Page 33 of Anders
Protecting you,Anders corrected.Though, I didn’t know that’s what I was doing at first.I thought you might be a threat.
Etta studied the screens, noting the strategic placement of cameras, the methodical coverage of key locations.And now?
Anders met her gaze steadily.Now I know you’re a victim.But also a survivor.And maybe the key to protecting other packs from whatever organization has been experimenting on our kind.
The certainty in his voice, the absolute conviction, stirred something in Etta.For the first time since her world had shattered, she felt a flicker of hope.
Will you help me?she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.Help me remember?Help me…She paused and swallowed hard.Help me shift?I don’t think I can do this alone.
His expression softened.Yes.
Then teach me,she said.
We’ll start tonight,he said with a nod.Under the moon.
At his words, Etta felt something ancient and powerful stirring beneath her skin.
Perhaps her wolf, awakening after decades of forced slumber?
She shivered at the thought.
I hope I can survive this.
CHAPTER 8
ANDERS LEDETTA TOa small clearing on the outskirts of pack territory.He’d chosen this location carefully—secluded enough for privacy but open enough that she wouldn’t feel trapped.
This is far enough,he said, setting down the small pack he’d brought.No cameras, no surveillance.Just us and the desert.
Etta stood with her arms wrapped around herself, her white-blonde hair catching the fading light.Despite her obvious nervousness, she wasn’t running from what she was—she was facing it head-on.
His wolf approved.Thoroughly.
So,she said, her voice steady despite the anxiety rolling off her in waves,how do we do this?Do I need to…take off my clothes?
At the image her words conjured, Anders’s cock jerked.
Speaking of my wolf approving…
Anders cleared his throat, fighting back his physical response.Not for this first lesson.We’re not attempting a full shift yet—that would probably be too much too soon.
Relief flickered across her face, followed by what might have been disappointment.Then what are we doing?
Understanding pack bonds.Anders settled cross-legged on the ground and gestured for her to join him.Before you can reconnect with your wolf, you need to understand what it means to be part of a pack.
Etta sat opposite him, mirroring his posture.Like a family?
Similar, but more primal.Anders considered how to explain something that had been as natural as breathing to him since birth.Pack bonds are connections that exist onmultiple levels—emotional, psychological, even energetic.They’re what allow us to sense each other, to communicate without words sometimes.
Like when Malcolm and Larissa seem to have entire conversations with just a look?
Exactly.Their mate bond enhances that connection, makes it stronger.
Mate bond?Etta leaned forward slightly, her scent shifting with curiosity.That’s different from pack bonds?
Anders swallowed hard, suddenly very aware of the pull between them—the one he’d been fighting since first catching her scent.Yes.Pack bonds connect all members of a pack, though with varying intensities based on relationship and proximity.Mate bonds are…more specialized.
Like marriage?
