Well, looks like now, I’ll be able to keep at least some of those promises.
“I can’t thank you enough for stopping him before he gathered the troops to come to Nightfall,” Jordan says, and I turn back to him.
“You knew,” I say.
He nods slowly.
“How?”
“I have my ways,” he says, which is about as clear as him saying, “You have a mole.” It doesn’t matter, though. There is no need for a mole anymore. I plan to have open communication with Jordan from here on out. The leader of the Nightfall pack doesn’t have anything to fear from me. We were close as kids and now we’ll lead our packs side-by-side.
“I don’t expect a merger,” I say, clearing the air, but he just nods. Jordan is a man of few words, but I respect him.
“That’s some girl you got,” he says. “You’re a lucky bastard, Nash. Lucky indeed.” I can’t argue with Jordan on that. He’s right. Red is pretty damn amazing.
I want to tell Jordan that he’ll find someone someday, but that’s a touchy subject, so I let it go. I look back up at the moon, and when I turn back, Jordan is gone. He’s quiet, that one, but he has to be. I can learn a lot about being Alpha from Jordan. He’s hard on his pack, but they’re good wolves, and I know my crew can be just as good someday.
For now, though, I have some kissing to do, so I go inside the cave.
My cave.
22.
Red
I’m exhausted when I finally find my way into the innermost area of the cave. There was a long tunnel lit with wall lamps that reminded me of a medieval dungeon. Now I’m standing in a center room and I’m more than a little relieved to be around shifters who look like real, actual, clothed people.
Everyone is laughing and celebrating. Drinks are being passed around and someone is frying some meat. It smells delicious, but as I stand alone, I realize that I don’t know a single person here, save Thorn and Ryder.
Luckily, they come over to me almost immediately and begin introducing me as the Alpha’s mate.
“But we aren’t married yet,” I tell Ryder, and he just waves it off.
“You basically are,” he says. “Nash has claimed you. That makes you his mate.”
I realize that I have a lot to learn about wolf culture, but I don’t worry too much about it. It’s not long before Nash joins us and whisks me off to his quarters. His old room has already been reassigned to someone, but he says that he’ll sleep in the Alpha’s quarters.
“Jeffrey’s old room?” I ask, and Nash nods reluctantly.
“It’s tradition,” he says. “I know it’s totally weird. I’m sorry. It’s one thing old Mrs. Beaver isn’t going to budge on.”
“It’s fine,” I insist. We get to the room and he unlocks the door with a silver key that hangs around his neck. I didn’t even notice him getting it. I wonder if he took it from Jeffrey or if someone else was holding it. Either way, we step into the room and I gasp.
It’s beautiful.
“A few of the ladies came in while we were being congratulated,” he explains. “They cleaned the place up pretty quickly. Jeffrey’s things have been put in storage, but they’re yours if you want them,” he says quickly.
I just shake my head.
“No way,” I say. “This is my fresh start.” Things have been rough for a long time, but I’m ready for something new.
Looking around the room, I try to take it all in. I can see why Nash calls it the Alpha’s “quarters.” It really is more of a suite than anything else. At the front of the room is a sitting area and a kitchen. It’s not a huge kitchen, but there’s a stove, which is nice. Towards the back is a bed that’s big enough for at least four people. I can’t imagine why we’d need a bed so big, but I bet we’re both going to sleep great.
To the right, I can see the bathroom. I don’t even want to go in there. Chances are, it’s bigger than my old apartment and more beautiful to boot. My favorite thing of all, though, is the hot tub in the room. Yes, in the room. In the back left corner, there’s a huge hot tub that I could just sink into.
Maybe another night, though.
Right now, I want a long, hot shower with Nash.