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Her hand tightens around the compass as her thumb continues to trace down the side of the leather. She doesn’t look at me right away, but I see it…her walls start to fall.

“I used to dream about you,” she says softly. “I didn’t know it was you, just the shadow with crystalline blue eyes begging me to find them. Each night I would chase after you, just wishing that you would tell me who you were. Your whispered words haunting me when I awoke.” Her eyes flick up to meet mine, the green rim around her irises catching in the afternoon light. “I thought it was just a dream, just my imagination running wild. I almost believed that you were just a figment of my imagination, my dream to find my mate. Someone who wants me, sees me, and understands me without needing me to explain every piece of myself.”

My wolf stills, ears forward. Even my breath feels loud in the space between us.

She laughs, but there’s no humor to it. “I thought I was broken when no other guys seemed attractive to me. That I didn’t look at other guys and want them. All these other teens were out exploring each other, and I was wandering the woods alone. I used to ask the Goddess every day for someone who would see me and love me for me.”

She finally looks up at me. Her eyes are full of vulnerability. “All this time…you’ve been right here only a few doors down.”

I swallow hard, my chest aching. Another piece of me finally clicking together after so long of feeling out of place.

“I see you,” I tell her, voice thick. “I always have.”

We wipe our faces like we’re brushing off the weight of everything we just said, both of us laughing a little. As if our hearts weren’t just cracked wide open, we try to bring ourselves back to the lighter side.

She leans into me, and I fold her against my chest as I lay us back onto the blanket. The wildflowers and tall grass completely guard us from the rest of the world. We lay there in the silence, her fingers clutched around the compass as it lays on my chest. Our heads tilted towards the sky as we watch the cotton ball clouds move with grace across the bright blue sky.

I can’t help but watch her instead of the sky. The way her eyelashes flutter as she blinks slowly. The slow rise and fall of her chest as she relaxes against me.

Like the photos she takes, I wish I could stop time right here.

Right now.

With us right here in this field.

But deep in my soul there’s a steady thrum that tells me the truth:

This is only the beginning.

Chapter 22

Selene

Sunday, July 20th – Sharp Teeth, Softer Hands

It’s our first pack breakfast after our mating and to say I’m nervous is an understatement. My parents have been completely amazing about it. I’ve made sure to check in with them each day, even though I’m right across the street from them. Since it’s nothing new to wolves, they expected that the first few days would be a lot ofahem,mating. Dad said he didn’t want to know what we were doing, just that I was alive. Mom has been gushing that she will be a grandmother soon.

Cal and I walk into the main room arm in arm as pack members turn to smile at us. It’s not unusual for mates to become a couple not long after finding each other. It’s moreunusual for people to wait, although, I think some people have very good reasons for making someone wait.

Mom is waving her hand frantically in the air as she taps Dad on the shoulder. He looks over from where he is talking with both sets of my grandparents. Shit, did they have to bring everyone here like we just got married? My grandparents haven’t been to a single pack breakfast since Nova started these, claiming that they retired so they didn’t have to be up and out of the house before noon. Which, fair because I would have to agree with that sentiment.

I look up at Caelon as his eyes flit from one side of the room to the other. I can feel him trembling under my fingers as his nervousness bleeds through our bond. It’s a different world for him to be in the crowds, not hiding in the shadows observing from a distance. My hand gently squeezes his bicep bringing his attention back to me as I feed calming thoughts through the bond back to him.

“You ready for this,” I ask, just loud enough for him to hear but quiet enough that nobody else is privy to it.

“Not really,” he says as more of his anxiety bleeds through.

“Hey.” I nudge him to a stop. Everyone is chatting amongst themselves oblivious to the chaos swirling inside him. His soft cry for help. He turns to face me with anxiety etched in his eyes. “I want you to know that at any point during this it becomes too much, too loud, too messy, all you have to do is squeeze my hand two times in a row and I’ll find a way for us to get out of here. We don’t have to stay a second longer than that, okay?” My hand runs up and down his arm, as I continue to push calm, relaxing feelings through to him.

“O…okay. I just don’t want to take you away from your family because I can’t handle it.” He looks down at his hands as he wrings them together.

My hand caresses the side of his face, bringing his eyes back to mine. “Cal, you are my family, my home. The most important member of my family. As much as it’s your responsibility to be strong, loving, and caring, it’s also my responsibility to do that as well. It doesn’t always have to be one or the other. Let me be the strong one today and maybe the next time will be your turn.”

He nods his head. “Okay.”

Bringing my arm back around his, we turn and finish walking through the crowd towards my parents. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen them since my birthday dinner and it feels weird. I’m so used to seeing them every single day, that I hadn’t even considered what it would be like to not. They look the same, but something about it has changed for me. Almost like I see them differently. I’ll no longer see the little changes that happen or hear them giggling in the kitchen together in the mornings.

It’s something we never talk about, the loss of those small comforts when you become an adult and move out on your own. We are all so ready to spread our wings, buck the system, forge our own paths in the world. That we never realize the things we are going to miss. Those moments that always seemed to settle your soul like the coffee brewing in the morning or your parents dancing together in the kitchen. Looking at my parents now, hugged together with their beautiful faces spread in a smile, I wish I could capture this moment like a photograph. Remembering how it feels, smells, and looks forever.