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  “Do you think we can try?” Wren asked.

  Ryka blinked hard, wondering how in the world he knew what she was thinking. Then Kenna leaned around him, begging, “Can we, Phena? Can we try?”

  Ryka shook her head, snapping out of her reverie. “Try?”

  Wren smiled softly. “Kenna wants to know if we can try vegetables in next year’s garden along with the herbs. I told her the land belongs to my Phena. It’s up to you. Can we try?”

  ‘The land belongs to my Phena?’ The words warmed something inside her that she hadn’t even realized had grown cold. How was he like this? All other Alphas she’d met ruled with vicious control. Their mates had no say in their reign, and were certainly given no title to the pack territory. But, here was Wren, gifting her with his land, letting her make decisions for the pack that with anyone else would have been his and his alone to make. Her gaze jerked to Lux, Liddick, Cason, and Jesup, but none of them were glaring at her as she’d expected. No, they looked as happy as they’d been before Wren’s declaration.

  “Can weeeeee?” Kenna begged.

  Ryka smiled and looked at Wren. Her answer, right here, was a big deal. If she agreed, it was a small acquiescence, a tiny promise that they’d be here next year. Licking her lips, she noticed everyone was looking at her. The tension in Lux and Liddick’s frames matched Wren’s. Seven and Kenna’s eyes were imploring, though Ash was giving her a hard stare, that old familiar look that said, “I’m with you, no matter what.”

  “If…” She began, then drug her eyes back to Wren. “If it’s okay with Wren, it’s okay with me.”

  “Yesssss!” Kenna fist-punched the air, then turned back to her food and began tearing into her steak.

  Everyone else seemed to relax, even Cason, who’d been fisting his fork and knife in a white-knuckled grip.

  Wren rested his forearms on the table and kept his eyes pinned on Ryka. “And what about you?”

  She took a bite of food, taking her time chewing and swallowing before taking a sip of her beer. “What about me?”

  He looked down the length of the table and the pack quieted. “Seven’s going to remodel the den with Lux and Jesup’s help. Ash and Liddick are going to look into that burned-out pizza parlor in town, that’s been sitting vacant for the past few years, to see if the pack can’t get a good deal and get it up and running. Kenna’s starting plans for next year’s garden.” He turned to her. “What about you? What do you need? What do you want?”

  You. This. Silently, she shook her head. She’d known about Seven and Lux remodeling the den, but this was a first about Ash and Liddick looking into the burned-out pizza parlor they’d passed when they’d gone into town for dinner a few nights back.

  “Come on,” Wren prodded, “There must be something I can give you?” He waved his hand down the table. “We can give you that’ll help you adjust to life here, make the transition easier. Give you something to look forward to.”

  She felt her ire rise. Agreeing to next year’s garden was a big deal, and here he was pushing her again. She felt her cheeks flush with the desire to snap at him. She didn’t though, because honestly? The only thing she was looking forward to was seeing how far things would go between the two of them. She didn’t put voice to that thought. Seeing her girls truly living for the first time was enough. Enough to keep her arguments at bay, and enough for her to give a small shake of her head. Her girls’ happiness would have to be enough, because she couldn’t afford to throw her heart into the pot. There was too much at stake. Plus, she was the only one who seemed to ever remember that Marill wasn’t done yet. He’d come for them, and it’d be bad for her girls and for Wren’s pride of lions. She had to stay on guard, for everyone’s sake.

  Seven’s eyes rounded. “What about your apiary, Phena?”

  That piqued Wren’s curiosity. “Apiary?”

  “Oooooh, yeah!” Kenna turned to him excitedly. “Phena’s always wanted an apiary. She said when we got settled, if there was space on the property, and we could afford the project, and could meet the registration requirements, she would do it.”

  Wren looked at Ryka. “Ok. So, what in the hell is an apiary?”

  “It’s a bee yard!” Kenna exclaimed. “Phena wants honey bees!”

