The three wolves regarded each other from a distance before the other two turned and ran into the forest. Jensgar presumed they were returning to the pack. He was thankful for all the people watching out for his mate when his dumb ass dropped the ball.
The sun was setting and he was running out of time to find Lily in the daylight when it was less likely he’d surprise her. Of course, she would scent his approach, but if she didn’t want to see him, he didn’t relish chasing her. He wanted to give her a lot of distance to get used to his presence before moving in closer. Following her scent, he tracked her to what appeared to be a series of small caves. Had Lily been living in one of them? Her angry growl was his answer.
Jensgar froze to the spot checking and rechecking the thick foliage around him. How had he not realized that this small section of the valley was lusher than the rest? Obviously, Lily’s magic was working on the plants in the area, creating large blooms and thick green leaves. It was gorgeous, but frustrating. It limited his ability to scan the area for his mate.
A second growl sounded, helping him to narrow down the spot until he finally caught sight of her omega jewel flashing in an array of colors. None of which were happy and bright.
Lily was pissed and Jensgar couldn’t blame her. He lowered himself to the ground, indicating he would submit to her will. With her wolf already agitated, he didn’t want to appear to be a threat.
Her blue eyes shone bright against her pure white coat as she inched out of her canopy of green. He lowered his head to his paws, hoping she would come closer, but she stopped several yards away.
As they remained unmoving staring at one another, he desperately wished he could hear what was running through her mind.
Then again, perhaps he didn’t want to know.
***
What for the love of the gods is he doing here? Lily wondered whether this would be the final nail in the coffin of her humanity. She hadn’t completely given up the idea of shifting back, but now that he was here, her wolf was running the show, and she was more than happy to allow it. Her wolf saw things more cut and dried than her human side. Case in point: love, betrayal, pain, anger, and joy warred for supremacy inside her broken heart. Her human side would’ve tilted in favor of love and joy.
Her wolf went with anger.
She growled deeply, flashing her long, sharp canines to get her point across. Jensgar wasn’t welcome here. Over the past couple months she’d carved a new life for herself in the forest. Sure, it was cold at times, and lonely, but it was hers, and no one was going to take it from her. She’d lost her entire family, her home, and the man she’d chosen as her mate.
She would lose no more.
If he’d come here to convince her to shift back and return to Black Ridge he was sorely mistaken. She refused to go through that pain again. With her decision made, she charged forward, claws and teeth bared. This was her home and she’d defend it, mate or not.
As she moved, Jensgar stood and retreated further back into the forest before she could even get near enough to attack. Would she have if he hadn’t gone? Honestly, Lily wasn’t sure. All she knew was that he had to stay away, and she would make certain that happened by any means possible.
Once he was out of sight, Lily returned to her cave assured that she’d gotten her point across. However, that still didn’t answer the question of why he’d come here in the first place. He’d made his choice and she’d been the one forced to live with it.
Lily would never allow her happiness to be dependent on someone else ever again.
Chapter Three
When Aldric reached the outskirts of the village, he separated from Marcus and headed straight for his house. He needed answers, and he needed them now. Having General Jensgar show up wasn’t even on the radar of what Aldric had expected to happen today. As he climbed the stairs of his back porch, he shifted seamlessly into his human form and walked through the back door.
He grabbed a pair of shorts he’d left by the door for his return and headed straight for the kitchen, where he found the usual suspects around the large kitchen island. Helena, Ceva and Amalia sat innocently sipping from bottles of water as he walked in. Orion, his and Helena’s son, was visiting with his grandparents, which left these three free to hatch up the plan that brought Jensgar here.
“So which one of you would like to tell me why the general is poking around Lily?” Aldric asked as he walked up behind Helena and wrapped his arms around her. He could never be truly angry with his beautiful mate. Ceva and Amalia, sure, but never his mate.
“Everything’s under control, Aldric,” Ceva began but quickly stopped when he growled deeply. He knew Ceva didn’t fear him. Hell, she could wipe the floor with any alpha, but she did respect him, so she chose to remain quiet.
“Lily is stuck in that damn forest because of the man you three brought here.” Aldric looked over at Amalia and said, “I’m sorry to speak ill of your father.”
Amalia shook her head then said, “I’m upset with him as well, so carry on.”
“Explain to me how this was a good idea. How this is supposed to help Lily, having the man that rejected her thrown in her face?” Aldric tried, but he couldn’t come up with a single reason the man should be here. Sure, he respected General Jensgar. The man was a fearsome and loyal warrior, but if he wasn’t interested in pursuing anything with Lily, he should have stayed away. Lily needed time to heal.
Helena stood and wrapped her arms around Aldric’s neck, almost distracting him from his purpose. “We’ve discovered a great deal of missing information today, my mate. It helped clear a lot of this up.”
She opened their private link and shared with him the events from hours before when they had visited the Newton pack. Aldric listened to the words the general spoke as if Aldric had been there himself. He felt the emotions and scented the man’s sadness and grief. But most of all he could see the love Jensgar held for Lily.
Those stunning green eyes of his mate’s sparkled with happiness as she spoke. “He’s the best shot Lily has.”
