Page 41 of The Alpha Dire Wolf (Bloodlines & Bloodbonds #1)

Lincoln

W e burst out into the open.

The darkness was yanked out of the car as dense brush and trees gave way to huge open spaces on all sides.

Far above, the giant limbs of the trees interlocked to form a nearly impenetrable canopy.

Here, the rain was reduced to little more than the droplets trickling their way through the leafy cover.

Sylvie was breathing hard as the car slowed to a halt. Her fingers grasped the wheel so hard her knuckles were white.

“Hey,” I said, leaning over and taking her hands to peel them from the wheel one finger at a time. “Hey, it’s okay. Vee. We made it.”

Cupping her ghastly pale face, fear lines still etched in it, I turned it toward me. Forcing her to lock eyes, to acknowledge that I was right there next to her.

Then I kissed her. It wasn’t planned, it just sort of happened. I shouldn’t have, because she’d asked me to hold back. To wait. But in that moment, I needed to comfort her. To make her know it was all right.

She kissed me back after a second. Then her body began to relax, which is when she pulled away. I did too.

“You did great,” I told her, not wanting to draw more attention to having just broken our poorly defined boundaries.

She bit on her lip, the look driving me crazy. “Thanks. But, Linc, the storm, it’s still there. I can feel it. At the edges. It’s not gone. Not at all.”

“I know,” I said. I didn’t doubt her words, I knew it was true, I could feel it too.

But how could she feel it? Was she not as unaware of the magic in her as she’d led me to believe? I had already been more than uncomfortable with bringing her home. Now though … now I may have just made a bigger mistake than I’d intended.

“Come on,” I told her, pointing. “This way.”

We meandered through the open spaces and past some cabins as I guided Vee to my house. My home.

The further we got from the edges of the den space, the calmer she became. She sat straighter and even began to look around, truly taking in my home for the first time.

“This is quite the sight,” she said, still whispering. “People. And wolves. Together.”

Off to the right, a large chestnut wolf went bounding by, a child of no more than five clinging to its back and laughing wildly as they ran under the gentle rainfall.

“Yes,” I said, watching them go, smiling to no one in particular. “I’ve done my best to keep this place safe so that they can live in peace.”

The car came to a complete stop. Sylvie had taken her foot off the gas, and was staring at me, her beautiful lips parted in the tiniest circle.

“You’ve done your best?” she asked, quoting my line back at me.

I quickly replayed what I’d said, comparing it to what she had seen in the thirty seconds since we’d arrived.

There didn’t seem to be any glaring issues with any of it, the unnatural storm aside.

So what was her problem? Did she not like happy children, oblivious to the darkness surrounding them?

Was she a believer in early exposure to the cruel, hard world of reality? That seemed rather unlike her.

“It’s what a leader should do. Is it not?” I shrugged, not sure what else I could say.

Her eyebrows rose like garage doors, slowly reaching their peak and revealing her eyes in all their beautiful glory.

She really was beautiful—a fact I sometimes lost sight of when my wolf rose up with its carnal needs and desires.

Attractive, yes, I had always known that.

But I should remind myself more often she was beautiful too.

A woman, to be cherished and loved, as well as ravished at every opportunity.

I had to stifle a growl. Now was not the time for such delicious thoughts or actions based on such thoughts.

“Your people,” she murmured. “You are their leader. You.”

“I’ll take that as surprise, not disbelief in my abilities. But yes, I am the alpha. This is my pack’s den.”

She glanced around and then started us moving again, following my pointing hand. “I was expecting a cave.”

“Surprised again?”

“Alpha of the …” Sylvie sat up straight in the seat. “Are you the forest people? Are your people the forest, uh, people?”

“Where did you hear that term?” I tried not to frown. We had worked hard to remove such mentions and interactions with the townsfolk over the decades. My father had spent years training us not to be spotted by hikers and hunters alike. To drop mention of us from their society. Had he failed?

“The history books,” she said.

I grimaced. There was no editing those out. It would just take time.

“The ones where, a hundred and fifty years ago, your people attacked the town.”

“Park there, behind the black truck,” I said, pointing at my cabin.

She complied. “So you don’t deny the attack?”

I snorted. “I deny the accuracy of the apparent retelling of events. There was a fight, yes, but that’s not what occurred.”

“Then what did happen?” she pressed, shutting the car off and following me to the front door.

“That is more complex to answer,” I said, trying to think of a way to shrug her off.

Sylvie had already dealt with a great many revelations the past day or two. She’d barely survived an attack, and was now about to be exposed to my world in its full glory. Explaining to her about the evil that was the Chained could wait another day. After the storm, she needed to unwind.

I would tell her. Just not yet.

“I would think we have time for you to answer. We’re kind of trapped by the storm, no?” She glanced around the modestly furnished and sized cabin. “Nice place. You have good taste.”

“My friend’s mate helped me decorate,” I said. “I like it, but I cannot take any credit.”

“She has good taste, this … what did you call her, mate?”

“We are wolves, Sylvie,” I explained at her questioning glance. “We take a mate.”

“So you get married under a different word.” She shrugged it off.

I shook my head. “No. Marriage is a uniting of people who believe they can coexist forever. They choose it.”

“You all live in arranged unions?” She shook her head. “That’s awful.”

“We take our mate, once fate shows them to us,” I corrected gently. “We don’t choose because fate chooses for us. Literally. When two wolves bond, it is for life. Always.”

“So is marriage,” she said defensively.

“Mates don’t get divorced. We don’t want to. A mate is quite literally the other half of a wolf shifter’s soul. It’s part of what makes us … us.”

“I see.” She looked away, twisting one hand with the other.

“Listen,” I said, bulling my way through the awkward silence with a solution to her discomfort. “Make yourself at home, okay? But stay here. Don’t go exploring.”

Something in my tone must have alerted her. “You’re leaving?”

“I must,” I said, not bothering to hide my unhappiness at leaving her. “Your presence is going to generate some concern. I need to set things up to head that off.”

Sylvie walked near to a window, peering out it at the den. “Am I welcome here at all, Linc?”

“You will be,” I promised with a growl. “Just give me time, okay? I’m springing this on my people, not all of whom like having outsiders around. We’re a pretty private bunch, for a good reason, as you now know.”

“Yes.” She licked her lips. “Am I safe here?”

“I will keep you safe,” I vowed. “But it would be better if you stayed here.”

“You’re making me feel uneasy about being left alone.”

“There’s lots of unease going around. The storm will have many on edge. I promise. You’ll be okay if you stay here until I get back. Okay?”

Sylvie sighed and then nodded reluctantly. “I’ll wait.”

“Thank you,” I said, relieved and not hiding it. I stifled an urge to hug her. After the talk of mates, and the things I had said to her, she would be … wary. I could not afford to fight a battle on two fronts by making her angry at me.

Dealing with certain elements within my pack was going to be hard enough.