Free Bound to the Alpha: Part Two by Viola Rivard Page A

she shouldn’t have to be punished because of her father. If Cain was Snow’s best chance, then it was selfish of Sarah to try and keep him from going.
    “So I guess asking to go with you is out of the question, huh?”
    Cain’s hand moved to her shoulder, and he pulled her back down beside him. “I am not putting you in danger ever again.”
    She warmed at the protective words, not about to point out that it was impossible for him to keep her safe from everything.
    “I’ll eventually need glasses,” she said. She also wanted to send a letter to her aunt, at least letting her know that she was okay. Since she’d been gone almost a full month, there was really no telling what her family thought by now.
    “We will discuss that in the spring,” Cain said, sounding decisive, even as he began to slip into sleep.
    Spring . Already, they were making plans for the future. It was so surreal, and Sarah could hardly believe it was all happening to her.
    Sure, Cain hadn’t said that he loved her back, but Sarah was okay with that. She didn’t think it was something he said often, if ever, and as both a leader and a father, she couldn’t blame him for being careful about who he permitted into the inner sanctum of his heart. What they had right now was enough for her.
    Light footsteps echoed in the outside passage. Cain had forgotten to blow out the candles, and when Sarah looked towards the doorway, she could see a shadow pacing.
    Whether he had still been awake, or had been woken by the sound, Sarah was unsure, but Cain raised one hand, beckoning the dark figure.
    Sarah chewed at her bottom lip as Caim padded into the room, approaching the pallet in slow, unsure steps. Cain’s son rarely came near her. She knew that father and son spent time with one another away from the den, not just during hunting, but also while Cain patrolled, but he had never approached them in the mornings.
    She wasn’t sure why Caim made her nervous. Maybe it was because in her decision to stay, he was the one thing she hadn’t factored in. It was hard to view him as anything but a little wolf who came and went as he pleased, but underneath that fur was a child, Cain’s son, and if she was going to have a relationship with his father, she couldn’t keep ignoring that.
    Cain held out his free arm and Caim went to it, kneading at the furs before lying down beside his father. He looked so soft, and Sarah wanted to reach out and touch him, but held back. She doubted he would like her touching him, and she didn’t want to ruin the moment between father and son.
    Although she had a lot on her mind, exhaustion quickly overtook her, and Sarah soon drifted into a deep sleep.

Chapter 14
    S arah woke feeling like crap , a sure sign that she had overslept. For a while she lay there, festering in her discomfort, until she realized that the pallet was strangely cold. Blindly groping, she felt around for Cain.
    “My father is gone.”
    It was an unfamiliar voice, but there was only one person it could belong to. Sarah sat up, drawing the furs up around her chest. Caim sat at the foot of the bed, and for the first time since she had met him, he was in his human form.
    Sarah had estimated his age to be five or six, but he was a lot bigger than she’d anticipated. Aside from his black hair, he was like a small replica of his father, and to her embarrassment all Sarah could do was stare at him in wonder.
    Caim’s face was blank as he regarded her, but then his nose flared and his lips twisted. “I do not like your scent.”
    Sarah sniffed herself. She probably could use a bath. “Sorry. Did you say that Cain’s gone?”
    “He left hours ago. To get medicine for Snow.”
    Her shoulders slumped. To herself, she said, “He didn’t say goodbye.”
    “He spent all morning with you.”
    Sarah was a little affronted by his sharp, accusatory tone, and was starting to miss his being just the resident wolf boy. Biting back her irritation, she tried to sympathize