Rebecca’s Wolves(10)

Note to self: two cups of coffee before engaging my mate in anything of significance.

He had no idea how this was going to play out. For everyone’s sake, he needed to bide his time for the next twenty-four hours while they hiked, returned to camp, and spent another night in the confines of a small tent.

Besides the fact he couldn’t very well claim her in front of everyone and she had no knowledge of the existence of shifters, his gut still told him it wasn’t time. Perhaps the instinctive feeling was a result of his entire hovering family, but he thought there was more to it than that. The strange uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away.

The second leg of this trip, the five miles to the summit, was arduous. Every year it was the same, but somehow it always felt farther.

Rebecca, true to her word, was up to the task. She was the strongest human Griffen had ever encountered, man or woman. Her endurance was unbelievable from training so hard for her Spartan Race.

The six of them agreed to press forward and not stop to eat lunch until they reached the top.

When they finally arrived, Griffen’s brothers plopped down on a large rock to catch their breath. Rebecca had never been to the peak before though, so she wanted to experience the view.

“Oh my God. This is amazing.” She wandered away from the group as she spoke.

Griffen followed her. He knew the view was amazing. He’d been there half a dozen times. But watching Rebecca experience it was priceless. Her eyes were wide as she turned in every direction to take it all in—the expanse of valleys and pine and fir trees extended in every direction. The lush green of summer replaced the blanket of snow usually seen in every direction during the skiing months. The only sounds were those of smaller animals scurrying around between the trees.

Griffen stepped beside her and inhaled her scent. It had been over twenty hours since he met her. Twenty long hours, knowing he would spend his life with her and wanting to wrap her in his arms and pull her in close. Hell, who was he kidding? He wanted to bury himself inside her and never come up for air.

The line he walked with her was absurd. He hadn’t touched her all day, and he was well aware the reasons were convoluted. She wouldn’t be comfortable with the others knowing she was into him. And Griffen understood that, from her perspective. The craziness was that every one of them knew Rebecca was his mate—except Rebecca.

Griffen had thought all morning while they hiked about how to broach the subject, and he’d come up with nothing so far.

He had time, but only because he had no intention of fucking her senseless in front of his siblings.

Sharon cornered him first thing in the morning while Rebecca was in the restroom and asked him what his immediate intentions were. He hadn’t been able to answer. How could he explain the weird feeling he had that the stars were not completely aligned yet?

He had until tomorrow when they arrived back at the cars to come up with a plan. Attempting to explain to his mate that he and his entire family were wolf shifters and she was destined to spend her life with him was not an easy task.

He’d been silent for too long. The urge to engage her in conversation gripped him. He watched her wide gaze scan the area while he spoke. “Legend has it in the Native American culture that spirits roam the peaks of these mountains.”

She turned toward him and smiled. God he loved her smile. “Really? Like creepy scary orbs of light or something?” She giggled, the tinkle of her voice making his cock harder by the second.

He shuffled his feet and shrugged. “Not sure. One of my best friends lives on the reservation, though. He’s told me tales of the mountain spirits. I don’t believe they’re bad omens or anything. They just reside high in the mountains, perhaps keeping watch over everything.”

“Interesting.” If he wasn’t mistaken, her voice was teasing.

Sharon approached and handed them each a bottle of water. “It is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Rebecca spun around slowly, taking it all in for a second time. “Unbelievable. Now I see why you guys hike this every year.”

“Take a second to enjoy it. I’ll go help unpack lunch.” Sharon wandered back to the others.

The sun was high in the sky, and Griffen held up one hand to shield the strong rays from his eyes so he could watch his mate’s face. One long braid lay over her shoulder, blowing in the breeze. He wanted to pick it up and toy with it between his fingers. Her hair looked so soft.

Even after pulling her close last night and tasting her lips, he didn’t have the green light to approach her publicly with any outward demonstrative gestures.

But Lord, he wanted her more now than he had all night and all morning. He loved the look of pure joy on her face. It radiated through her body. She dropped her pack on the ground at her feet, and as she bent forward to unzip a side pocket, he got an eyeful of her cleavage.