No,” he chuckled. “You beat me fair and square that time. For someone without the alpha gene, you’re unbelievably adept.”
“ How do you know I don’t have the alpha gene?” she asked, raising her eyebrow in an exaggerated fashion.
“ Your pack would treat you a lot differently if you did. You probably wouldn’t even be here with me now if you had the gene.”
“ To tell the truth, I’ve never been tested for it.”
“ What?” Genuine shock was visible on Arric’s face. “Why would you never test for such an important thing? In my pack, all young wolves are tested when they come of age. There’s no opting out of it.”
Sienna shrugged. “I was always a bit of a runt, and I avoided fighting and hunting. I figured everyone would just laugh at me if I tested for it. All of the males in our pack are tested when they’re young, but it’s rare that they ever bother letting us females test.”
“This is serious,” he said, taking hold of her upper arms. “Promise me you’ll find a way to test in secret. I’ve had a feeling about you since we first met, and this news makes it imperative that you learn if you have the alpha gene or not.”
“ What if I do have it?” she asked. “What will that change?”
“ It’s not worth discussing until we know for sure. Just tell me you’ll take the test. Your position as healer should make it easy for you to get your sample to the one who tests your pack. Is that something you can do without alerting suspicion?”
“ I know a way, yes.”
“ What we’re doing here,” he said, his voice taking on an anxious undercurrent, “you do remember why we’re meeting in secret?”
Sienna hugged herself against the growing chill. Normally they worked up a lot of heat from their training and then continued to stay warm through the exertion of making love, but standing there naked in the late fall air left her close to shivering. “I remember. It’s hard for me to forget that your pack is plotting to attack my village to take over the Blackstone territory. Every day I have to live with the secret of our meetings and what I now is coming down on the people I have live and work with.”
“It can’t be easy for you, I know.” Arric stepped in to wrap her in his arms. “We’re both just pawns in this game, Sienna. I’m at the mercy of my alpha, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I’m loyal to my pack, but that doesn’t mean I always agree with everything I’m ordered to do.”
“ Couldn’t there be some way to stop this?”
“ All we can do is try to minimize the damage. We’re just two wolves in the middle of two large packs. Neither one of us has the power to turn the will of our people against our pack masters.”
“ I know,” she said with a sigh. “I just wish we could be together without all of this danger and drama. I feel so happy and free when I’m here with you learning how to be a better wolf. These lessons and being with you are all I think about. Knowing that you’ll be waiting here for me is how I get through my day.”
“ Unfortunately, I’m really not sure I have anything left to teach you. You’ve met every challenge I’ve set for you, and I’m blown away by how easily you bested me today.”
“ Good,” she said with a growl. Sienna raked her nails loosely down his chest. “Then it’s time for us to play.”
Arric laughed and scooped her up into his arms. Whatever danger they might be facing, they still had this time to be together, and both of them intended to make the most of it. Arric showered her body with kisses and lay her in a soft patch of dense moss where he made love to her and held her until the sky lightened in the east to signal the arrival of morning.
After running home and falling into an exhausted sleep, the first thing Sienna did the next day was hunt down Esther. Although her friend didn’t do the testing herself, she was the one who brought the samples into the lab in town to have
“ How do you know I don’t have the alpha gene?” she asked, raising her eyebrow in an exaggerated fashion.
“ Your pack would treat you a lot differently if you did. You probably wouldn’t even be here with me now if you had the gene.”
“ To tell the truth, I’ve never been tested for it.”
“ What?” Genuine shock was visible on Arric’s face. “Why would you never test for such an important thing? In my pack, all young wolves are tested when they come of age. There’s no opting out of it.”
Sienna shrugged. “I was always a bit of a runt, and I avoided fighting and hunting. I figured everyone would just laugh at me if I tested for it. All of the males in our pack are tested when they’re young, but it’s rare that they ever bother letting us females test.”
“This is serious,” he said, taking hold of her upper arms. “Promise me you’ll find a way to test in secret. I’ve had a feeling about you since we first met, and this news makes it imperative that you learn if you have the alpha gene or not.”
“ What if I do have it?” she asked. “What will that change?”
“ It’s not worth discussing until we know for sure. Just tell me you’ll take the test. Your position as healer should make it easy for you to get your sample to the one who tests your pack. Is that something you can do without alerting suspicion?”
“ I know a way, yes.”
“ What we’re doing here,” he said, his voice taking on an anxious undercurrent, “you do remember why we’re meeting in secret?”
Sienna hugged herself against the growing chill. Normally they worked up a lot of heat from their training and then continued to stay warm through the exertion of making love, but standing there naked in the late fall air left her close to shivering. “I remember. It’s hard for me to forget that your pack is plotting to attack my village to take over the Blackstone territory. Every day I have to live with the secret of our meetings and what I now is coming down on the people I have live and work with.”
“It can’t be easy for you, I know.” Arric stepped in to wrap her in his arms. “We’re both just pawns in this game, Sienna. I’m at the mercy of my alpha, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I’m loyal to my pack, but that doesn’t mean I always agree with everything I’m ordered to do.”
“ Couldn’t there be some way to stop this?”
“ All we can do is try to minimize the damage. We’re just two wolves in the middle of two large packs. Neither one of us has the power to turn the will of our people against our pack masters.”
“ I know,” she said with a sigh. “I just wish we could be together without all of this danger and drama. I feel so happy and free when I’m here with you learning how to be a better wolf. These lessons and being with you are all I think about. Knowing that you’ll be waiting here for me is how I get through my day.”
“ Unfortunately, I’m really not sure I have anything left to teach you. You’ve met every challenge I’ve set for you, and I’m blown away by how easily you bested me today.”
“ Good,” she said with a growl. Sienna raked her nails loosely down his chest. “Then it’s time for us to play.”
Arric laughed and scooped her up into his arms. Whatever danger they might be facing, they still had this time to be together, and both of them intended to make the most of it. Arric showered her body with kisses and lay her in a soft patch of dense moss where he made love to her and held her until the sky lightened in the east to signal the arrival of morning.
After running home and falling into an exhausted sleep, the first thing Sienna did the next day was hunt down Esther. Although her friend didn’t do the testing herself, she was the one who brought the samples into the lab in town to have
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