AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I snorted.
Myla’s playfulness had emerged over the past few days. Sharing one’s mind and body did that, I guessed.
Our bond was strong, and to my delight, Myla made no effort to erect walls between us. When I imagined a mate bond, I never pictured this. I couldn’t even put my feelings into words. It was more than being whole—it was like finding the missing pieces of yourself.
It was both incredible and unnerving. The moment the bond snapped into place, a switch flipped inside me.
Myla could have concealed her emotions from us and blocked the bond, but she didn’t. That openness—that willingness to trust a connection we were still figuring out—made me want to try harder.
If she had anything to hide, she would be trying to keep us out of her head and heart.
It was time to put the past aside and focus on facts—on the future.
Our unit fell into a smooth routine for the next two weeks. While we were at work, Myla volunteered at different jobs to see which ones she liked.
She was surprisingly proficient in quite a few areas. It wasn’t long before she was referring to pack members by name. For the past week, Myla had been spending time with the elders. She helped them with gardening, chores, and errands. If they didn’t need assistance, she simply visited for tea.
“What are your plans today?” I asked over breakfast.
“I was going to go check on Mr. Devero. He’s been staying in the house a lot lately, and that can’t be healthy,” she replied, eating her wrap.
“How’d you hear about that?”
“The ladies mentioned it during tea yesterday.”
It was an aspect of pack life I never thought about much. The elders were around, but for the most part, pack members left them to go about their daily lives in peace—or so we thought. Thanks to Myla, I was starting to see that we might have been neglecting them.
“Mind if I join you?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Sure, that’d be great. But don’t you have work?”
“I have the day off,” I replied.
It wasn’t a complete lie. I did have the day off, but it was because I requested it.
I missed her.
All of us were so busy catching up that we hadn’t gotten a chance to fall into our new normal. Bowen and Silas were out longer than usual because of the increased patrols, and Gentry was busy de-encrypting the Council’s annoyingly protected files.
Ezra, the head of pack security, had managed to get nano-hackers into the Facility—a building the Council used to house Hunt-eligible Omegas—when he participated in his unit’s Hunt. In the subsequent weeks, we’d accessed two more servers with incriminating information—one of which included their witch contacts.
This was a great time to set a new tone for our interactions. I was determined to set aside my preconceived notions and prove I wanted Myla around.
After breakfast, I followed Myla to Mr. Devero’s den. When we reached the small, single-floor home, I noticed his front door needed repairs. The hinges were rusty, and the wood looked like it had taken a beating from the elements. I made a mental note to get the boys working on a new door as soon as possible.
Myla knocked more forcefully than I expected, and the door opened seconds later.
“I’m still alive,” Mr. Devero snarled at Myla before giving me a curt nod.
My wolf’s hackles rose at his tone. He did not appreciate our mate being spoken to that way, nor did I.
Mr. Devero was a grumpy old shifter who’d lost everything under the old Alpha. He was a tough man who barely used words, preferring to grunt or growl.
“Well, of course you are. I’m here to make sure you get some sun. You’ll get moldy if you stay in that damp house all the time,” Myla replied, paying no attention to the scowl on his face as she barreled into his home.
“Where are you going?” he called after her.
“To get your coat,” she said brightly, pulling a jacket out of his closet. “It’s a bit nippy out.”
