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"Our size is from centuries of inbreeding," he said quietly.

"What else can you do? Can you read minds?"

"No, we're not telepathic, not even among the pack. We're faster and stronger than

normal wolves, but have superior hearing and smell like them. Our eyesight is keener in the dark

and we heal quickly."

The last attribute caused me to remember Quinn's profession. "If you heal quickly, then

why do you need a town doctor? Why is Quinn a nurse? Who does she have to care for?"

"Older wolves don't heal as quickly as younger ones. The older we get, the longer it takes

to heal. Quinn, the doctor, and the other nurse tend to older wolves in the pack. They develop

ailments that need treatment. Sometimes, young males will face off and challenge each other to

practice our fighting skills. If we get hurt badly, we might see the doctor to help us heal."

I happened to look up and notice the sky had turned orange and purple as evening crept in

during our walk. We approached the forest border, but I wasn't afraid to enter as long as I had

Riley with me. He said I fascinated him, but he enchanted me. He was a special wolf I've only

seen in Hollywood movies and read in fiction books. I was probably one of the few humans who

knew his kind existed. I felt honored and couldn't stop asking questions.

"So, tell me...how did your kind come to exist? What's your history?"

Riley was eager to explain because I detected enthusiasm in his voice. Maybe he felt

relieved he didn't have to hide what he was. "During the thirteenth century in Scandinavia, a lone wolf later known as Erik Ulfr, fell in love with a young human woman named Anya. One day, a

hunter's trap injured him. As he lay for days suffering from his wounds and close to starvation,

Anya found him while gathering firewood in the forest. She freed him and took him home with

her to nurse him back to health. After spending months together, they formed a bond and she

named him Erik. When her father returned from a sea voyage, she sent Erik away in fear her

father would kill him. Back in the forest, Máni, the Norse god of the moon, noticed his spirit was

in misery. Erik told him he was in love with Anya and wished to be with her, but he couldn't

because he was a wolf and she was human. Máni promised to help him, so he spoke to Freyja,

the goddess of love, about Erik's wish. She agreed to help, and they blessed Erik with the ability

to shape-shift into a human. A day later, Anya bid farewell to her father as he set off on a hunting

trip. She went inside her home, but heard a noise by the door. Thinking her father had forgotten

something, she walked back outside, only to see a naked young man standing there. She was

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frightened and confused by his identity. When she asked his name, the man revealed his wolf

eyes and spoke the name 'Erik'. He had returned to her in his human form and claimed her as his

mate. They eventually had ten children, and he and his descendants were forever known as

Varulv
."

My eyes turned into round saucers. Erik and Anya's romance sounded like it came from a

storybook.

"Norse gods, huh? Wow!"

I shook my head in amazement as I tried to make sense of Riley's bizarre ancestry. If I

hadn't already seen him and his sister as wolves, I would've pegged that story as bullshit, but at

this point,
anything
was possible. Who was I to say it
wasn't
the truth?

"So that's what you're called...
Varulv
?" I played with the word on my tongue a few times to make it sound the way Riley pronounced it. He smiled and nodded once I got it right on the

fourth try. "How many of you exist now?"

"My father told me we number in the millions. We're everywhere, on almost every

continent. Some of us live as wolves, but most of us choose to live as humans. This is a human

world and we realize if we want to survive, we must adapt and hide our true nature. Most of us

live in small communities because it's easier that way."

"Why is it easier?"

"There's less chance of exposing our true nature if we stick together. For instance, I've

never been able to go to school with humans. Pups really have no self-control. Eventually they'd

reveal themselves unintentionally and expose our kind. There's a small school here and pups of

all ages attend. Back in England, we lived in a close-knit
Varulv
community too. There was a

school for pups that I attended for two years before my mother was murdered."

I wasn't sure if I should pry into Riley's personal life, but I was curious about his mother.

I hoped he would feel comfortable opening up to me.

I spoke tenderly. "What was your mother’s name? How did she die? You said she was

murdered, but what happened?" As expected, he didn't respond right away. The only sounds

were our feet crunching against the grass and the birds chirping in the trees. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Finally, he spoke in a quiet tone. "Her name was Helena, and she was shot by hunters. I

was eight years old at the time. We were in wolf form in the woods by our home, and she was

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teaching Quinn and me how to catch small animals. My father was at his human job as a security

guard. When the hunters shot her, she died instantly and couldn't transform back into a human.

Quinn and I ran home and rang our father at work. When he got home, he was furious. He ran

into the woods to see if he could pick up the hunters' scents. Unfortunately, when he did, they

were already gone and took my mother as their prize. My father wouldn't let her die in vain, so

he tracked the hunters and killed them one by one. A witness saw him after he changed back into

a human. They saw the dead body and figured my father was responsible since there were reports

about the other missing hunters. The witness alerted the police, and they almost caught my father

one night while he was coming home from work. He realized we had to get out of town, so he

took Quinn and me and we fled. We were on the run for over a year before we came to Black

River."

We stopped walking and I put my hand on his arm. His skin was warm and smooth to the

touch with soft fine hairs. I looked into his sad eyes and tried to convey as much empathy as I

could.

