Free Head Above Water (Gemini: A Black Dog #2) by Hailey Edwards

pack land , skin crawling under the watchful eyes of unseen wargs, I came to a standstill beneath a massive oak tree that dominated this section of forest.
    “This is as far as I should go.” Dell rested a hand on a wooden slat nailed to the tree trunk. “Are you good with heights?”
    Squinting into the sun, I tilted my head back. Way back. Far above us, I glimpsed the base of a platform built around the thick cedar’s upper branches. “I’m not not-good with heights.” Though this climb might test those limits. “Is this safe?”
    She patted the bark covering his hideaway. “If it held Cord, it’ll hold you.”
    With those words to recommend it, I gripped my first handhold, tested my first toehold and hauled myself up three feet off the ground.
    Only twenty or thirty left to go.
    “You can do it.” Dell popped my bottom and winked at me. “I’ll be right here to catch you if you fall.”
    “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” She might be supernaturally strong and fast, but I would be a hundred and thirty-eight pounds of dead weight if I lost my grip. Huffing out a breath, I found my next grip. “Here we go.”
    I made the rest of the climb in silence. Each step was as sturdy as any ladder, and though the tree had begun claiming the slats, growing over the edges anchored against its trunk, each remained clean and treated. The platform above me, when I reached it, also appeared to be solid and free of mold or warping.
    This, I knew before reaching the top, was Graeson’s sanctuary. Too much care had been taken for it to be labeled as anything else.
    A generous square had been cut where tree met platform, but I hesitated, unsure how to climb through the gap without losing my grip. The concern was wrested from me when a corded forearm, wrapped with cypress ink, extended toward me. I clasped his warm, strong hand and risked gripping a handle near Graeson’s foot. Somewhat certain I wasn’t about to plummet to my grisly end, I half-climbed, was half-hauled up, onto the platform.
    “Give me a minute,” I panted. The exertion wasn’t as bad as my nerves. “This is my first time pretending I’m a squirrel.”
    He squatted before me, hazel eyes heavy with shadows, and brushed a few stray hairs from my eyes that had been annoying me but not enough to chance sweeping them away while on the move.
    “You didn’t have to come all the way up here.” His legs folded under him, and he sat beside me. “Dell could have asked me to climb down to you.” He tapped the side of his head. “Pack bond, remember?”
    No. Actually I had forgotten their two-way head radio in my haste to ensure he was all right. Dell would have remembered, though, and we were going to have a chat about manipulating me into Graeson’s path very soon.
    “Well, I’m here now.” And finding him whole left me full of adrenaline with nowhere to go. “The question is—why are you?”
    “I come here to think.” He swept out his hand. “Elevation lends clarity, or something profound like that.”
    Not once had I peeked down on my way up, and if I hadn’t had the solid reassurance of his body close to mine, I doubt I would have risked it now. But he was here, and I felt safe, so I forced my gaze past him and sucked in a gasp. “Wow.”
    A grin cracked his cheeks. “Wow works too.”
    Tucked away in the verdant canopy, I admired the pack lands rolling as far as the eye could see. Nothing but trees and earth and sky. Glitter in the distance hinted at water, but even that failed to dull my thrill. “I can see why you come up here to—” I almost said escape , “—think.”
    “I built this for Marie when she was maybe three or four. I brought her up here every night, had tea parties, the whole nine yards. This was her favorite place. We held her birthday party right here every year.” He draped his arm over his knee. “She told me seven months ago she was too old for tree houses and wanted me to rent the roller rink in town.”