Page 19

“Can’t we go for a walk around the perimeter? I’m tired of sitting here watching you look over boring paperwork.”I can feel his restlessness like a nervous energy buzzing through my body.

“Yeah, I guess we can go for a walk. I don’t see why not,” I respond back to him as I push myself up from my desk chair.

“Thank the goddess. I thought I was going to die of boredom before you finally stopped,”Wraith grumbles.

“Bit dramatic, don’t you think?” I ask, with a note of humor in my voice.

“No,”is all he says back to me. And he says I’m the dramatic one.

The cool air breezes past me as I swing open the door to step outside. The scent of wildflowers is strong as they break their way through the cold soil. It doesn’t take me long to find my normal path around the pack lands as I walk at a leisurely pace, with no real purpose in mind other than spending time in the wild.

I’m lost in my thoughts when the smell of juniper berry, cedarwood, and musk floats across the air to me. What’s Selene doing out here?

She is squatting down with her phone held out in front of her, clicking away as she snaps photos. Meandering over to her, I observe what she is taking photos of—the Silvery Lupines that must have recently bloomed.

Clearing my throat, I say, “What are you doing?”

A startled gasp rips from her as she whips around to face me, almost falling to the ground in her movements. “Goddess Warrick, you scared the shit out of me.”

I flick my eyebrow up, giving her a questioning look. “Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting to find you out here on my walking path around the land. So needless to say, you surprised me too. So what are you doing exactly?”

She points down to the bunch of flowers nestled at the bottom of the huge aspen tree. “I knew it wouldn’t be too much longerbefore the Silvery Lupines would bloom and I was hoping to catch them in their first blooms. I have a bit of an obsession with them since they are kind of named after the Lupines.”

My gaze doesn’t move as I consider what she said. Clearly worried that she has upset me, she rushes out to say, “You do know that Lupine means wolf, right?” she asks nervously.

“I didn’t. I didn’t focus in high school unless it had to do with football or food. Anything else was quickly forgotten.”

She laughs as she says, “I get that. School sucks. I’m glad it’s almost over, to say the least. So I don’t blame you for not paying attention.”

My shoulders shrug. “Yeah, I probably should have taken it more seriously, but oh well. So you’re out here taking photos of flowers all by yourself?”

Her cheeks blush as she tucks her phone behind her back. “Yeah, it’s just something I do for fun. It’s just a little hobby.”

I hold out my hand. “Do you want to show me?”

Her mouth opens and closes as she processes what I said. “Uh…do you really want to see them? I’m not that good.”

My head nods as I continue to hold my hand out.

She swipes her finger across the screen, unlocking her phone. I watch as she flicks through apps until she lands on the album of the photos she must have taken over the course of several of these walks. I can’t believe I’ve never bumped into her before this. Her hand shakes as she hands over the device, her eyes immediately dropping to the ground after it’s safely in my hand.

I look between her and the device. Clicking the first photo, I scan through each one, noting her attention to detail. She isreally freaking good at this. ‘ “Not that good,” my ass. She even has photos of deer as they graze in the morning sun. How she was able to get that close without spooking them is an amazing feat in itself.

“Selene, these are awesome. What do you mean, you aren’t ‘that good’?” I ask as I continue to flip through the photos.

My eyes flick up at her when I see her shrug her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just do it for fun with my phone. Nothing to really celebrate. Sometimes I just want to get away from everyone and capture the beauty I see.”

I turn off the phone and hold it out to her. When her eyes meet mine, I hope that mine are full of reassurance. “Selene, you have a talent, that is for sure. Don’t downplay it just because you’re afraid of what others will say. Have you thought about buying a camera and exploring this as more than a hobby?”

She twists her foot from side to side, a nervous tic, I’m sure. “Not really. You’re the only person who's seen them besides me. I’ve never even mentioned it to Mom and Dad.”

“Isn’t your birthday coming up?”

She looks at me with confusion. “Yeah, why?”

“I think you should ask for a camera for your birthday and really pursue this.”

“Yeah…maybe. You really think they are that good?” she asks sheepishly.