"I'm so sorry, Riley. I wish that had never happened to you. I saw pictures of your mom

in your room. She was beautiful and she looked so happy. I wish I could've met her."

I smiled and glided my hand up his arm. I wanted to touch more of him, so I traveled up

to his shoulder and over his pectoral. The muscles were lean and firm and I felt them flex

beneath my hand. My thumb strayed and brushed a sensitive nipple. It pebbled instantly and

Riley inhaled quickly and held my hand against his skin.

Our eyes locked---sapphire and emerald---and in that moment, we connected with one

another. The death of a parent was something he and I shared, and I wanted him to know I could

relate to him. Riley let me know he understood, and slowly pulled my hand away so he could

entwine our fingers.

He held my hand and we walked in silence until we arrived at the forest's edge. He

reached out with his free hand and pulled down a low tree branch.

"Do you want to walk further?"

He let the branch snap back but came away with a large green leaf. His lips spread into a

grin as he stepped toward me and brushed my cheek with it.

His voice was low and his words flowed silkily. "I'd really like to show you something."

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Suddenly, my breath hitched and I gulped nervously. A feeling of déjà vu washed over

me as I looked back at the trailer in the distance.

"We shouldn't miss dinner, should we?"

He sighed. "I really don't want to be around my father right now." Bitterness laced his

words. "He always gets on my arse about not following the rules, but he doesn't like taking

orders from anyone either. He was the Alpha Male in our town in North Yorkshire, but when we

got to Black River, he didn't like following our old pack leader Xavier's rules. He wanted to

allow humans into the pack for more diversity. My father disagreed and said humans would

dilute our gene pool...some bollocks like that. I think he said that because he wants us to remain

in secret. Anyway, he figured in order to do things
his
way, he had to be pack leader, so he

challenged Xavier and won. That's how he became the sheriff. Celia was Xavier's mate, and she

didn't want to give up her rank as Alpha Female, so she seduced my father. He claimed her as his

mate because an Alpha Male without a mate is a sign of weakness." Riley's lip curled and he

expressed his last words with disgust. I had no idea he held any resentment toward his

stepmother.

In the next second, his entire mood changed. He moved closer, and surprised me by

threading his fingers through my hair. My scalp tingled with pleasure and I closed some of the

distance between us.

"Please Paige. It won’t get dark for a few hours. Don't worry, we'll go home later and I'll

heat our supper."

Natural charm radiated from Riley, and once again, I submitted to his request. "Sure, we

can keep going."

"It's a ways to go, so do you want me to carry you?"

Before I could reply, he reached toward me, but I put my hands out to stop him. "No! I'm

fully capable of walking."

He smiled and took my hand again as he led me into the forest. I didn't know where he

was taking me, but was anxious to find out.

The forest was dense, and the light of dusk barely peeked through the treetops. Trees and

misty fog surrounded us. We had only walked a few yards, but when I looked back, the grass

clearing was nowhere in sight. It was as if the woods had swallowed us. The terrain covered with

sticks, leaves, and dirt varied from flat land to small hills.

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I wondered if he was taking me to the river as he did when he was a pup. That single

memory resurfaced when I asked, "What were you thinking when you first saw me in the forest

when we were kids?"

He chuckled low in his throat. "I was thinking, 'I wonder if she's friendly'."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was curious about you. I didn't recognize your scent, so I knew you weren't a

member of the pack. But still, you seemed nice and I wanted to know you."

"Remember when I offered you my juice box?" Recalling the memory caused me to burst

out laughing.

Riley quickly joined in and his laugh echoed in the forest. Some of the birds squawked

and flew out of the trees. We obviously interrupted the peaceful ambiance of their woodland

home.

"I sure do! You were so sweet. I liked the way you cuddled with me and let me lick you.

You talked to me for at least an hour. I really enjoyed playing with you."

All of a sudden, he stopped walking and turned to me. His eyes stared into mine and my

face flushed. I gave him a nervous smile and quickly averted my eyes because I couldn't hold

Riley's intense gaze. With my hand still in his grasp, he stepped closer to me.

His voice was low, but it garnered my attention. "That's why I led you to the river. Some

of the pack still gathered there after a hunt and I wanted to introduce you to my father. When he

appeared, I told him about how nice you were."

My eyebrows shot upwards. "So
that's
why the other wolves didn't attack me?"

"Yes, but you remember...your parents came and we had to disperse. We couldn't let

them see us because Xavier would've been pissed off. He was the sheriff back then, and he and

Bobby helped them look for you. I wanted to see you again, so I visited your cabin that night and

left you the rabbit." A smile lit up his face as he chuckled.

"My mother had a fit!" I laughed.

"I'm sure she did. Then I came back the
next
day."

I peered at him curiously. "You were the naked boy?"

"Yes. I was in my wolf form when I went to your cabin, but wanted to introduce myself

when I saw you outside."

I pouted. "But you
didn't
introduce yourself."

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"I know...I'm sorry. I felt overwhelmed by seeing you again. You have no idea how hard I

fought the urge to pounce on you and lick your face." We both shared a laugh. "I wanted to tell you I was the pup you met the day before, but I knew I couldn't. When I was finally going to