Page 117 of Vicious Luna
She grins from ear to ear, dropping them back inside before leaning in to smack a kiss on my lips. “I love it,” she declares, hugging the bag to her chest. “And I loveyou, Cameron Knox.”
“Love you too, beastie,” I murmur, stealing another kiss.
Avery reaches past me to set the bag down on top of the dresser, frowning. “Now I feel bad that I didn’t get you anything,” she mutters.
“Don’t,” I reply, my heated gaze raking up and down her form. “The only thing I want is to get you outta that dress at the end of the night.”
“Well that’s definitely happening now,” she purrs.
“It wasn’t before?”
“Eh, fifty-fifty,” she teases, winking at me as she spins around to head for the door. “C’mon, it sounds like most of the pack is here already.”
I catch up to Avery in a few long strides, following her through the bedroom door and out into the hall. Her hand slips into mine as we start descending the stairs, and as soon as we reach the bottom, we’re bombarded with greetings from her pack members. She makes several introductions before Madd spots the two of us and waves us over to join him and Sloane, whistling to get the attention of the crowd and starting in on pre-run announcements.
“I’m sure a lot of you have noticed there’s a new face amongst us tonight,” he says, curious stares pinging in my direction. “This is Cameron Knox, and he was instrumental in helping us eliminate the hunters. He’s got blood ties to the Denver pack, but he’s requested to join ours. He’s Avery’s fated mate.”
The crowd erupts in excited chatter and Madd raises ahand to silence them. “You’ll all get a chance to meet him after the run, but for now, let’s just make him feel welcome, eh?”
A chorus of whoops and cheers breaks out, Avery’s hand clasping mine tighter as the two of us bask in the praise and acceptance of her pack. Our bond hums contentedly in my chest, my inner wolf pressing forward with more urgency. I’m not sure if it’s the full moon or the sheer amount of energy in this room, but when Madd finishes his announcements to the pack and leads the charge to go outside and begin the run, I’m all too eager to follow.
Avery gave me the rundown on the order for shifting, and as soon as it’s our turn, I don’t just unlock that cage in my mind. I smash it to pieces, my inner wolf surging forward as the last of my mental barriers come crumbling down. My shift is smooth and fluid, and as soon as my paws hit the earth, I throw back my head with a howl of victory. Avery howls right alongside me, then the two of us tear off into the forest, running side by side through the trees.
It took me a while to come to terms with what I am. At first, I wanted to turn it off somehow; to deny the existence of my animal side and go on being human. Now, running under the light of the full moon with my mate beside me and an entire wolfpack at my back, I finally get it.
All my life, it felt like something was missing, but I could never put my finger on what it was. It’sthis. My mate. My pack. Giving myself over to my true nature and embracing who I really am; who I was always meant to be.
Adrenaline courses through my veins as my legs pump faster, the cool breeze ruffling my fur and the earthy scent of the forest enveloping me. I’ve never felt more wild and free; lighter than fucking air, despite the massive size of my wolf. Avery stays right beside me, the two of us like a single unit. Equals in every way.
Her voice suddenly slips into my head through the mind-link forged by our sealed bond, her wolf nipping mine playfully.‘Let’s see if you can catch me this time, warden,’she challenges, pulling ahead as she abruptly picks up speed.
I chuckle back through the mind-link, running faster to catch up.‘Count on it, Luna.’
50
THREE WEEKS LATER
“You comin’ down to the field, Aves?” Lo asks as she and Sloane walk side by side through the hallway of the squad complex, advancing toward me.
“Yeah, I’m just looking for Cam,” I reply, glancing past them down the hall. I’m assuming they’re coming from the IT hub, and the new command center for the hunter taskforce is right across from it; a former meeting room that we’ve converted into the headquarters for our new squad division. “Is he in there?”
“Yep, Madd too,” Sloane confirms. “They looked busy, so I didn’t want to interrupt them.”
“You’re a lot more polite than I am, then,” I chuckle, breezing past my friends. “We’ll see you out there!” I call back to them over my shoulder.
Continuing on down the hall, I slow as I reach the doorway of our division’s HQ, pausing to peer inside at what the boys are up to. Madd’s positioned behind Cam at his desk in the back of the room, leaning in over his shoulder and pointing to something on the computer screen. While they’re talking in voices too low for me to hear, whatever they’re discussing must be good news. Cam says something as heswivels around that has my brother cracking a smile, extending a fist to bump his knuckles against my mate’s. I can’t help but grin to myself while watching their interaction.
As much as I hate to break up such a heartwarming moment, though, we’ve got somewhere to be.
“What are you boys whispering about?” I cluck, stepping through the doorway and striding toward them.
They both snap their heads up like a couple of teenagers who just got caught smoking behind the bleachers, Cam swiveling his chair back around and Madd sidestepping away from his desk. I roll my eyes in response, chuckling under my breath. I don’t know why they can’t just admit they like each other.
Madd has been working closely with me and Cam to get the new taskforce up and running, and despite his usual surliness, he’s definitely been warming up to my mate. I’ve caught the two of them huddled together in the back of the room chatting more times than I can count. I think they’ve finally realized they have more in common besides just me, and if they’d just pull their heads out of their asses, they’d see that this could be the start of a beautiful friendship. But they’re dudes, so of course they’re being weird about it.
“Just checking in on how things have been going,” my brother says gruffly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his athletic shorts.
“And?” I ask, cocking a brow.