Page 24 of The Wolf King's Demand

Finally, Addison had “defeated” all the pancake monsters, and their empty plates were whisked away. Tyler rose from the table and clapped his hands. “I would like to take a run. Is anyone up for joining me? I can introduce you to my wolf, too.”

All the kids cheered and raced to join him. Addison laughed and followed them outside. It was beautiful out this morning, and Tyler breathed in the fresh air. To his amusement, a few of the children copied him.

“All right, I’m going to shift now and let you meet my wolf,” he told the children.

Some of them looked excited, while others seemed a little hesitant.

“It’s okay,” Addison soothed. “He’s been doing this for a long time. His wolf has had time to mature.”

With the kids now more reassured, Tyler went behind a line of trees to undress and shift. And in an instant, he was in his wolf form.

Seeing his wolf, a couple of the kids crept a little closer to him, their eyes wide. The others drew back toward Addison.

Tyler had to remind himself how young they all were. Most of their own wolf forms were probably still immature and unruly. They probably hadn’t been taught much about shifting at the rogue camp, and that was not to mention all that they could have seen.

He had to suppress the rage he felt at that thought. Getting angry wouldn’t ease the children.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” Addison reassured the children. “See, let me show you.”

She came up to him and knelt, making him taller than her once more. Addison reached out a gentle, upturned hand and smiled at him. There was so much trust in that one smile. Trust that he wouldn’t hurt her or even so much as growl at her.

It amazed him to think he had earned that trust from her. Slowly, he nuzzled his head into her hand, and she stroked his ears.

The kids were all coming a little closer now, but they were still keeping their distance. Addison grinned at them. “Don’t worry, he won’t bite if you don’t make any sudden moves. In fact …”

In one swift motion, she rose to her feet and jumped away from him. Tyler gave her a confused look, but she just grinned playfully.

“In fact, I don’t think he could catch me if he tried,” Addison taunted, and then she darted off.

Tyler understood now. She wanted to play and show the children he could be gentle. He chased after her.

Addison laughed wildly as she ran around, never straying too far from the kids. Tyler certainly could have caught her if he wanted to. After all, a human couldn’t outrun a wolf. But this was a game, and the kids seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it.

They were all cheering on Addison from the sidelines and warning her when he got too close. He’d get just within grabbing distance of her and then slow down enough for her to get ahead of him again. Sometimes he’d even gently butt her in the back with his head, and she’d let out an exaggerated squawk.

Then he chased her toward the trees, and she quickly scrambled up a tall, thin birch.

“Quick! He’s got me trapped in a tree, and you have to come and save me!” she called out to the children, her tone overly dramatic.

The children let out loud, and frankly adorable battle cries, and one by one began to shift. They let out little howls as they came bounding to Addison’s rescue. They tried to tackle him, and Tyler playfully fended them off. Every time, he made sure to be gentle with them.

After several futile attempts to take him down, Addison called out with another order. “Dog pile him! He can’t take on all of you at once!”

The wolf children let out howls of agreement. Then, they tackled him to the ground and pinned him all at once. Tyler had to admit, it was a good strategy. Strength in numbers.

He looked up at Addison and could just barely make out her face in between the little bodies pinning him down. Her shoulders were shaking with laughter, and her eyes shone with fondness. Tyler did his best to smile back at her. The children were letting out little howls of victory above him.

Now that just wouldn’t do. If these kids were going to learn to fight properly, they needed a real challenge. He wiggled his way out from underneath them and then began to run. Behind him, he heard little howls and then the sound of several wolf children chasing after him.

Once again, he found himself pondering how he could ensure that this would be his future. The thought of him and his beautiful Addison working together to raise a whole brood of little shifters made his heart warmer than maybe it had ever been.

FIFTEEN

ADDISON

Addison was exhausted. It had been a challenging few days. Her body hurt from the fighting and ached from the lovemaking. But she felt better than she had in a long while. Her life had a purpose. She was fighting for a cause, and she loved her fated mate. It lent a meaningful quality to the aches and pains she felt.

It had taken a while to get all of the orphaned kids to sleep. They were all restless and troubled being in a new place, even on their second night, even if it was a place with a soft, comfortable bed and clean, dry clothes.

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