“Forgive me, little one. I should have trusted your judgment of the situation,” Aldric apologized as he ran his hand through her thick hair. “But would you keep me in the loop next time?”
“Of course, my love,” Helena replied. From the gleam in her eyes, Aldric knew this wouldn’t be the last time this topic would be visited.
Admitting defeat, he kissed Helena and turned toward their master suite. He had been out in the forest for days, ensuring nothing happened to the little omega. He was past due for a long, hot shower and then some alone time with his mate.
***
Jensgar shook out his body before walking from under the shelter of a large pine tree only a few hundred yards away from Lily. This position gave him an unobstructed view of her cave opening in case she left, or was threatened.
Although he understood her animosity, it didn’t make it any less painful. He had quite a bit to make up for considering this was his fault. He’d thought letting her go was for the best instead of listening to his heart. A mistake he’d never make again.
Movement to his left caught Jensgar’s eye as he held his body still. Moments later, a fat rabbit hopped from under a nearby bush to nibble on the dew-covered grass. His stomach growled and his first thought was to catch the tasty morsel for Lily’s breakfast. She’d lost weight from the last time he’d seen her in wolf form. He had to make sure she was eating regularly. As soon as the clover distracted his prey, he struck. At the last second, the rabbit dashed away, leading Jensgar on a chase that lasted less than five seconds.
Carefully, he lifted his offering off the ground with his teeth and carried it toward her cave. When he neared, a low growl broke through the early morning mist warning him to come no further. His wolf’s senses were highly developed over hundreds of battles, but even he couldn’t see any part of her in the darkness of the cave.
He laid his offering on a flat rock and backed away. The last thing he wanted t
o do was block her from the food. Once he was a good distance away, he sat on his haunches and waited for Lily to decide how she wanted this to go.
A long while later, moments before he was about to give up hope, Lily slowly emerged from her cave. He watched as inch by inch she made her way forward. She seemed to glow when the sun’s rays touched her pure white coat of thick fur. His wolf whined for their mate but he didn’t want to upset her any further so he remained motionless. Slowly, she neared the rabbit, her brilliant eyes never straying from him.
Both the man and the wolf inside of him urged her to take the food he’d offered. She scented the area before nudging the rabbit with her nose. Jensgar knew she had to be hungry and her few protruding ribs confirmed his suspicion that she wasn’t eating enough. He could see the internal struggle in her eyes, trying to decide whether to extend him a line of trust.
When she wrapped her teeth around his gift and carried it back into her cave, Jensgar wanted to howl his happiness, but refrained. He still had a long way to go to fix his many mistakes.
***
Over the next five days, they’d built up a routine of sorts. Every day, he’d bring Lily more food and every day, he moved closer to the cave opening. At the moment, he was less than fifty feet away from his mate as she warmed herself in the sun. Jensgar had noticed that the foliage and blooms were extending outward now and covered a bigger portion of the surrounding forest. He’d take that and her weight gain as positive signs.
He jumped to his feet when she stood and took off into the forest without warning. He quickly caught up with her, but remained a few lengths behind. She hadn’t growled at him again since that first morning and he wanted to keep it that way. It gave him a great deal of satisfaction to be able to care for her and provide what she needed. He and his wolf were on the same page now. Lily was truly his mate.
He didn’t know why the gods saw fit to give him two mates in one lifetime, but he did accept their gift happily. Jensgar and Lily had had a few visitors in the forest since his arrival. Aldric had been out on numerous occasions the first few days, but those visits were becoming fewer and far between.
Lily turned east and Jensgar followed. The feeling of running with his mate, even if they weren’t side by side, was exhilarating. He remembered feeling the same way the first time they’d gone for a run when they’d arrived at the Newton pack. Laura, Gabi and Lily had wanted to stretch their legs with a run in their wolf forms. He, Dedric and Samson came along to ensure their safety.
In truth, he’d been trying to keep his distance from the beautiful omega, not wanting her to know of the feelings he’d harbored since meeting her. When she ran by his side on her own accord, even going so far as to occasionally brush the side of her body against his, Jensgar felt a contentment he’d only had once in his life. However, before he had a chance to enjoy the moment, bullets started to fly and he was pushing Lily down onto the ground trying to protect her.
Once he had been assured of her safety, he thought the near miss had been a blessing in disguise. With distance came clarity, and it had become clear to him at the time that he had no right to be having the thoughts he had been. Now, that was in the past, and at the moment, he was more concerned about his future with Lily.
The trail opened up to reveal a crystal-clear lake. Jensgar walked to the edge and could see the rocky bottom and a school of fish swimming by. Of course, his wolf thought they looked like a tasty treat and dove right in before he could convince the numbskull that wasn’t what they were here for. When he broke the surface, it was in time to see Lily diving in after him, and his heart soared.
The water was warmer than he thought it would be and he became accustomed to it quickly. Lily began swimming along the shore and Jensgar immediately followed. They soon came upon an outcropping of rocks that she easily climbed before disappearing between two of the larger rocks. He had a bit of a difficult time squeezing his bigger body through the opening, but he managed, and joined her inside a small, steam-filled cavern.