  “Bees?” Cason was already shaking his head. “No! No way! We are not getting a damn hive of killer African wasps on our territory.” He looked to Wren, eyes round in incredulity. “Tell her no, boss!”

  “They’re not wasps,” Ryka offered softly. “There are different types of apiaries. Some for pollination purposes, some for honey production. And honeybees aren’t aggressive. They’re just trying to live their lives and do their jobs, and if they’re left to it, then it’s good for the environment. It’s good for them too, and the fresh honey is good for us. If it’s done right, it’s a win-win. In recent years, there’s been a decline in bee colonies.” She shrugged. “Part of it’s been climate change, some of it’s been changes in agricultural practice, but the end result is that bees are dying off, and they need help.” She peeked at Wren and saw he was beaming at her.

  “Well, that settles it.” He turned and pointed at Cason. “You’ll help me and Ryka build the apiary this summer.”

  “What?” Cason choked on his beer. “Why me? I hate bees! I said to tell her no!”

  Wren winked at him. “That’s why you’ll help.”

  Cason threw his hands in the air. “Great! I’m gonna get stung to shit because Phena wants bees.” He looked at her with sad eyes. “Why? Why couldn’t you want a bunny farm or a herd of little goats, or,” he jabbed a finger at her. “A puppy mill! We could start a puppy mill. I’m down with that.”

  Wren shook his head. “Honeybees, Cason.”

  “Awww, fuck!”

  Kenna chewed excitedly before taking a big slurp of soda to wash down her food. She pointed animatedly at Cason. “Goats! Phena wanted a goat farm, too.” She looked at Ryka. “You could do that instead.”

  Ryka canted her head, but it was Wren who spoke. “We’ll do both.”

  “Both!” Liddick slid down in his chair. “Are you listening to yourselves? We’re lions. Lions and wolves! You think a goat is gonna let us near it? Hell, no! I’m gonna get goat kicked in the nuts.” He paled and cupped his manhood, swallowing hard. “I can feel it already.”

  The table erupted into laughter, and Wren took up his fork as the pack resumed eating. When he looked at Ryka and smiled, she hated that she had this war raging inside her. She wanted to relax, like Seven and Kenna. She wanted to give this place, this pride, this Wren Prime, a chance. Yet, she didn’t want the girls at risk. Well, Ash and Kenna. Seven was a done deal now. She could tell by the way Seven and Lux looked at each other. If Ash would accept Liddick, it’d make her choice easier, because then Ryka would only have to worry about herself and Kenna.

  She watched Wren out of the corner of her eye. Maybe it was time she asked him about mountain lions and their claiming. She still didn’t know if it was how wolves claimed mates, and she hadn’t asked Seven. Seven had been practically unavailable since she’d been claimed. As a matter of fact, the pack had rarely seen her or Lux since their initial mating. She grinned as happiness for her friend enveloped her, but worry was there too. Could Lux denounce Seven? Was it possible for mountain lions? Wolves mated for life, and Seven should have found out more information before diving in, but what’s done was done.

  Chapter 18

  The game had been fun. It was guys against girls, but you couldn’t sit next to any of your teammates, so they were scattered around the living room seated boy, girl. Ryka watched Lux where he nestled on the floor between Seven’s knees. She was sitting relaxed on a wingback chair with one of Lux’s arms up on her thigh and snaked around her waist. One of her hands rested on the round of his shoulder, the other playing with his hair as he nuzzled her belly. They were oddly intimate for having just found each other, and it was fascinating to Ryka. Turning her head, she looked at Ash who was leanin
g against Liddick’s side. It wasn’t as intimate, but whether Liddick knew it or not, that small show of affection was a big deal for Ash.

  Ryka blinked before sliding her eyes to Wren to find him watching her. Pulling her gaze away, she got up. “Need a break,” she offered lamely, and exited the room.

  Out on the porch, she drew in a deep breath of cool night air and exhaled it slowly, lifting her hands to rub her arms. She felt off. A little queasy, a little anxious, and a little sad, she couldn’t really pinpoint what was eating her.

