“It’s not much,” she says. “Just the essentials. Callie’s packing the rest of Lena’s books she left here.”
I drop the basket on the bed. “Not just the essentials. This isn’t a weekend away. Bring it all. Come on.”
“I don’t have a lot,” Avery says as I usher her back inside.
“We’re taking everything,” I insist. “And whatever you don’t have, I’m getting for you.”
“I find it best not to argue with him when he’s like this,” Callie says. “He’s stubborn.”
“Oh, I know it,” Avery responds fondly.
It doesn’t take more than an hour to get everything loaded in the truck. Callie chats Avery’s ear off on the ride back to the lodge, planning a girls’ weekend with her sisters. Liam takes off once we get her stuff inside. Callie spots Taryn across the commons and skips over to join her friend. Beatrix is at lessons and Lena’s reading at Alma’s while she naps the afternoon away.
It leaves me alone in my den with my mate.
“We can put all this away later. Want a drink?”
“Sure.”
I take her hand and bring her to the lounge. The room where I like to relax is decorated with cushy leather furniture and dark accents. I get us two glasses and pour us each a finger of whiskey.
Avery strolls around the room. She’s been here before when her dad was the pack beta.
She moves a pillow from a couch to an armchair by the fireplace, then rearranges the stack of quilts in the basket beside it, flinging two from the pile. When she’s finished, she emits a little grumble and goes back to drag the armchair to the opposite side of the fireplace.
I rub my chest, my wolf growing excited. My mate is nesting. Viewing the lodge as her den, making it just how she likes it.
“Those blankets need to go. They don’t smell right. And this.” She points at the couch. “This needs to move. It’s all wrong.”
“Tell me where you want it.”
She peeks at me. “You don’t mind?”
“Nope. I’ll spend all night moving anything you want. It’s your home, mate. If you’re not happy with it, then I’m not either.”
Her lips twitch with a hint of a smile. “Okay. Can you pull it this way, please?”
“Like this?” I hoist it by the leather armrest and adjust it.
She bites her lip, tilting her head. She shakes it, moving around to study the room from a different angle.
“No, it needs to be more towards the window. Can you—?”
I nudge the furniture, watching for her cue. She relaxes, relief smoothing her pretty features.
“Yes. That’s better.”
My wolf purrs. It fulfills him to please her. I’m right there with him.
We move room to room until we make it to my—our—bedroom. This one she has the least to change after spending so many nights here. I didn’t realize it before, but she’s been making this space her own bit by bit.
34CADEN
The Pack Summit comes after the first decent snowfall on Silver Mountain.
I spend the week before we leave checking and double checking my proposal, dragging Liam along the perimeter line daily, issuing new patrol routes for scouts, and taking the entire enforcer roster through drills to ensure the pack’s safety while I’m away.
There’s no sending a pack representative in my stead, an alpha must be present. I’m worried about leaving the packlands when things have been strained amongst my people. Lorne’s bullshit has been simple enough to thwart when it was only him and my uncle disapproving of my rules, but now he’s created fractures that could easily snap.
They’ve been quiet after I stripped his rank, but my gut tells me things aren’t over with the trouble they’ve caused.
Avery reassures me when she wanders into my office late in the evening and settles in my lap that everything will be fine—the pack under Hodge’s watch while we’re gone and the summit we’re traveling to.
Each Alpha is allowed three enforcers to accompany their group. Liam and two of our older lieutenants from my father’s time, Angus and Benedict, are with us. We also bring a small handful of appointed volunteers from each pack to manage the welcome feast. Taryn landed herself a spot on that list weeks ago with another one of her stunts. It makes Callie happier compared to her usual boredom being dragged to these gatherings.
The journey isn’t far for us, roughly half a day’s run from Silver Mountain. Other packs venture from the edges of the region to meet in the central location deep in the forest. Rather than drive until the roads end, we shift, able to cover more ground faster. Our clothes are divided amongst us in packs we sling over our wolves’ backs. When we’re close, we give up our fur.
We arrive at the summit’s neutral grounds, snow giving way to a magically preserved oasis untouched by cold seasons as we pass through towering archways with greenery wrapped around the columns. It’s sacred land that belongs to no pack.
Stone structures and temple ruins blend seamlessly with the ethereal forest. Vegetation grows freely over the buildings, and the pavilions and gazebos open to the nature surrounding them with many windows, or no roofs in some places to welcome the stars.
Avery halts, taking it in with a gasp. “This is beautiful.” She touches the leaves of a drooping vine crisscrossing between the trees overhead. “Is this heaven? I feel like I’ve walked into paradise.”
My gaze softens at her wonder. “It’s enchanted.”
“Wait until you see the guest quarters,” Callie says. “You’ll love them.”
“Are they luxurious?” Taryn gets a dreamy look on her face. “I hope the beds are big.”
Liam prods her back. “You’ll be with the other volunteers sleeping in the common chamber.”
Taryn hangs her head with a groan. “That’s boring.”
“Should’ve thought of that before you were caught stealing extra food from the kitchen stores in the middle of the night.”
“I was hungry!”
They glare at each other. Liam folds his arms, uncompromising.
“Sneak out later. We can bunk together,” Callie whispers to her.
“I heard that,” Liam grumbles.
Avery laughs. “You two bicker worse than pups fighting over the same toy.”
“Tell me about it,” I mutter.
We follow the winding path to the main hall. Its flagstone veranda sprawls from the large arched entrance. Twin fountains with wolves spouting water from their howling mouths decorate either side.
As hosts for the event this time around, Timber Hollow Pack’s alpha and his family greet the traveling parties as we arrive. Alistair Ryan stands tall and proud, his beard peppered with gray. Regina, his mate, and their oldest son, Atlas, join him.
“Caden. Welcome,” Alistair says jovially.
“Alpha Ryan. It’s good to see you.” We clasp forearms in greeting.
“When you sent word of your changed status and that you’d be arriving with your mate, it surprised us.” He chuckles. “I recall you once denouncing the need to ever take one during your training time in Timber Hollow Pack.”
I slide the hand resting at Avery’s lower back around her waist, pulling her against me, possessiveness and pride expanding within me. My wolf puffs his chest out.
“I was an idiot,” I say plainly.
Avery chokes, clearing her throat. She flashes me a sardonic look that tugs on my heart. My eyelids grow heavy at the hint of her scent, warm and sweet with her tender affection.
“This is Avery Blackburn.”
The bond throbs, surprise and delighted pleasure rushing from her end. It’s the first time I’ve introduced her with my name. From the moment I marked her with my claim, she became mine in every way.