. We don’t want Wrath storming throughthe forest bellowing your name.”
“No, we don’t,” shesaid.
“What’s in the lair thatyou want to see?” Jet asked.
They cleaned up the area and gatheredtheir sacks. Trinity was carrying the lightest of the three bags,the one filled with the two aloe plants and bunches of mint. “He’scalled a guardian of the forest, but do you know what he’sspecifically guarding?”
Both males looked at her. “The forest,right?” Creek asked.
She shook her head with a smile. “ThenI’ve got a surprise for you. Let’s go.”
* * *
Veltris stared at his scout.
