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Digging in, her wolf eagerly took the bait, for a moment leaving him in the dust. Success emboldened her, and she yipped in glee. She continued sprinting back toward the den with her head held high and her paws blazing the trail.
Victory was sweet—until he sped right past her to finish well ahead.
Ava growled deep in her throat at the casual showing off. Aidan, dominant in every way, took the playful provocation in stride. He leapt on her with no harmful intent. Both tussled on the ground for a second before a snowball was lobbed ruthlessly at Aidan’s furry noggin. It exploded against his head in a puff of snow and ice.
Both wolves turned towards the unheralded attack, their gazes landing on Remmus leisurely gathering another snowball. With a taunting smirk, he launched it directly into Aidan’s face. Again.
The alpha didn’t quite dodge quickly enough. It landed directly on his snout, white powder coating pitch black fur, and launched him into a sneezing fit. Ava howled to the skies, her wolf laughing at Remmus’ mischievousness. The next time the Raeth threw a projectile, Aidan ducked and shifted seamlessly into his two-legged form.
And then the snowball fight was officially on.
Appearing out of nowhere, Riaz and Gadriel joined in. They began lobbing snowballs at each other with a low-key maliciousness that spoke of seasoned soldiers rather than friendly competitors. Aidan, slighted by the Raeth’s lazy victory over him earlier, had targeted Remmus, and each snowball hurled at him was as ruthless as the man throwing them.
There was one problem: Remmus could teleport, and that entirely unfair advantage was winning him no allies.
Eventually, what had been a lighthearted game dissolved into all four werewolves trying desperately to hit a teleport-capable Raeth. He somehow managed to pelt them with snowballs regardless of where he appeared. Suspiciously, Ava was never in his target.
By the end of their impromptu snowball fight, the other werewolves were covered in snow and soaked to the bone, while Ava had emerged entirely unscathed.
Riaz coughed, shaking his dreadlocks free of white powder. “Truce, Raeth. We bow before your snowball greatness.”
“Yeah, come on out so we can ‘bow’.”
It was a gruff demand from Aidan, reeking of ulterior motives. When Remmus appeared, a lopsided smile dimpled his cheek.
“I suspect your white flag is a lie.”
And it was.
The three men showered Remmus with a flurry of snowballs, cackling as the Raeth simply stood there through their attack. Fortunately, Aidan avoided Remmus’ face, apparently knowing he’d already put enough bruises there for one night.
When the snowballs finally stopped, Remmus was just as cold and wet as the other men. Now that they’d taken their revenge, Riaz, Aidan, and Gadriel slapped him on the back and complimented him on his skill.
Riaz stiffened as soon as Ava walked closer. Her alpha studied her for half a second before explosive realization lit his features.
“You’ve developed a mating bond. With him.”
Ava’s heart leapt beneath her breastbone. Remmus was unabashed, striding over to stand by her shoulder and gently curl his fingers around hers. Instinctively, she knew he was waiting for her to respond, letting her take the lead.
Ava nodded at her alpha. “Yes.”
Doing an Oscar-worthy impersonation of a deer in the headlights, Riaz managed to sputter, “Didn’t see that one coming.”
“Congrats, Ava,” Gadriel added. “If you aren’t good to her, Raeth, you’ll meet the sharp side of my teeth. Capiche?”
“Cross my heart and hope to die, Gadriel.”
While a warm feeling cascaded through the ghosting mating bond between them, no fear tinged his emotions at the other man’s mostly hollow threat.
Aidan, however, was a mountain that still needed to be moved. His grey-green eyes regarded Remmus with a heavy dose of skepticism, having replaced the companionability that had been there only seconds before. The alpha king turned to her, compassion washing over his features as he scrutinized her body language.
“Is this what you want, Ava?”
“We’re seeing where it leads,” she explained, her fingers curling tighter around Remmus’. “Don’t beat him up again.”
Gruff laughter sounded in Aidan’s throat, then his gaze shifted to Remmus. “I’ll say it again, Remmus, you hurt her, and I’ll brand a warning into your flesh.”
Suddenly, Ava was suffocating. Her heartrate elevated, her palms began to sweat, and her lungs constricted. Her fingers tightened around Remmus’ to combat the debilitating emotion, needing the steadiness of his touch to weather the storm.
