Intellectually, he’d understood that while it wasn’t common, it could happen in such a way—that a wolf could turn around and just know a woman was meant to be his own, without ever having spoken to her, but nothing could’ve prepared him for the impact of that moment. Every cell in his body had sung at the nearness of Lisette’s presence, his senses utterly attuned to her, his body vibrating with the realization that it was her. More than a lover, more than a friend, a mate was meant to be a changeling wolf’s other half and he’d found his.
The soul-savaging fact that she belonged to another … it might’ve stopped the mate bond coming into being, but it did nothing to quiet the mating urge that had gripped him in sharp teeth and held on tight. Deeply intertwined with that urge was a promise so primal, he’d never before given it any thought … a promise of fidelity: A wolf who found his mate only ever shared intimate skin privileges with her.
That promise came from so deep in his wolf’s heart that regardless of the fact Lisette would never be his, he’d been unable to bear the thought of any other woman’s touch, his gut roiling. As a result, it had been close to a year since he’d shared intimate skin privileges—a long time for even a lone wolf, especially a dominant, but he’d had a grip on it. The lack of contact had hurt at times, but it hadn’t been all-encompassing, threatening to blind him.
Then had come Adria and the constant prickle across his skin, the irritation he hadn’t understood until she’d pushed him to ignition point. His c**k hardened at the memory of her coming so wild and hot around his fingers, the ice and crushed berries of her scent intermingled with a dark feminine musk that had acted like a drug on his senses. She’d been right in the clearing. Now that he’d come face-to-face with the vicious lust that had driven his response to her from the start, he couldn’t undo it, couldn’t go back to a time when he didn’t want her, the echo of their explosive encounter taunting him in his dreams.
“Go for it.” Riley’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Felix needs as many warm bodies as he can get.” He pulled up a file on his datapad. “Grab some juveniles on your way down.” A pause. “The males. It’ll keep the maternals happy and make the boys too tired to get into trouble.”
A sudden memory made Riaz grin. “Remember that time Hawke, Coop, you, and I got caught with those films?”
Chapter 10
“THOSE FILMS WERE worth scrubbing the toilets for a month.” Riley’s expression was solemn, in direct opposition to the amusement dancing in his eyes. “I learned a whole lot of things. Still trying to track down a copy of that third film.”
Wolf huffing in laughter, his tension momentarily eased, Riaz went off to grab the misbehaving boys. They groaned at being conscripted, but didn’t protest. Instead, falling in beside Riaz as they ran down at an easy pace, they peppered him with questions about training, the battle, and how best to court girls without it crossing over into forbidden territory.
It was the last thing Riaz wanted to think about, much less discuss, but he didn’t snarl at the lanky young teens—from the way a number of them had been moping around yesterday, they’d obviously already gotten an earful from either the maternals or Hawke, more than likely both.
Pulling on the resources that made him a lieutenant, he answered their questions with blunt truths—there was no use coddling wolf males at this age. Their laughter and friendly ribbing of one another, especially at the occasional embarrassed blush, further calmed the feral wolf inside him, until he was nearly sane by the time he arrived at what had been a wasteland directly after the battle, but was now a hive of activity, hundreds of saplings already set out, ready to be snugged into the earth.
“Shovels.” He passed them out from the stockpile in one corner, then led his group over to Felix, who set them all to digging, the actual planting being done by those the horticultural specialist had trained in how to handle the roots of the saplings. When Joshua showed an interest in the task, Felix paired the juvenile with Lucy, so he could learn to do it correctly.
Surrounded by the scents and voices of his pack, Riaz’s shoulders relaxed that final inch.
The time passed in a burn of muscles, and the moist, rich smell of the earth and of budding, growing things, and he was quietly contented by the time darkness whispered on the horizon. Having sent the younger kids back much earlier, with most of the other helpers following an hour ago, he assisted Felix and the small group that remained tidy away the empty pots, forgotten shovels, and discarded gloves.
“It’s a massive project,” he said, leaning the last shovel inside the temporary storage shed before stepping back so Felix could secure the door.
“It’ll be done faster than you know it.” Door shut, Felix turned to wave off the final truck but for the one he intended to drive up, his features as refined as an aristocrat’s. That classically handsome face, combined with his muscled six-feet-three frame, had made him a successful model while in college. Even now, luxury goods companies chased him to front campaigns, but Felix’s true love was the earth and its flora, his thickly lashed brown eyes bright with satisfaction as he looked out at what they’d already achieved. “Hawke’s going to conscript me helpers on a constant rotation. Six weeks max and we’ll be done.”
Their alpha walked over at that moment, clapping Felix on the shoulder. “Six weeks? Bloody hell, Felix, you’re a drill sergeant in disguise.”
Felix grinned, glancing up to meet Hawke’s eyes for a fleeting second before his gaze skated away, his submissive nature uncomfortable with the eye contact. However, his position in the hierarchy made no difference on this playing field—here, they all took orders from him, because here, Felix was the one who knew what he was doing.