Thirsty (Black Wolf Pack 1)

He exhaled again, yet I knew he was giving up on trying to “father” me. Normally I let him be the overprotective guy he was, because I knew he’d helped ease his worry. But I was starting to want to branch off and live my own life. I didn’t want to be the little girl he’d always see. I didn't want to just submit, because I knew it’s what he needed to feel like the providing, protective dad.

I was an adult. I felt something in me change. And I wanted to explore that on my own.

No, not on my own. With Tucker.

After getting off the phone and shutting things down in the office, I grabbed my jacket and slipped it on. Despite it being warm this time of year, being this high up in the mountains made the night air crisp and chilly.

I turned off the lights and shut the door, not bothering to lock it. Hell, there weren’t any locks on any of the buildings in Black Wolf territory. We were all family and knew each other. We trusted one another above all else. You had to in order to have a successful pack.

I descended the three steps on the office deck and buttoned up my coat as I made my way down the lighted path. The square of the village was quiet and deserted this time of night, with the cabins in the town square close enough that I could see most lights were off as people were in bed for the evening.

Over the hundreds of acres of property that was pack territory, only the oldest members lived close to the village square. It was easier for them to travel if they needed medical attention or if they wanted to shop. It was also easier for us to take care of them if need be. But younger members, and ones with mates and families, chose to stay farther in the woods, sometimes miles from the square.

Although I couldn’t see the wolves patrolling pack territory, I felt them, sensed them. They were good at their job, blending in with the shadows so much you wouldn’t know they were there unless they wanted you to.

The Alpha’s cabin was closer to the village than most, simply because he was the “head of the family.” But he had enough privacy that even if he stepped outside, he wouldn’t be able to see anything but the thick woods that surrounded us all. And although my father wanted my cabin built close enough to him to where he could protect me, I’d insisted on having my own piece of land on the opposite end of the square.

It was a small step in exerting my independence, and he needed to know that even though I wasn’t right beside him at all times, I was still here. I was still a part of his life. But I knew he was afraid I’d leave like my mother had, that I’d be ripped from him and he’d truly be left alone.

I exhaled, because I hated that my thoughts always went down a darker path, one that was inevitable and occurred more often than not. I knew he wouldn’t want me to dwell on any of this, but when I felt his despair, it naturally affected me as well.

I stuck to the path that led to my cabin, the stone pathway wide enough that a pickup truck could drive down it if need be. There were dozens of these types of paths, each one leading to a different part of the community, to all the cabins, really anywhere on the hundreds of acres of pack property.

The wired electricity was relatively new, as was indoor plumbing for all cabins. Wells were created, septic tanks put in. It was a long, drawn-out process, but our village had started off more primitive than not, and at this stage, we were damn near modernized in all ways.

Before that, we used generators and battery-operated equipment, but it had been quite a fight to get electricity this far up the mountain. Lots of paperwork and red tape, but finally we’d gotten it situated, and to say everyone was pleased was an understatement.

My thoughts were currently on things like that as I continued walking down the path. I heard a wolf howl in the distance, would pick up on someone from the pack doing a late-night run, even caught the lonely sounds of an unmated male who was feeling lost and empty without his other half.

I could hear muted music coming from one of the cabins up ahead, and a few lights coming from cabins tucked into the woods. But as I let my thoughts clear and focused on my surroundings, I instantly felt this prickling on the back of my neck. And although I couldn’t shift into a wolf like the males of the pack did, I did have keen and attuned shifter senses.