Chapter 6 - Alek

When I came downstairs, I was surprised to see Iris on the couch. A book lay open in her lap, but she was staring outside, biting her thumbnail as she stared at the scenery outside the floor-to-ceiling windows. I was surprised but relieved. It had been a few days since she had found out I was a shifter, and I had barely seen her since. I was trying to give her space, but it had been nearly impossible not to knock on her door and demand she talk to me. My wolf was frustrated, sensing her nearby, constantly smelling her in the house but being unable to see her or spend time with her. Still, I'd held off, knowing that pushing her too soon was about the worst thing I could do.

Now, seeing her made me happier than I could have imagined.

"Pretty, isn't it?" I said.

Iris jumped. Her head whipped around. I could see the tension in her shoulders and the uncertainty in her eyes as she looked at me. Then, she nodded.

"Yeah," she said, looking back out the window. "You're lucky to have this sort of view. My village was just sort of in the middle of nowhere, tucked in a valley. You couldn't really see any of the mountains or scenery."

"How are you doing?" I asked hesitantly.

She exhaled, running her fingers through her hair. "Honestly? I don't know, Alek," she said. "It's been weird. I still don't know if I've fully come to terms with it. There was an entire side of you that I didn't realize existed."

"I wanted to tell you," I said. "But the way you talked about wolf men…I was terrified, you know?"

"You still should have told me."

"Would you have run?"

She didn't answer. I walked around the couch, sitting in the chair beside her. "I'm still the same person," I said.

"I know," she said. "And I want to trust you. But it's hard not to see you in an entirely new light."

I exhaled. I wanted to prove to her that she could trust me, that there was nothing for her to be afraid of. But I had no idea how to communicate that to her. It was the type of thing she had to find out for herself.

"You don't trust me at all, then?" I asked.

Her blue eyes pierced into me. "I trust the man I remember from all those years ago," she said. "But I don't know how much of you is that and how much of you is wolf."

I nodded, then looked her straight in the eye. "I'm going to show you I'm the same person. And I'm going to show you that you don't have anything to worry about. From me or other shifters."

"Except Dan," she said, frowning.

I winced. "That was a fluke," I said. "He was just being a dick. But I promise you he's in the minority, and I'm going to prove that to you."

She gave a small half-smile. "I hope you do."

***

"I've got to get going," I said, standing quickly after the meeting was over. The entirety of the Silver Wolves had gathered to talk about patrol schedules and other concerns people in the pack expressed. I'd been bored the entire time, and all I wanted to do was get back home. Iris was still not talking to me much, but I wanted to check on her and make sure she was all right. "See you guys later," I added.

I hurried out, waving over my head as I made my way to the door.

"Alek."

I stopped just outside the mansion, turning to see Klyte and Malcolm trotting up toward me. Klyte's face was contorted with concern, Malcolm's more composed, but he had been my boss when we were all spec-ops. I could tell when something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking between the two of them.

"Nothing with us," Malcolm said. "But we were going to ask you the same thing."

I blinked, brow furrowed. "You were?"

"Yeah. You've been keeping to yourself a lot," Klyte said, frowning. "It's not really like you. Especially not with me."

He wasn't wrong. Klyte was one of my best friends, and I'd never been good at keeping secrets.

"Is there something wrong?" Malcolm asked.

"I…" I hesitated, not really sure what to say. It felt weird bringing up Iris. I wasn't sure how they would take it, especially after the way Dan had behaved. Was behaving.

"Something we can help you with?" Malcolm prodded.

"No, no. I…fuck." I ran my fingers through my hair as I glanced between Klyte and Malcolm. I thought about how Dan had reacted when he'd seen Iris. How she had fled when she'd seen me turn into a wolf. How she'd admitted that she wasn't sure how to trust me. I was expecting her to run again at any minute, and I couldn't let her go back to her family. "Yeah," I finally admitted. "I could use some help."

"What's up?" Klyte asked.

"Do you remember Iris?" I asked. "The human girl I told you about?"

Klyte's brow furrowed as he stared past me, clearly trying to remember. "I think so? Didn't she sort of vanish a few years ago?"

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I found her again."

Klyte blinked, then burst into a wide grin. "That's great!" he said, clapping me on the back. "I remember you being crazy about her."

"Yeah. There's a problem, though." And I told the story, the words tumbling out of me. Malcolm and Klyte listened, nodding periodically.

"You really need to work on your impulse control," Klyte remarked when I finished. "Don't get me wrong—it's a good thing you got her out of that situation if it was as shitty as you're saying it is—"

"It was," I cut in.

"Carrying her off was a little reckless," Klyte remarked. "How much thought did you put into it?"

I paused. "Uh, a couple of seconds?"

Klyte rolled his eyes. "The pinnacle of self-control," he remarked wryly. "We all could learn something from you."

"What's done is done," Malcolm said. "You've just got to move on and come up with a game plan from here. Just be patient and give her the chance to adjust."

"She doesn't trust me anymore," I said. "How am I supposed to show her there isn't anything to worry about if she doesn't trust me?"

"She's still here, though," Malcolm pointed out.

I made it a face. "I don't know how much of that is resignation because she thinks I'll drag her back, or if it's just because she doesn't want to go home and has nowhere else to go," I admitted. "I just wish there was something I could do to show her there was nothing to worry about here."

"Well, don't show her me or the rest of the Silver Wolves," Klyte said. "A bunch of intimidating ex-spec-ops isn't exactly going to endear her to you. If I were you, I'd start small. Introduce her to people who don't look like they could tear her to shreds in a second." He stroked his chin. "Maybe the girls?" he suggested.

I blinked. "The girls?"

"Yeah! They're a friendly bunch. And even if they're shifters, they aren't nearly as intimidating as the rest of us would be."

"That's not the worst idea," Malcolm agreed.

"I can talk to Jenn," Klyte said. "She'd be more than happy to try and help."

"I…" I frowned, chewing on my lips as I mulled over what he was saying. "I think that might help," I acknowledged.

"In that case, it's settled." Klyte grinned, clapping me on the back. "I'll have Jenn set it up."