A stream led to a pool of water that sat at the center of the cavern, surrounded by polished rocks worn down by centuries of erosion from water running over their edges. The temperature inside was several degrees warmer. Lily had discovered a small hot spring and was now sharing that with him. His mate never ceased to amaze him with her courage and strength. By giving him this gift, she was announcing that she’d accepted his presence.
Lily shook her wet coat and lay down beside the water to stretch out. Slowly, Jensgar approached, closer than he’d ever attempted before. When he was within ten feet, he stopped and lowered to the ground to the right side of her. Lily’s Omega jewel swirled with color, but at least this time they weren’t quite as dark as when he first arrived.
Soon her eyes closed and her body relaxed into sleep. The trust she was showing humbled him, and he swore never to betray her faith in him.
***
Lily wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she was going to do with Jensgar, but it was obvious he did not intend to leave her behind in the forest. What did he want from her? Was his intent to have her shift back, return to Black Ridge and leave her again? She had many questions that remained unanswered and she knew she’d have to shift to ask. Which wasn’t happening anytime soon.
She did notice that the visits from Aldric had been down to once a day, which made her happy. She didn’t want to interfere in anyone else’s lives. The fact that Jensgar remained over a week confused her. She had thought he’d give it a shot for a few days but would eventually leave. She wasn’t his mate and he had made it clear she never would be.
Now, the wolf in question was less than five feet away from her and snoring loudly. How had she allowed him this close? Why did she share her hiding place in the rocks with him? Wasn’t she setting herself up for more pain? The longer he stayed the more her brain thought up question after question until her body vibrated in frustration.
Slowly, she got to her feet and padded silently out of the cave. Lily needed some fresh air and space to think before she made any rash decisions. Thankfully, Jensgar remained deep in sleep, allowing her to wander out into the forest by herself.
Sure, it was easy to admit that he still held her heart, but what was much harder to accept was the fact that he’d be leaving again once he got her squared away.
The sound of twigs snapping alerted her to someone else in the area. Jensgar must’ve woken up and realized she was gone. Lily turned around and scented the air, realizing her mistake immediately. Instead of his distinctive scent that reminded her of rich leather, she found an almost rancid scent filling the area.
Lily wasn’t sticking around to face whatever it was. By the amount of noise it was making it had to be much larger than her. She turned and began running toward her cave, and whoever was behind her was catching up fast. Out of desperation, she let out a loud howl for help because at this rate she’d never make it back in time. She changed directions often, jumping over logs and around trees in an attempt to throw it off her trail.
All too soon, she got a glimpse of the creature behind her, making Lily run even faster. It was a wolf. A male wolf shifter, and he appeared to be an alpha. However, his bloody, matted fur and black eyes confirmed that he’d lost himself to his beast. When that happened there was no reasoning with him. He was feral, and he drove forward on instinct alone. Lily didn’t know whether the wild wolf shifter wanted to woo her or kill her but she wasn’t hanging around to find out.
She was still minutes away from her cave when her legs were knocked out from under her. Lily crashed into the side of a rock protruding from the ground and heard the unmistakable crack of bones breaking. Her wolf whined out in pain but got to her feet and came face to face with the crazed shifter.
Lily couldn’t distinguish between his pupils and irises. Both were black and soulless. What had she been thinking coming out here all by herself? She was on pack lands—well, the outer edge—and this shifter shouldn’t even be in the area. Littl
e good that did her now when she was face to face with the creature. There was no humanity left in the shifter.
The ground burst with vines as branches from trees bent to her will. If he thought she was an easy target, Lily had a lot to teach him. She could feel her omega stone warming as more and more vines wrapped themselves around the body of the beast. Branches tore at his flesh attempting to drive him back as he lunged forward, scraping his sharp claws across her hind leg. She quickly readjusted and moved further out of reach, but only managed a few feet before backing into the side of a rocky ridge.
Lily looked up but realized the ridge was far too high. He was snapping vines and branches with his sharp teeth and claws, inching his way closer. He clawed at the earth as his mouth began to foam, making it clear he intended to kill her. Suddenly her damaged leg gave out and she realized she’d been losing a lot of blood. The asshole had clawed her deeper than she had thought and the leg could no longer hold her weight.
With no way out and the alpha looming ever closer, Lily wasn’t too sure how she was going to get herself out of this. She cursed herself for not making the most of the few days she’d had Jensgar to herself, even if he refused her as a mate.
Pushing herself further against the sharp rocks Lily waited for the beast to cross the final few inches. She lowered her head to her front paws, not wishing to look upon the crazed animal any longer as she waited for her death. Then, everything stopped. And combusted. The earth wasn’t being clawed inches from her face, but a new battle raged yards away. Jensgar’s golden wolf stood between her and the danger as he fought the alpha back.
Both were bloody when they separated to size each other up. Clouds gathered above them and the forest darkened even further as Jensgar looked her way. Lily tried to stand but her leg was useless; there was no chance of her getting away now. His dark brown eyes held a cauldron of emotions: determination, regret and love shined in their depths before he turned and charged the alpha head on. There was no chance he could physically match the larger alpha—the gods had provided alphas with superior strength and speed to protect their packs.
Lily's Trust Page 3