Chapter 9

CRESSIDA

9

Although I had never been a part of a pack before—and we weren't officially a part of Keane's—Aaron and I had quickly settled into life with The Wilderness Pack. It helped that there weren't a lot of packmates, and most of them gave us plenty of space. Not just because we were a newly mated couple, but because they liked being left to their own devices too.

Aaron's family hadn't come up to meet me yet because he'd told his parents that he wanted time alone as a couple before they overwhelmed me. But we'd done a couple of video calls with everyone, and it had been impossible to miss how thrilled they were that he was happily mated. They must've had a bunch of questions about how it was possible, but they'd kept it all to themselves for now.

I'd only met Booker when he dropped off some venison to congratulate us on our mating, and Garner was out of town on a construction job for his family's company. Rome and Thora were still in Timber Ridge, and Artemis spent most of his time in his cave. But I'd gotten to know Keane and Leyton pretty well, and Laina had quickly become a good friend. Something I'd always wanted but never really had the chance to have.

And Atlas had stolen a piece of my heart. The young grizzly cub was so sweet, he made me dream of having a baby with Aaron. A little boy with his daddy's dark hair and eyes who would eventually shift into a gorgeous and playful wolf, just like my amazing mate.

"We just finished off the blueberries I picked before you got here, and you prefer apples to them. So why are we out here getting more when we could be cuddled in bed doing much more interesting things?" Aaron grumbled.

Tilting my head back to blink up at him, I laughed softly. "Because Atlas was so disappointed when I told him we didn't have any blueberries he could borrow. And it's easier for us to come pick these than Laina."

"That boy has you wrapped around his little finger."

I didn't bother denying it. "Yup."

"We're getting extra for me."

"Absolutely," I agreed, pulling out the second container stacked under the one we were filling. "As many as you want."

He flashed me an appreciative smile before bending down to brush his lips against mine. "Then I guess I can't complain too much."

I winked at him. "And I promise to make it up to you later."

He stroked his thumb against my bottom lip, sending a sensual shiver down my spine. "That's not necessary, but I sure as fuck won't turn you down. Ever."

I loved how Aaron never hesitated to show me how much he wanted me. After everything he'd gone through, I wouldn't have blamed him if he tried to hold back a little from me. But from the moment I'd claimed him as my mate, he had thrown himself fully into our relationship, holding nothing back.

He had never once made me think of myself as second best. The human woman who rejected Aaron hadn't deserved him. And in the short time we'd been together so far, he'd already gone out of his way to tell me how much I meant to him.

He showed me too. Every day. In and out of bed.

"I know."

"Good." He gave me another quick kiss. "But it's still worth saying."

We filled both containers until they were overflowing with blueberries. As we headed back toward the cabins, Aaron stole a few handfuls. When he reached for another, I gently swatted at his hand. "Save some for Atlas."

His grumbling complaint was interrupted by the ringing of my sat phone from his backpack. I liked to always have it on me in case my parents needed to get a hold of me.

Handing the containers of berries to me, he slid the pack off his back, pulled the phone out, and handed it to me as he set the fruit on the ground next to us.

"That's weird." Glancing down at the screen, I didn't recognize the number. "A handful of people know how to contact me, but my parents are the only ones who've ever actually called me."

"Pick it up, sweetness." Aaron wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his broad chest. "I've got you."

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cressida. It's Jack. I wanted to let you know one of my pack members heard a rumor that the guy asking about you managed to follow you out of our territory. You need to be extra careful."

"Thanks for the warning, Jack. But I'm always careful," I assured him.

"Good."

As soon as I disconnected, Aaron asked, "Who's Jack?"

"The alpha from the pack where I stayed before I came here," I answered, handing the phone back to him.

"Does he know what you are?" Aaron growled, his wolf thick in his voice.

I shook my head. "Of course not. Nobody knows my secret except for you and my parents."

"Good," he grunted, tilting my head back to claim my mouth in a deep kiss that left me breathless.

Blinking up at him, I realized why he was so agitated. Stroking my hands down his chest in a gesture meant to soothe his inner beast, I murmured, "You don't have anything to be jealous about. You're my mate. The only man who truly knows me. Who's gotten each one of my firsts."

"Damn fucking straight." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, his muscles loosening as he calmed down a little. "Just like I'm all yours."

"I know."

After bending to pick up the berries with one hand, he interlaced the fingers of his other with mine. "We better get back. Keane needs to know that trouble might be headed this way."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.

When we got to their cabin, Laina and Atlas were playing in the backyard, giving us some time to fill the alpha in on Jack's call.

"It fucking figures he didn't handle this shit himself." Keane shook his head, his bear flashing in his eyes. "That wolf doesn't deserve for anyone to call him an alpha."

"What do you mean?" I asked, my brows drawing together as I gaped at him.

My surprise at his reaction to Jack being the one who'd warned me turned into shock over him being the alpha who'd let Ramsey down so badly when she went through her whole ordeal. "Wow, I knew something bad had happened to her but had no idea it was that awful. Or that she had any connection to Jack and his pack."

"As far as I'm concerned, Jack is a disgrace to other alphas," Keane growled. "It's about time for him to do something befitting his title. Like take care of those assholes before they left his territory."

"But I wasn't a member of his pack," I reminded him, my heart warming over at how angry he was on my behalf. "And he warned me to get out of there before anything bad happened. If he hadn't, they might've caught up to me there because I'd grown too comfortable."

"You don't owe him gratitude for that. It was the bare minimum of what he could've done."

Keane crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head. "If someone manages to track you to my territory, you won't be the one who needs to run. They will. Or else my grizzly will rip their throats out and leave their bodies for wild animals to feast upon."

My eyes widened at his colorful description, but my mate nodded in approval and murmured, "Damn straight, except they'd have to get past my wolf first."

"We don't even know if they managed to follow me here," I reminded them.

"It's better to assume that they have." Keane pulled out his cell phone and fired off a few messages. "I've put Leyton, Booker, and Artemis on high alert. And I let Rome know it's best if he and Thora stay in Timber Ridge for now."

I felt terrible about throwing everyone's lives into an uproar. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Keane assured me. "This isn't your fault. It's the bastards who think they can snatch shifter females for whatever fucked-up reasons they've got in their sick heads."

I felt bad that we hadn't told him the truth about why someone might be hunting me, but unless Aaron and I joined his pack, my secret needed to stay between us. No matter how much we trusted the grizzly who was willing to kill for me.

"If they come for you, it'll be the last thing they do," Aaron vowed.