“Hey, you,” she said. “Aren’t you cold out here?”
The wolf pup spared her a glance. Big though he was, the snow was deep and came nearly up to his chest. Sarah had the urge to pick him up and bundle him under her fur cloak, but she knew that Caim wasn’t a fan of being coddled.
Sensing that she might be there a little while, Sarah sat down, the snow crunching beneath her rear.
“I used to run away a lot when I was younger,” she said, resting her chin on her knees. “I was really good at it, too. One time, my aunt had to call the police. It took them almost a day to find me.”
Sarah stared off towards the river as she thought back to those days. Running away had been one of her many passive-aggressive means of coping with her lack of parents. Now she was beginning to understand how much stress she must have put on her aunt, an aunt who, despite Sarah’s best efforts to push her away, had loved her very much.
She probably thinks I just ran off again, she thought, remembering the fight they’d had before Sarah left. Her aunt had tried to warn Sarah not to go visit her mother, that nothing good could come of dredging up the past. Sarah hadn’t been sure how to explain to her aunt that for her, none of it was in the past. The loss of a parent was a wound that stayed with you forever, never able to fully heal.
Sarah hoped that someday soon, she’d be able to go back to town, if only just to send her aunt a postcard to let her know she was all right.
“I have been gone for much longer than that.”
Sarah was slightly startled to see Caim crouching next to her, but she recovered quickly. Surreptitiously, she removed her pelt and placed it over his small shoulders. He didn’t protest.
“Really, now?” she asked, securing the pelt in a knot under his chin.
Caim nodded his shaggy head. “Last summer, while my father was away, I left for almost three days.” His gaze shot up to hers. “But that is a secret between Hale and me.”
Sarah’s cheeks hurt with her effort not to grin. “I won’t tell.”
“My father is back,” he said, looking away again. “I can smell him on you.”
“He’s waiting for you at the foot of the hill.”
“Hn,” was his only reply.
Absently, she combed her fingers through his hair. “I never really liked running away, you know. It was fun for the first couple of hours, but after that, I missed being home, missed my family.”
He frowned. “Then why did you do it?”
She gave a slight shrug. “I guess for me, it was never about running away. I just loved being found.”
Caim considered her for a moment, his shrewd amber eyes taking her measure. Finally, he asked, “Can we see my father now?”
Chapter 9
When she woke the next evening, Sarah stayed very still, so as not to throw up. She lay on her stomach, smiling as she watched the two wolves play.
Caim was tiny compared to his father, but it didn’t stop the tenacious pup from trying to wrestle Cain into submission. It was rare to see them both so at ease.
Sarah was glad she’d been able to have a private hour with Cain. After they arrived back with Caim, the alpha had been bombarded with a laundry list of issues that his pack mates had been stockpiling.
When it was finally time to go to sleep, Sarah had tucked Snow in with Lotus and Sable before eagerly heading for her room with Cain. When she got there, Cain had already fallen asleep, his son sprawled out beside him. A little disappointed, Sarah had settled down next to her mate.
To her surprise, Caim had gotten up then, circling the pallet twice before laying down in the narrow space between herself and his father. Sleeping next to Caim was pretty much like sleeping next to a big dog, but Sarah couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so soundly.
Sarah took a deep breath through her nose, trying to dispel her nausea. The sound drew the attention of the wolves, and they both shifted to be at her side.
“Are you all right?” Cain asked, helping her to sit up.
“Just a little sick,” she said, brushing him off. “It’ll pass.”
Cain pulled her into his lap and began to rub her back. The gesture was sweet, so she didn’t tell him that the movement only made her feel sicker.
“Are you sick often?” he asked.
“Only when I wake up. And before I eat. And after I eat.”
Cain chuckled. “That is a good thing.”
“So everyone keeps telling me,” she grumbled, placing her head on his shoulder.
“Be careful,” Caim said, sitting down beside them. “She might throw up all over you. She did it to Sable.”
While Cain laughed, Sarah shot his son a disgruntled look. “I didn’t throw up all over her. It was just a little in her hair. Who even told you about that?”