Raleigh left the building and walked for perhaps half a mile, then began to circle around the mountain. He figured anyone just wanting some fresh air and not going to a specific place likely wouldn’t go more than half a mile from the building. As he walked, he took deep breaths, enjoying the pure mountain air, the bright sunshine, and the freedom to go hiking in the daytime if he wanted to. He suddenly realized that it was a very long time since he’d gone outside just for the hell of it. Mostly when he went somewhere it was to complete a specific task, like when he’d tracked back the way Andorra had arrived here.
I really must get outside more often.
Raleigh whistled a tune as he hiked gradually west, then curved south and east again. Ahead of him was a large rocky outcrop. He walked to the right of the rocks, staring up at them as he passed. They were quite climbable either for a human or a wolf, so he scrambled over some rocks at the bottom and made his way to the top. There was a good view over the side of the mountain from here. He stood still and stared off into the distance, mentally picturing the various towns in each direction. All of them were several days’ travel from here on foot, and the best part of an hour by helicopter by the time getting from the airfield to the place he wanted to be was taken into account.
That was one of the best things about living here on the mountain. Unless there was a whiteout in winter, although they were far from anyone and quite safe and secluded, they also were never more than an hour or two from civilization. There was no way he wanted to live permanently in a city again. Everything he needed was here, or if it wasn’t, it was easy enough to go get it and bring it here. The only thing that had been missing from his life was his mate, and now she’d come to them. Kingston would surely realize that quite soon now. Within a day, Raleigh thought. Kingston would see there was no fault in Andorra, she was everything they wanted and needed.
Raleigh sat down on the top of the rocky outcrop and thought about the future. First they had to show her their wolves. He really didn’t think she’d run away screaming, but it would have to be handled sensitively. It would be one occasion when her commitment had to be unpressured. No Master could require a mate to accept him as a shape-shifter. She had to agree willingly by herself. Actually, no forced marriages were legal in shape-shifter law. Unless all parties agreed to a mating, it was invalid.
But Raleigh knew she wanted them as much as they wanted her. And Kingston wanted her as much as he, Raleigh, did. He was just hung up about his wealth and importance. That was a valid concern, but not relevant in Andorra’s case. Raleigh knew she was genuine.
If they all climbed up here she could sit here and watch him and Kingston run around and play in wolf form. Now he needed to find a nice private place where they could mate.
He climbed down and walked all around the rock, then moved out from it in gradually increasing spirals until he found a dozen trees forming a windbreak by the cliff. They’d need to bring a rug to lie on, but that was doable.
He headed back in a straight line for the pack headquarters, to see if a human could walk directly here and how far it was. Not that he expected her to be incapable of the walk. She’d climbed up the mountain for a start. But that didn’t stop him wanting to look out for her and make her life smoother. Once she was his he’d do his very best to smooth all the pathways in her life. While holding her in his arms and fucking her every night.
All he had to do was convince Kingston. When would he finally let his guard down completely?”?
* * * *
Kingston paced around his apartment trying to look at it with fresh eyes. When he’d decided to use the headquarters as his home to avoid constantly being chased by people he didn’t want to see, he’d refurbished it a bit. The bed was more than big enough for three, and one entire wall in both the living room and the bedroom was closet space. But he found now he was here he had no need for many things he’d considered indispensible in the past. The tuxedos and dress suits were pushed into the far corner of the closet and his jeans, T-shirts, and sweatshirts were in the center for easy access. Athletic shoes or boots were on his feet instead of any of his dress shoes.
He was so much happier here. It wasn’t just the crisp, fresh air, or the peace and silence, although he appreciated all of those things. It was the ability to sit at his computer and think through his plans and ideas without a million interruptions. He got far more work done in a business day up here than he’d ever managed in an office. He’d assembled a team around him that he trusted completely, and left the staffing of the branches to his branch managers. Some only hired shape-shifters, others had a mix of staff. As long as the branch ran smoothly without trouble and made a decent profit he was happy to let them manage their own programs.