There was no moon tonight, which suited Kara just fine. She preferred to stay in the shadows. Out in the woods she felt safe, but this close to people made her nervous. Kara had promised Ethan she would wait here under the streetlamp while he gathered supplies, but she longed for the comfortable feel of her pack mates. Only her overriding need to be with Ethan kept her here.
Until she had found him, bleeding and near death, Kara hadn’t realized she needed human companionship. Maybe it was the eyes, or the soft way he spoke to her as she nursed him back to health, but something awoke in her. Perhaps it was the way he accepted the wolves that had been her only companions these last eight years. Could he hear them the way she could?
Footsteps approached and Kara ducked into the shadows, as skittish as a young wolf, ready to bolt. Relief flooded her as she recognized Ethan, and her heart began to flutter with something more.
“Ethan.” she said, a wolfish whimper slipping into her voice.
“I’m here, Kara,” he said, “now and forever.”
She stepped back into the lamp light and looked up into his brown eyes, longing for his touch. Shivers ran up her spine as he brushed a hand across her cheek. Kara nuzzled into Ethan’s chest and felt his love telegraphed through his beating heart.
He was hers, and she his…for life.
It’s the way of the pack.
