Four
Caden’s paws slipped and slithered beneath him. He clawed at the mud, but there was no way he could gain any sort of purchase. On either side of him, he saw brief flashes of fur and dirt as the alphas skidded to undignified stops alongside him.
His own momentum pushed him on farther, until he finally stopped just short of tumbling into the deep trench. Perched right on the edge of the scar being cut across the field, Caden found himself completely unable to move. All he could do was stare .
Alfred!
The younger wolf was plastered in mud from tip to toe, but that barely registered in Caden’s mind. He’d never seen anything more glorious in his life. The man he loved was unharmed. That was all that mattered.
Panting for breath, he ran his eyes over Alfred’s form. One or two parts of him decided they were willing to believe there were other things that always mattered, beside the fact he was healthy and well, hard at work repairing the damage his lapse had caused earlier in the day. For one, Alfred’s sodden clothes were clinging to his skin in a very interesting way.
As Caden dragged his attention back to the other gamma’s face, Alfred’s eyes went from him to each of the alphas and back again, obviously trying to work out what the hell was going on.
While Caden remained trapped in his lupine form, unable to pull himself together enough to complete a shift, the alphas deftly transformed into their human shapes on either side of him.
“So this is where you disappeared to,” Marsdon said, pushing muddy blond hair out of his eyes.
“You were right,” Alfred said, his gaze now fixed firmly on the shovel in his hands. “It was my fault it overflowed. I should have been paying more attention. So it’s only right that I should be the one who fixes the damage.”
“In the middle of the night?” Marsdon demanded. “Without telling any of your pack where you were going?”
As Caden watched through lupine eyes, Alfred opened his mouth to respond—and no doubt to point out that it was far from the middle of the night, it was barely dusk. Or perhaps to inform the other man it wasn’t exactly uncommon for wolves to leave the house without their alphas’ permission. At the last second, Alfred turned his attention back to Caden.
Their eyes met. Caden held his breath. Alfred lowered his gaze for a second. He seemed to think very carefully before he finally spoke up.
“I’m sorry,” he said, without even the slightest hint of his usual recalcitrant attitude in his voice. “I should have thought about that before I came out here. I didn’t intend to worry anyone. Next time I’ll…” He hesitated for a moment as if he really had to think about what he should have done differently. “Tell someone where I’m going?” he hazarded.
To his left, Caden was vaguely aware of Marsdon opening and closing his mouth a few times. The entirely appropriate response was obviously the last thing he expected to hear falling from his cousin’s lips.
Bennett quickly stepped forward on Caden’s right, to fill in for his baffled mate. “That would be a very good idea. This kind of work can be dangerous to do on your own. It’s always best to have another wolf working alongside you, just in case.”
Alfred slowly nodded his understanding, his eyes politely lowered in due respect for a more senior-ranking wolf. “I won’t make the same mistake again.”
Still sitting in the mud on the edge of the bank, Caden barely held back a whimper as he fought against the desire to leap forward, pounce on Alfred and lick him all over like an excitable little puppy. His tail wagged back and forth in the mud as his enthusiasm got the better of him.
Bennett smiled his approval as he stepped forward again. He ruffled Alfred’s hair as he moved past him to inspect his work. “You’ve done a lot already.”
Alfred said nothing. He didn’t even seem to know how to react to that sort of praise. Caden whimpered very
Caden’s paws slipped and slithered beneath him. He clawed at the mud, but there was no way he could gain any sort of purchase. On either side of him, he saw brief flashes of fur and dirt as the alphas skidded to undignified stops alongside him.
His own momentum pushed him on farther, until he finally stopped just short of tumbling into the deep trench. Perched right on the edge of the scar being cut across the field, Caden found himself completely unable to move. All he could do was stare .
Alfred!
The younger wolf was plastered in mud from tip to toe, but that barely registered in Caden’s mind. He’d never seen anything more glorious in his life. The man he loved was unharmed. That was all that mattered.
Panting for breath, he ran his eyes over Alfred’s form. One or two parts of him decided they were willing to believe there were other things that always mattered, beside the fact he was healthy and well, hard at work repairing the damage his lapse had caused earlier in the day. For one, Alfred’s sodden clothes were clinging to his skin in a very interesting way.
As Caden dragged his attention back to the other gamma’s face, Alfred’s eyes went from him to each of the alphas and back again, obviously trying to work out what the hell was going on.
While Caden remained trapped in his lupine form, unable to pull himself together enough to complete a shift, the alphas deftly transformed into their human shapes on either side of him.
“So this is where you disappeared to,” Marsdon said, pushing muddy blond hair out of his eyes.
“You were right,” Alfred said, his gaze now fixed firmly on the shovel in his hands. “It was my fault it overflowed. I should have been paying more attention. So it’s only right that I should be the one who fixes the damage.”
“In the middle of the night?” Marsdon demanded. “Without telling any of your pack where you were going?”
As Caden watched through lupine eyes, Alfred opened his mouth to respond—and no doubt to point out that it was far from the middle of the night, it was barely dusk. Or perhaps to inform the other man it wasn’t exactly uncommon for wolves to leave the house without their alphas’ permission. At the last second, Alfred turned his attention back to Caden.
Their eyes met. Caden held his breath. Alfred lowered his gaze for a second. He seemed to think very carefully before he finally spoke up.
“I’m sorry,” he said, without even the slightest hint of his usual recalcitrant attitude in his voice. “I should have thought about that before I came out here. I didn’t intend to worry anyone. Next time I’ll…” He hesitated for a moment as if he really had to think about what he should have done differently. “Tell someone where I’m going?” he hazarded.
To his left, Caden was vaguely aware of Marsdon opening and closing his mouth a few times. The entirely appropriate response was obviously the last thing he expected to hear falling from his cousin’s lips.
Bennett quickly stepped forward on Caden’s right, to fill in for his baffled mate. “That would be a very good idea. This kind of work can be dangerous to do on your own. It’s always best to have another wolf working alongside you, just in case.”
Alfred slowly nodded his understanding, his eyes politely lowered in due respect for a more senior-ranking wolf. “I won’t make the same mistake again.”
Still sitting in the mud on the edge of the bank, Caden barely held back a whimper as he fought against the desire to leap forward, pounce on Alfred and lick him all over like an excitable little puppy. His tail wagged back and forth in the mud as his enthusiasm got the better of him.
Bennett smiled his approval as he stepped forward again. He ruffled Alfred’s hair as he moved past him to inspect his work. “You’ve done a lot already.”
Alfred said nothing. He didn’t even seem to know how to react to that sort of praise. Caden whimpered very
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