“No. I wanted to say it was nice running with you the other day. And ask if you would run with me tonight.”
I considered. “Are you telling me as my alpha?”
“No, of course not.” He moved in until he was standing so close his breath disturbed a few strands of my hair. “It’s a request.”
“I should say no. It would be the smart thing because I can’t stand how things are right now, but my wolf would probably chew a hole in me to get out. She is no smarter than I am.”
I studied his expression. Jaw clenched, lips tight, and hope in his eyes. Dammit, didn’t he realize he held the key to all of this? If he would just stop trying to please his dead daddy, we could be happy? But I’d already told him this, and repeating it would serve nothing until he came to the realization himself. But for tonight, I couldn’t dim his hope. Maybe if he spent more time with me, he’d get there.
“Let’s run.” I smiled at him. “After we eat some of that food. I haven’t eaten since lunch.”
His alpha instinct kicked right in. “You can’t go that long without at least a snack. Come on! I’ll get you a plate.”
Chapter Nine
I let go of the anger I’d carried with me all night long at the fact Tris, my mate, a part of me and my life forever, couldn’t attend the pack meeting and dinner because of Samson and his stubbornness.
One look from Samson and my heart melted, with it the anger.
He sat with me while I ate, talking and joking like we ’hadn’t been fighting an invisible battle all along. Like I didn’t want to reach out to him over and over and just hold his hand or let him touch me.
Gods, I would do anything for this man to touch me.
We ran for hours, and my wolf insisted I let go of any frustration toward him. He was, after all, one of my mates. No matter how much he butted against it. No matter how much he threw up a wall anytime I was near.
After a long run, we lay in the forest, alone except for the darkness and the howling sound of the wind through the branches of the trees all around us.
Samson’s muzzle lay on my belly, and my wolf turned to goo with the weight of him. If Samson the human acted like Samson the wolf did all the time, we wouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever.
In fact, I was sure we would be mated already and living the life we were meant to.
On the cusp of sleep, I watched Samson’s ears perk up. He didn’t move any other part of his body, but those ears were picking up something loud and clear.
Out of nowhere, he jumped up and got on all fours, nudging me with his nose to get up. The last thing I wanted to do was leave this peaceful, sweet bubble with him, the bubble where he acted like he loved me, needed me.
Like I was his mate.
“What is it?” I asked, after rolling over and shifting back for the convenience of talking to him. Again, if we were mated, speaking as wolves wouldn’t be a problem.
Asshole.
Okay, maybe I was still a little angry after all.
He took my cue and shifted as well. I couldn’t help but take in his form, so much like Tris, yet, so many differences. They seemed like night and day to me, but to everyone else, it was hard to tell them apart.
“Something is happening. Do you hear it? I hear my pack.”
As an alpha, he would be able to hear more. His animal was especially attuned to the others since his pack was his top priority.
“I…” I closed my eyes to focus and could, in the distance, hear something. Something alarming. “Who is screaming?”
“It’s crying.” Samson took my hand. He stood there for a moment, his deep eyes drinking me in as I had done to him just moments ago. His breaths fanned over my face, and I took each one inside me, hoping it might tame my need for him just a little—take the edge off my raw desire to pin him to the nearest flat surface and make him mine.
“What are they crying about?” I asked, my voice not much more than a murmur.
“Let’s go find out.”
In moments, he and I shifted to wolf for the convenience of going back. My wolf cried as we got farther and farther from our happy place, but Samson had a pack to run, and we reached the others quickly.
“What is it?” he asked after fluidly shifting back to two legs. I shifted as well. One woman was on her knees crying, a scrap of fabric in her hands. Her face was red and her eyes puffy from all the crying as she fisted the fabric like it was her lifeline.
“My daughter!” she cried out, answering the alpha out of pure obligation.
“What happened?” He knelt next to her, trying to soothe her, but she jerked away from his hand on her shoulder.
“They took her. We were running. They just appeared out of nowhere and took her. What kind of alpha lets someone take his people? Huh?” Like a snap of the fingers, her grief turned to rage. She zeroed in on Samson with her death stare, demanding an answer.
Samson reeled back as though her words had physically slapped him. The pack members surrounding the woman gasped, and some of them turned around like they didn’t want to see the entire thing.
Samson choked out, “We will get her back. I swear it.”
She scoffed and got up, leaving him in the dirt, wrapped up in his grief. “You know what would
