Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 137524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 688(@200wpm)___ 550(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 688(@200wpm)___ 550(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
“I guess if you consider burnt balls of lava ‘dumplings,’ then sure, they’re great.”
I’m happy when they’re happy, and I’m discontented when they’re sad. I feel the need to make sure that they’re okay, and the responsibility is heavy on my shoulders.
“Hopefully you’ll find a mate that can cook, because otherwise your young might starve,” I say, and the mood turns from happy to sad again. “Sorry, I just meant—”
“We know what you meant,” Flint says, cutting me off. “Let’s not pretend we aren’t the reject wolves in this town. No female’s gotten our attention, and we need to face those facts.”
He goes over to the kitchen sink and throws his bowl into it.
“It’s not up to the female to decide,” Forest says, telling us what we already know. “Maybe we should move on. We might have a better chance in another town. And now that Snow is provided for, it’s not as if we need to worry about her so much.”
“We agreed not to move again,” I say, leaning back in my chair. “When we came to Gray Ridge, we said we would give this a chance. Just because none of us have mated yet doesn’t mean we have to give up and move.”
“What if your mate is here and we move away?” Flint says, looking to Forest. “Would you have us all leave and never find your true half?”
“If it meant you would both find yours, then I would be willing to make that sacrifice.” Forest stands up from the table and for a moment I think he’s going to storm out, but instead he gets an even sadder look on his face. “I would give up my own happiness to see you two raise your young. It would be enough for me.”
I go to open my mouth, but he holds up his hand to stop me.
“Forest…” Flint tries, but Forest just shakes his head.
“I’m going for a run. I’d like to be alone.”
Flint and I nod, knowing that right now he needs his space.
“Don’t be gone too long,” I say, and Forest agrees.
I watch our tender-hearted wolf go out the back door and strip down. It’s only a half second later before he shifts and disappears into the surrounding woods.
Chapter 3
Forest
Soft moss and earth depress between my toes as I push my body to the point of pain. I want to feel the burn of my muscles and the ache in my bones because it’s better than the pain in my heart. I can’t take seeing my brothers like this, knowing there’s nothing I can do to stop it.
When I get to the back of Red’s Goodie Basket, I see Dominic Wolfe playing in the nearby woods with his cubs. He catches my scent sooner than I thought he would, and he nods to me in greeting. He’s the sheriff in town, and the few times that we’ve met I’ve really liked him. His wife Ruby runs the bakery with her friend Gwen, and they are always nice to my brothers and me.
I shift back to human form and grab some spare clothes from the box they keep beside the back door for passing shifters that want to come in and have a snack. There are picnic tables set up out here, so it’s a safe place for us to be ourselves away from any tourists that might wander inside the store.
I pull on a pair of clean sweatpants and a muscle shirt, thinking how only a shifter would know that the clothes can’t smell like someone else. It would irritate us too much to have the scent of another male on our bodies.
“Come to get an evening snack?” Dom says as he walks over and offers his hand to me. His smile is easy.
I take his hand and nod. I thought I’d get some homemade food to take back to the guys, thinking it might cheer them up. Every now and then Snow will bring food over, and it always lifts their spirits.
“Could use some of your wife’s famous magic bars,” I say, rubbing my stomach.
“Be careful. Those things have been the end of my six-pack days,” Dom says, glancing back to his young wolves playing with one another.
“I envy you,” I blurt out without thinking it through. “Sorry, that came out wrong.” I shake my head feeling like an idiot.
“Actually, I understand where you’re coming from.” There’s a gentleness to his voice that I don’t expect. It must come from having a mate and a litter of his own. “But you’ll find yours one day. All shifters do. We don’t always know it, but we are led to where they are. There’s a reason you’ve been in Gray Ridge so long. Your wolf knows it’s in the right place, and you won’t be able to leave until it tells you to.”