Page 56 of Untamed

"We'll go east, then," I reply. "If we get farther south and the fire pushes us towards FeraxMaw, then we walk again." This journey just grew longer.

"It's a plan," Devel agrees.

The cabin of the truck falls silent. Mother nature can be a right bitch sometimes.

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17 - The Pup’s Reading Material

Inuit

My mate is cuddled on my lap, a soft smile curling at the edges of her mouth. I always thought that sweet, bow-shaped lips in the palest pink were the nicest sort of mouths on females. But my Qitsuk has lips of a darker red, the bottom fuller than the top. It thins when she's mad at me, which is a lot, I'll admit. But when she's relaxed, her mouth draws into a natural pout that makes me think filthy-dirty thoughts. The naughty little cat in my arms and her sexy mouth...

"Hey, Rhet, let's talk, yeah?" I gently scoop my mate out of my lap and stand awkwardly.

Rhet smirks, not missing the tent in my pants. "Sure, Alpha," he mocks me the way only my brothers can.

I just grin back. I'll be honest, my dick is hard as a spike, but it's a fucking fantastic pain. I've never had this issue, not like this. It's all because I have my mate.

Mymate.

It was an uncomfortable night last night. We slept in the nest. Well,Qitsukslept; I couldn't do much more than cat-nap, ha. With her in my arms... yeah, sleep wasn't coming easy.

I brought her back to the ranch this morning, where my brothers could put a damper on my urge to Mark and Claim my female.

Qitsuk starts to wander the room. I took the chain off, wrapping it around her waist. The bells chime softly with her movements. I can hear them as she gracefully moves around the room, examining everything the modern world offers.

I have to trust that she won't run. And, with all of the wolves helping bring in the cattle from the lower pastures for the winter, she can't easily slip away. I have to give trust to gain trust, right? And, she doesn't know that some of those wolves are guarding the house, penning her in instead of helping with the herd.

I keep my eyes firmly planted on my cat while Rhet talks to me about the latest threat from FeraxMaw and the forest fire raging, no longer under control, in the north.

"Alpha Jax managed to get a signal through. Not a good one. Only lasted a few seconds. We're looking at a few days before he's back," Rhet tells me.

"Lyri and Ez are still coming home soon?"

Rhet's hard blue eyes soften. "Tomorrow, maybe earlier, if they push it. Situation's heating up right now. Thjis and I need them home."

I watch Qitsuk run her fingers lightly over the fronds of the house plant Lyri keeps in the corner.

"What is she doing?" Rhet murmurs.

"She likes to garden," I respond, watching my mate gently pick off the dead plant matter. Like at the cottage yesterday, only the bad gets thrown away. She's so careful with those nimble fingers. It's impressive.

"Huh," Rhet mutters, arms crossed over his chest as he watches my mate.

"Lyri won't mind?" I ask him. Gardening is a hobby Lyri tried to take up years ago. She abruptly abandoned when she caused every houseplant to grow white fungus when she overwatered and overcrowded each plant. They're still her plants, though.

Rhet is quiet.

"Rhet? My female loves to garden," I jump to my mate's defense.

Rhet holds out a hand, a speculative look on his face. "She's good at that, In. Look at how the plant is already perked up."

I glance over. "Yeah? She took off the dead shit, Rhet."

"When Sarj does that, the plant takes a couple of days to fluff out and look as good as that one does right now."

I don't see the difference. Rhet claps me on the back. "Something to keep an eye on," he says to himself.

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