Her eyes widen. “Oh. Well, I wasn’t thinking of it that way, but yes. I want to help when people come to me. And teach them what I know so they can help themselves.”
“You’ve done more than that.” I cover her hand with mine. “Helping Nina get away from Trent. The job rotations overhaul. Keeping an eye on the food allotments to ensure they’re fair.”
She’s smiling now, pleased and shy. “I wanted to help her before, but I didn’t have the power to change anything. Not until now. The rest isn’t a big deal. Some females like Emily and Seline didn’t like that they always ended up assigned to laundry or kitchens and told me they were interested in being trained to do electrical work with the maintenance crews.”
I add another helping of sausage to her plate. “They feel safe coming to you. They put their trust in you. I’m glad to see it.”
Together we’re working to make our pack a strong, happy community. I thought I had to do it all on my own, but now I see. Leading a pack isn’t a duty for an alpha to bear on their own. I needed her at my side, to anchor me, to make me better. It doesn’t matter what lies ahead for Silver Falls Pack, we’ll face it together and overcome anything.
The change in my attitude hasn’t gone unnoticed amongst the pack. I asked Liam while we were on patrol why the requests stacked on my desk have doubled. He laughed so loud it startled birds from their perches in the trees. According to him, the word is that I’ve mellowed out now that I’m with my fated mate.
After breakfast, Avery goes up to her cottage. She’s getting it ready to convert into a workshop. I’m not able to stay away from her for long. I get through my morning duties as quickly as possible, then head up to bring her the tart berry turnovers she’s always liked and the gift I’ve been crafting in secret.
New paths are being carved by the teams I commissioned for the project, expanding the roads for the upper packlands to be easier to navigate. It takes me half the time to reach her place.
I find her inside, stocking the shelves I’ve expanded along the other walls with tins of salve. The bed’s been moved into her room to make space for a storage bench and a larger counter to replace the table.
“What are you doing all the way up here, Alpha Blackburn?” she teases.
Warmth flows through me. I hold up the pastry. “I thought you’d like some of these. Alma made a batch today and I told her to set aside some for you.”
“Thank you.”
She takes some with the same gusto she’s always had when it comes to these when we were growing up. I enjoy watching her tiny shiver of bliss when she pops the bite in her mouth with a hum.
“I have something else for you. A surprise I’ve been working on whenever I have a minute.”
She lights up. “What is it?”
I tilt my head to the door. “Come see. I left it outside.”
She follows me. I cover her eyes before we round the corner. Her laughter is airy and her fingertips graze my forearms.
“Watch your step,” I say.
“Hard to do when you’re blindfolding me,” she says airily.
“I’ve got you. Ready?”
“Yes.”
I drop my hands. The wooden sign rests against the house. The plants were the hardest part to carve in the design. I used a primrose as the main motif. It always makes me think of her whenever I spotted it growing wild in the last couple of months.
“Caden.”
Her voice thickens with emotion and she covers her mouth with her hands. I slide an arm around her waist.
“You like it? I wasn’t sure if you wanted to make it yourself, but when I asked Lena and Bea, they thought it was a good idea.”
“I love it. It’s perfect.” She burrows into my side for a tight hug. “Thank you.”
I kiss the top of her head. “I’ll hang it for you.”
“Then I’ll be officially open for business.”
While I get to work, she takes clippings from her garden and fills a basket with herbs. I head in once the sign is hung above the porch declaring the cottage her apothecary and herbal shop. She’s on a stool to reach the rafters with a length of twine between her teeth and a bundle of rosemary sprigs, hanging it with her collection of drying plants.
“Ready to go home?”
She hops down with a smirk and returns to her workbench, giving a sassy sway of her hips that snags my attention. I step into her while she works, kissing her temple.
“Thinking about getting me into bed already?”
“I always want you in my bed. But more than my bed, the lodge is your home. You know that, right?”
She fusses with the bundle of sage she’s preparing to hang for drying, head bowing. My nose twitches with the change in her scent. It sharpens with bitterness, putting me on edge. She’s nervous, but why?
“What’s wrong? Have I said something to upset you?”
“No. It’s not that I don’t want to be at the lodge. It’s—you’ll think it’s silly.”
I rumble, hugging her tightly to take away her worries. “No I won’t. Whatever it is, tell me, mate. You can tell me anything.”
She spins, eyes shimmering. “Of course I want to be with you. And providing the best for my sisters is always a priority for me. They’ve really enjoyed spending time with Callie and being more integrated in the pack. They come up here way less than I do now, and they’ve pretty much moved into the lodge.” She sighs, rubbing her forehead. “Part of me is reluctant to move out of the cottage. Like I’m losing it if I leave.”
My heart twists. My wolf grows agitated and panicked, scratching at the veil between us. He senses she’s distressed and wants to protect her. I pull her close.
“You were in survival mode for years. This is your cave. The safe space you carved out for yourself. You won’t lose it. I’d never take this from you.”
She huffs, snuggling against my chest. “I know. See? This is why it’s silly. I know you aren’t. You’re helping me convert it into my shop.”
My lips brush her head. “You don’t have to move into the lodge if you’re not ready. Or if you’d rather, I… There’s a cabin I’ve held—it’s near the commons off the main road. You’d have everything… I mean, until—if—you wanted…”
She quiets me when I struggle to finish the alternative suggestion. “No. I want to be wherever you are. Forever.”
I blow out a relieved breath, the tightness in my chest unraveling. “Thank fuck.”
“When you said that, I think it finally helped me realize what I need.” Her smile is equally soothed. She surveys the room. “Can we do it today?”
“Right now. Give me twenty minutes. Start packing.”
I kiss her, then I’m out the door, shifting to my fur the minute I’ve shed my clothes to race for reinforcements.
When I return in my truck, I have Callie and Liam riding with me to help move everything.
“Avery!” Callie bounds up the steps. “Caden says you’re finally moving down to the lodge officially!”
Liam comes around the truck while I drop the tailgate. “You’re going all domesticated on me.”
I grin. “I’m a mated man. Trust me, if you ever find yours, you’ll see how blindly you’re walking around until they smack you right in the chest.”
I illustrate it by thumping his sternum. He grunts, shaking his head with a smirk.
“Nah, I’m good. That True Mate shit’s not for me.”
“You say that now.”
Avery comes out with a basket overflowing with clothes and pushes it into my arms. My world reorients as it always does when she’s near.