  “You okay?”

  She turned to find Wren stalking toward her.

  “Yeah,” she lied.

  He walked right up to her and took over rubbing her arms, concern tugging his brows down. “What’s wrong, Ryka?”

  She stared at his chest. “Look, I don’t want to argue again. Not right now, okay?”

  His tone softened. “I don’t want to fight with you either. Ever. But I do still want to know what’s bothering you right now.”

  “Nothing. I don’t know. I just feel…weird.”

  He dipped his head to catch her eyes. “Are you sick?”

  “No.” She shook her head.

  “I saw you watching Ash and Seven. Are you worried about them?”

  “No.”

  Wren growled. “Woman, I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what it is.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just feel…restless and melancholy.”

  “Sad? Why are you sad?”

  Frustration suddenly swamped her at her inability to articulate what was happening. Honestly, she didn’t know. She was watching Ash and Seven, and part of her had been glad that they’d found good mates. She never thought she’d see both women happy, and now they were. Hell, even Kenna seemed to be thriving here with the Primes, but Ryka didn’t feel right. She felt unsettled.

  “Come on.” Wren snagged her hand, pulling her down the porch steps.

  “Where are we going?”

  “For a run.”

  She slid her feet in the dirt. “Wait!”

  Wren stopped and turned to her.

  “We can’t go out alone.” They hadn’t done that yet. All runs had been done with the entirety of the pack. “Not just the two of us.”

  He frowned. “Why not?”

  She looked over her shoulder at the house. “It’s not safe. I don’t…” she shook her head. “I’ve never run alone, or with just one other person. There’s safety in numbers, Wren.”

  He smiled wickedly as he peeled off his shirt. “Hi. My name is Wren Prime. Clearly, we haven’t met, because if we had, you’d know that there isn’t a shifter within a hundred thousand miles that has the brass to step into my territory uninvited. I’m gonna show you our land, Ryka, and when I’m done, you’ll know where you can go when you want to stretch your legs or just let your wolf free. You’ll also know that you and the girls are absolutely welcome and encouraged to go out alone. You’ll never be safer than you are here. There is no trouble here for you. Neither man, nor beast would dare mess with my pack, my land, nor anything else I deem mine, and you and the girls are more precious to us than anything we own.” He held up his hands. “Not that we own you! I’m just saying, no one kicks a mean dog when it’s sleeping, and they sure as hell aren’t touching that dog’s favorite thing.” He held up his hands again. “Not that you’re a thing!” A hand plowed into his hair. “And not that I’m a dog. Shit! This is coming out all wrong.”

  She smiled. “I’m picking up what you’re putting down, Apex Prime.”

  He looked relieved. “Good. Now shift so we can run.”

  She let her shift flow through her. Once in wolf form, she couldn’t hold the playful beast back. Her wolf jumped forward and nipped Wren’s thigh.

  He gasped and spun as she rushed away and dropped her shoulders in a playful gesture.

  “Oh!” he smiled. “You’re gonna pay for that!”

  Ryka was tearing through the woods before Wren had even finished shifting.

  Seconds later, she heard him behind her, and then her back legs were swiped out from under her. She rolled, and when he landed over her, she play-bit at his muzzle, not applying any real pressure, as her wolf growled in the back of her throat. Things were easier for her in animal form. Her wolf’s head wasn’t as muddled as her human side was. Nope, the wolf wanted her lion, period. She eyed him as he ran, and she couldn’t believe the sight of him.

  Wren’s lion was magnificent. All lean muscle and creamy golden fur, he was easily much stronger than her wolf, but was careful when he wrestled her with and locked his giant maw on her throat.

  Her wolf stretched her neck, welcoming the claiming, and when she saw shock register in Wren’s eyes, she kicked with all four paws into his stomach and rolled out from under him before running a few feet, then turning to make sure he was following.

