“I can feel your heart in my soul.”
Chapter Ten
TJ closed the door to the cabin with reluctance. Neither of them was ready to leave. He turned to see Pam grinning at him, her pack already on her back as they prepared to meet the helicopter. It still seemed impossible she’d taken that final step and accepted him. One day to celebrate being fully mated—it wasn’t enough.
“I should have taken a two-week excursion. Then we could have stayed for another week.”
She held out her hand and he joined her, strolling to the meadow with their fingers linked together. TJ lifted her fingers to his mouth and kissed her knuckles lightly. “While I’d love more time alone, at some point we need to face the real world.”
Oh hell, and there would be some facing to do. Funny though, now that he and Pam were fully mated, he wasn’t nearly as worried to see what the fallout from his actions would be. They truly were together—there was no denying it—and no one could tear them apart. They dropped their packs at the side of the clearing and Pam returned to his arms, resting her head on his chest. She drew a deep breath. “Can we come back here sometime?”
“Definitely.”
He played with her hair as they silently stood together. Ever since they’d completed their mating, he had a solid line on what she was feeling. Compared to how it had been before, the richness and depth was incredible. Like having watched an old-fashioned black-and-white movie on a five-inch screen and now getting Blu-ray, hi-def flashing across a wall-sized monitor.
Right now she was content, and he was going to do everything he could to keep her that way.
“You know we’ve got a bunch of ‘meet the family’ to do, right?” he warned her.
Pam lifted her arms to drape them around his neck. “I think I can handle it. Maggie and Erik won’t be back yet, but I’m not afraid to meet your brother, or his wife, more formally. Or anyone else I need to see.”
TJ kissed her, unable to resist one more dose of her taste to bolster him. It was going to be an interesting day, if nothing else.
The sound of the chopper reached them long before they spotted it in the distance, and she clung to him for a second, squeezing him tight. “I know we’ve got a ton to figure out, but, honestly? It’ll all work out. I’m sure it will.”
“Of course it will.” Her faith became his faith, and together, there was nothing they couldn’t do.
Shaun landed, his grinning face peering out the window. They tossed their packs into the passenger area and scrambled after them, strapping themselves in and quickly donning headsets. They lifted off and Pam hung over him to gaze back at the cabin and lake as they swung around to return to Haines. Her body was warm and soft against him, and he wrapped an arm around her to keep her close.
“Well, I don’t have to ask if you had a good time.” Shaun’s voice cut in over the headset. “Congratulations, both of you.”
Pam glanced at TJ in surprise. He pressed the talk button to explain. “The wolf sense of smell. Shaun can tell we’re mates.”
“He can tell…” She flushed. “Okay, maybe I’m not so ready to meet your pack as I thought.”
TJ grabbed her hand and squeezed.
Shaun spoke again. “I need to give you the scoop. I managed to stay off your big brother’s radar for the past week, but I got a direct order from my Alpha in Whitehorse to report to him as soon as I get you two home safe. Which is fine, since that means I won’t have to face Keil.”
TJ swore. “I didn’t intend to get you in trouble when I asked for help.”
“Hey, no worries. You would have done the same thing for me if you could. You’re a good friend, TJ, and it’s nice to have been able to assist you two lovebirds. I don’t think my Alpha will give me shit—he’s a romantic at heart. Makes us watch bad chick flicks during pack meetings, yada yada.”
“Still, let me know if you need me to come and talk to your Alpha. I have a feeling I’ll be explaining myself constantly for the next while.”
Shaun held a thumbs-up. “Anyway, I contacted your pack via email to let them know I’d drop you at the airstrip. Someone should be there to pick you up. I’m afraid you’re on your own after that.”
Pam’s hand in his was all the reminder he needed. “I’m never going to be alone again.”
She leaned against him and used the headset. “So, the shit is about to hit the fan, is it?”
“Don’t know why it should. You’re not going to call the cops and have me arrested, right?”
“I am the cops.”
They grinned at each other.
A beige minivan stood at the side of the airstrip—Tad and Missy’s vehicle—and TJ breathed a sigh of relief. The pack Omegas would be the perfect people to talk to first. TJ passed down the packs to Pam then squeezed Shaun on the shoulder. “Thanks again for everything.”
“Hey, give me a second.” Shaun twisted in his seat to face TJ. “You know what? I think they’re going to be very surprised when they meet you, your brother and the rest of them. You’ve changed. Something happened to you and you’re more than the wolf I dropped off a week ago.”
TJ frowned. “What do you mean?”
Shaun shook his head. “Not sure, but let’s put it this way, I doubt I could order you to do anything for me anymore.”
Fuck. “Really?”
“Really.” Shaun winked at him and turned back to his instrument panel. “Now get out of here, your mate is waiting for you.”
TJ joined Pam on the tarmac and they shouldered their packs, heading toward the van. TJ’s mind spun. Shaun couldn’t order him around? Shaun had always outranked him—heck most wolves seemed to outrank him. Not that they made a big deal of it, but usually he was “the younger brother of the Alpha” and otherwise not very interesting to most of the pack.
Tad stepped from the van and popped the hatch. Then he stood back and looked them up and down while they piled their backpacks into the vehicle. His wry smile was somewhat reassuring.
“Welcome back. And welcome to the pack, Pam. Congratulations on your mating.”
Pam tugged on TJ’s sleeve. “Everyone knows on sight we’re mates. This is going to take some serious getting used to.”
TJ opened the passenger door for her and helped her in. “I said there were things that were hard to explain—you kind of have to experience them to understand.” He scooted into the backseat.
She turned to answer Tad who had crawled behind the wheel. “Thanks. You’ll have to warn me if I do something wrong. You’re the pack…Omega, right?”
Tad nodded. “TJ explained a little about how wolves operate?”
“Yeah, he explained a lot. That doesn’t mean much until I see it in motion. Bottom line, I didn’t plan on joining any country clubs, I just…”
“We just want to be together.” TJ eased forward between the seats, laying a hand on Pam’s arm.
“Well, together is great and all that, but I hope you’re ready to face the music. Robyn’s been walking around all week like a thunderstorm ready to happen, and Keil got back half an hour ago and he’s brewing up a storm as well. Missy is trying to settle them both down before we arrive, but we’ll see how well it works.”
“They’ll have to get over it.” The words were braver spoken than the pit in his stomach acknowledged. Pam glanced over her shoulder and a breeze-like sensation brushed him. She pictured them sitting together, him making music, her admiring the scenery. She gave her calm to him and he pulled her fingers to his lips. He kissed them softly then whispered, “Cool trick.”
She grinned. “I think I’m getting the hang of this.”
Tad hmmed. “This is very interesting. I can read you, TJ, like I normally can, but Pam—it’s like she’s wolf and yet not. I had no idea you were able to share emotions in a mating between humans and wolves.”
“But you haven’t been a full wolf for long, have you?” Pam asked.