Free Trust by Viola Rivard

away.
    Brushing her hair back, he examined the wound. It appeared to be superficial, but head wounds could be insidious.
    “You’ll need stitches,” he said.
    Taylor groaned. “I hate needles.”
    Alder’s hand drifted down her face. Caressing her cheek with his thumb, he said, “You aren’t afraid of me, are you?”
    She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes. “Are you kidding? You being a werewolf is the best thing that’s happened to me all week. If you hadn’t been one, we’d both be wolf chow right now.”
    Alder wanted to kiss her. No—he wanted to do far more than that. But she was injured and they were still in danger.
    “I’m going to shift again,” he told her. “When I do, I need you to get on my back so I that I can carry you.”
    She gave him a weak smile. “Are you gonna take me back to your den?”
    His lips curved. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
    Alder shifted, though it wasn’t as easy as before. His own energy reserves were running low and his muscles strained with the exertion. He wouldn’t be able to shift again until he fed.
    With their combined efforts, Taylor was able to hobble onto his back. Once she was secure he set out into the forest, going at a fast but sustainable pace. They would have to go a roundabout way to reach his territory without encountering members of Whiteriver again.
    When he did get back to his den, he fully intended on breaking Hale’s nose. After that, as soon as she was well, Alder was going to claim Taylor as his mate.

Chapter Thirteen
    “ Y our mate is rather fierce ,” said Lark.
    His pack mate was standing in the doorway, one hand on her hip and the other holding a slab of meat over her eye.
    Alder gave her a reproachful look. “She’s not my mate. Not yet, anyway.”
    He looked down at the female in question. Taylor was sleeping peacefully in his arms, her head resting against his chest. They had tended to her head wound. As he’d suspected it had appeared far worse than it actually was, but he was still too concerned to sleep.
    They had arrived at his den a couple of hours back. He’d initially brought her into the lower chambers, his instincts driving him to keep her deep within his den where it was safe. Once Taylor had been patched up, he’d become much more reasonable and Lark had convinced him to take her to the upper chambers where it was brighter.
    Morning sunlight filtered into the small chamber from fissures in the ceiling. Taylor’s face was turned into his chest and the light fell on the back of her head, illuminating her red hair.
    “What did Hale do to piss off Silas?” Alder asked quietly.
    In his relief to have Taylor back at the den, he’d almost forgotten the circumstances that had put them both in jeopardy in the first place.
    “No idea,” said Lark. “He’s been gone for three nights now.”
    That explained why Hale had yet to rear his head. It wasn’t unusual for his brother to disappear for days at a time, but it was always when Alder was there to look out for the pack in his stead. It pissed Alder off immensely that Hale would leave the pack leaderless for days.
    “Are you going to leave us?”
    Alder glanced back up at Lark, unsure what to make of the question. “Why would you think that?”
    She nodded at Taylor. Understanding dawned on him.
    Five years ago, when they’d set out to form their own pack, he had assumed that Hale would be the alpha. Although he’d had the size and strength of an alpha male, Alder had never been overtly dominant, not like Hale was. Alder had assumed that he would naturally fall into a beta position in their new pack. He hadn’t.
    Without their older brother Cain to rein in Hale’s aggressive and impulsive nature, it had fallen on Alder to step up and be responsible for the welfare of the pack. Perhaps because of the bond they shared as twins, Hale had never resented Alder for taking dominant position in the pack. While it wasn’t something they’d ever fully