  His lion rolled to his feet with a lithe grace that no wolf possessed, and she wondered if he was disappointed that his lion hadn’t chosen one of his own kind.

  A big tongue licked up the side of her face, and she leaned into it before butting his jaw with her forehead and tearing off in a sprint. Then she ran, and ran hard. Wolves were built for distance, and lions weren’t, so she wasn’t sure if Wren would be able to keep up, but he had no problem ghosting her for as far as she ran. Several times he bumped her shoulder, adjusting her course, and she knew it was his way of showing her the perimeter of his territory, which was much larger than she’d expected. They’d all gone out on runs together, but that had been to stretch their legs, not really to get a good feel of Wren’s territory.

  An hour later found them approaching a stream. Ryka heard the water well before she ever saw it, and her gut clenched with the memory of the last time she’d been at a river. Beside her, Wren tensed and looked from the water to her. His lion took a step back and made to turn, but Ryka bounded past him and slowly padded to the water where she drank deeply. She refused to let Marill ruin water for her. She loved to swim. It’s what she’d been doing the night he and Larsen ambushed her and tried to drown her. She’d survived, and she would not let him keep fear in her.

  Wren approached her side slowly, scenting her throat before his lion was satisfied that she was okay and lowered his muzzle to drink deeply. Ryka watched him a few moments before walking further out into the water where it slowed to a near non-existent trickle. She lowered her snout to drink again, ears pricked for any noise or sudden movement. The moon hung full and round above them, and crickets chirped all around. While much of Ryka’s earlier anxiety had waned, it had now been replaced with an achy need that flourished every time she looked at Wren. And, she couldn’t seem to stop looking.

  Glowing golden eyes tracked her every movement as she walked further up the creek where it looked deeper, and when she got to a drop off, she backed up before looking over her shoulder at Wren. His eyes were still on her, so she looked back at the creek and dove into the deep part. Underwater, she shifted, and when she breached the water, it was in human form.

  Wren had shifted too, and like her, he hadn’t regenerated clothing. As he stalked into the water after her, his big, erect dick bobbed with each step as he approached. Her eyes slid down to his manhood, then jerked up when Wren growled, “Keep looking at me like that, Ryka, and I won’t be responsible for what I do.”

  She backed up a step and stumbled right off the drop, going under with a yelp before coming back up just as quickly, Wren’s arm wrapped around her waist as he hauled her to him. Without thought, her legs went around his waist and her arms wrapped around his neck. He carried her to the edge where he found a rock and settled with her still clinging to his front. She could feel the hard bar of his erection under her ass, but didn’t comment on it.

  “You feeling better?” he asked.

  NO! “Yes,” she lied, but now she was feeling all achy on top of her muddled emotions.

  His nostrils flared, and his eyes narrowed on her. “R
yka?” he admonished.

  “The run did help. Thank you for that.” But the restlessness was still there, and her wolf was still riding her hard to claim what was theirs.

  “But something’s still bothering you.”

  Her brows furrowed as she debated telling him.

  “Come on,” he prompted. “You can talk to me.”

  Resolved, she finally looked up at him. “I think we should mate.”

  His hand had been gliding leisurely up and down her thigh, but stopped at her words.

  “I mean,” she rushed on, “Seven and Lux seem happy, and Ash and Liddick are getting close. Plus, I know it’d mean a lot to the girls if I tried to make this work. Maybe we should give it a shot.”

  She’d anticipated one of several reactions from Wren, but none of them included the angry frown that thinned his lips and dipped his brows. Reaching up, he unhooked her hands from behind his neck and lifted her off his lap before he set her on her feet and walked away from her.

  “It’s not happening like that, Ryka.”

  “But…” She shook her head as her delicate brows dipped down. “Don’t…don’t you want me?”

  “More than I want my next fucking breath! I want you in so many ways…” He shook his head. “I want to do such dirty things to you, woman, that I don’t even know how to say them.” His frown deepened. “But that’s not how it’s gonna work.”