Page 92 of Starting a New Life

Gray snorted.

“Ask him about it. And make sure to ask him about the nickname he had for Rhett’s wolf.”

Oh, I definitely would. It sounded like a story I needed to hear. Maybe tomorrow, after our next magic lesson, we could—

“We’re here,” Gray said, slowing the ATV until we came to a full stop in front of a small house in the middle of nowhere.

It took me a couple of seconds until I got my fingers to unclench and let go of Gray’s hoodie. Then I jumped off the ATV. However, my legs didn’t want to work and… Gray’s hand wrapped around my biceps like a vise, holding me upright.

“Careful, now,” he said gently, but he definitely had to suppress a laugh.

I rolled my eyes at him when in reality I was grateful he’d caught me.

When my legs didn’t feel like jelly anymore, I took a tentative step toward the small house, my eyes doing a first sweep of the outside while my fingers worked to get the helmet off my head. Why did these things have to be so complicated?

“Here, let me.” Gray smiled down at me, then swiftly pulled the helmet off.

Oof. My head felt so much lighter now. I cranked it to the left, then to the right, and rolled my shoulders for good measure.

“You done?” Gray grinned at me.

“Yeah.”

And even if I wasn’t, I was too curious about his place. The outside looked cute but didn’t match what I’d expected an Alpha’s house to look like. I’d visited many packs ever since I’d turned eighteen and was rented out by the coven. Most of the residences had looked like mansions. Big homes, some with marble pillars, some with golden door knockers, all of them designed to show status.

Gray’s house didn’t look like that. It looked just… like a regular house. A small one at that. Cute. Well taken care of, but nothing special—and that fact alone made it special to me.

“Are you disappointed?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck as he watched me studying his home. “I know you probably expected more, but it’s just me and…”

“I love it,” I told him and turned to him. “My father was the coven leader, so I grew up in the coven house. It was huge and regal, and I wasn’t allowed to touch anything. It always made me feel small. I fucking hated it. This…” I looked at the small house with the warm, inviting lights shining through the windows, and smoke coiling out of the brick chimney. “This is actually perfect.”

I wasn’t lying.

If the inside was as homey and cozy as the outside, it really was perfect.

“Really?” Gray raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” I reassured him.

Gray let out a breath of relief, then grabbed my hand, interlacing our fingers and squeezing lightly. “In that case, follow me. Though I’m not sure what’s waiting for us. My mom came here when the alarm first went off. I asked her to start a fire so we’d arrive to a warm home if we decided to come here, but I don’t know if she did anything else.”

I snorted, but my heart ached.

I’d never had that. A mother to rely on. Hell, a mother in general. Just a dad who’d resented me for being a mage instead of a wizard.

Meanwhile, Gray’s parents had dropped everything, flown across the ocean to get here as soon as possible to meet his mate.

“Are you crying?” Gray asked, panic in his voice.

“No?” My voice wobbled, eyes stinging. “Okay, yeah, maybe. It’s just… it was really kind of her to get the fire started.”

Gray sighed and pulled me into his arms.

“It was nice of her. But it’s not a big deal. If you look to your right, what do you see?”

I raised my eyebrows and stared at… trees.

“The forest?”