a small lake.

“This is where I come to think,” I pulled him to a tree that had fallen during a windstorm. It made a perfect bench. “I draw here a lot, too. The fallen trees mixed in with the new growth make great contrasts for my sketching. Plus, there is a lot of wildlife around. When I get out here early enough, I can watch the deer come down to the lake.” I looked out over the beautiful lake and smiled.

Several trees in the area had fallen like the one I used to sit on. Moss covered some, and others were drying out over time. This time of the year it was a sea of autumn colors around us, and the surface of the lake was glassy and calm. It made me wonder how soon we would get our first snow.

“This is within the pack’s territory,” Alex was looking around the lake. He placed his hand on a few trees and walked to the water’s edge to gaze out across it. “It’s peaceful here. I understand why you like coming here to draw.” He made his way back over to sit beside me on the log.

“How far does your territory range?” my curiosity had the best of me. He’d told me the history, but he never openly discussed the pack. I’d been curious and done some research on wolves. I knew Alex was the alpha, the other’s looked at him for everything. I wondered who his second in command was. I figured Jarren or Wyatt, they seemed to be the ones he relied on the most in situations.

“We cover the forest, and we’ve started to move our boundaries out to include Cadillac,” his gaze was far away, like he was picturing the borders. “We can’t police the borders around Cadillac as wolves, it would draw too much attention. Realistically we just want other packs to know that we claim the town as part of our home. Wyatt thinks once we have more wolves, we need to push the border out more, but I think for now we are handling enough with the forest and Cadillac.”

“And Wyatt, he’s what exactly?” I hoped he didn’t mind my prying. I wanted to understand how it all worked.

“Wyatt is the beta male,” Alex answered easily, like my questions weren’t bothering him. “He is like a lieutenant. Minor things go through him, he ensures people are doing their jobs, and he helps keep the pack safe.” He shrugged his shoulders and seemed to think for a moment before going on.

“Really he does a lot of things. I may lead the pack, but most things go through Wyatt before they come to me. I make the rules. Their protection and well-being are in my hands. I lead hunts and pack runs. I am the final say in anything pack related.”

“That seems… odd,” I couldn’t really wrap my head around letting another person control my life. “I mean, I can’t imagine having someone dictate my life.”

“We don’t think like that,” his eyebrows pulled together as he tried to put explain it to me. “We share traits with humans and with wolves. The wolf side makes us crave the pack life. Wolves are social animals; werewolves are just as social. There are exceptions. Some wolves leave their pack because they want a human life. They still tend to be very social, just among humans.”

“If a person is turned, they just fall right into that life?” I ignored the little voice inside that hissed at me for asking that question. I wasn’t asking for myself, just because I was curious.

“I can’t say for sure,” Alex answered, his brown eyes searched my face for a minute before he continued. “I was born a werewolf, so it has always been a part of who I am. The pack life is all I’ve ever known. Tegan would be able to give you an idea though. She was turned young, but she still remembers being human once.”

I nodded, trying to keep my features schooled. I didn’t want to give him hope, because even though I couldn’t deny my curiosity, I didn’t know if it was a life I could choose yet. I turned to look out over the lake. When the weather was warm it would be filled with geese. Some days I brought bread and fed them. Today nothing moved across the surface.

“Can I see you?” I finally asked. I didn’t look away from the lake. I was afraid of what he would say. From the corner of my eye I saw him reach out to me. His finger traced down my cold cheek and I shivered at the contact.

“If you promise not to run away,” he murmured, and I turned to look at him. His eyes were already swirling amber. I nodded my head. There was no way I was running. I had been dying to see him as a wolf from the first moment he’d told me. I just hadn’t been honest enough with myself before then.

Alex stood and looked down at me for a moment with solid amber eyes. Then he closed his eyes and his form seemed to shimmer. I gasped when a solid black wolf replaced him in front of me. The wolf opened its eyes to reveal their amber color. I couldn’t believe how beautiful and scary the wolf in front of me was.

His fur was as black as midnight. I didn’t see any other color anywhere except for his amber eyes and they looked like they were glowing. He was tall, his head would come above my waist and if he stood on his hind legs, he would be taller than me. Still, my fingers ached to touch his fur. I wanted to find out if it was as soft as it looked.

Chapter Twenty

Alex

I stood perfectly still in front of Zee. Her eyes were wide as she looked at me, but I couldn’t smell any fear. For the first time I was

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