Free Trust by Viola Rivard Page A

addressed, they had somehow managed to fall into roles as co-alphas of their pack.
    Alder couldn’t pretend taking a mate wouldn’t change things. Hale had a general dislike for humans and had never had any interest in taking a mate of his own. While he doubted his brother would challenge him for Taylor, Alder recognized that her presence would upset their dynamic.
    Following his line of thinking, Lark said, “You can’t have them both. Not with the way Hale is…”
    “I know.”
    It didn’t matter if Hale was tolerant of Alder taking a mate, Alder would never be able to share the territory with his brother, not when he had Taylor, and eventually, pups to consider. He could never let Hale’s erratic behavior jeopardize his family.
    Alder said, “If it comes down to it, there’s a small stretch of land outside of Cain’s territory. He offered it to me a few years back.”
    “You never told me that.”
    He frowned. “I never thought I would want to take him up on it.”
    Taylor made a soft noise, turning her head to the side. She was still sound asleep, but a lock of her hair had somehow fallen into her open mouth. He pulled it away, tucking the strands behind her ear.
    Looking down at her, he thought it was almost comical how much trouble she’d caused him in the few days since they’d met, and how much trouble she was bound to cause him in the weeks to come.
    Lark sighed from the doorway. “I’ve never left the valley before.”
    “I would never force you to come with me,” he said.
    “Are you kidding?” she said. “This place will be a mess with Hale in charge. I’m going wherever you go, boss.”
    His lips twitched. “We’ll worry about that later. For now, go clean up the cabin.”
    Once they were alone, Alder found himself absently stroking Taylor’s hair. She might have been trouble from the start, but for the first time in years, he felt like he was doing more than just going through the motions. He felt that with her, he would have a future.
----
    I t was difficult for Taylor to want to wake up. She was warm and cozy and her pillow smelled amazing. She tried to burrow her head deeper into it, but came up against a sharp pain that had her eyes flying open.
    “Ouch,” she said hoarsely, her hand moving to her forehead.
    Something caught her wrist. Taylor blinked several times before Alder came into focus. Forgetting the pain for a split second, she smiled up at him.
    “Hey, you,” she said.
    His eyes were full of affection, and she almost wanted to look around to see if there was someone else in the room. But those blue and gold eyes were focused squarely on her. It scared her. It thrilled her.
    “Don’t touch,” he instructed, placing her hand down. “You’ve already picked the bandage off twice.”
    Alder reached to grab something from behind her. As he did, she looked around the room.
    While it was clear to her that they were in some sort of cave, it didn’t look like what she’d imagined. She’d been picturing a dark hole in the ground, but the cavern was spacious, about the size of her bedroom, and well lit. It was also pretty clean looking, all things considered.
    Alder handed her a plastic bottle of water and several pills. “Antibiotics and aspirin,” he explained.
    Taylor thanked him, surprised that he had medicine readily available there. She popped them all in her mouth and took a long swig of water.
    “How long was I asleep?” she asked when she was finished.
    “I’m not sure. You fell asleep on the way. You were up for a little while once we got here, but you were asleep again before sunrise.”
    It was strange being informed that she’d been awake when she didn’t remember anything from immediately after they’d escaped from the wolves.
    Taking stock of her condition, it finally occurred to her that she was in Alder’s lap. There was a thin sheet that had bunched up around her waist, but the entire top half of her body was bare and exposed. Her hands