Before bending down to pick a mushroom, the black-haired lady paused once more to carefully inspect the surrounding forest. I should have known Nix would be able to find actual fighters to accompany me. The black-haired lady was reserved and quiet, and her stance practically screamed that she was a formidable fighter. She was the distant type, which made me uneasy. If I had seen her when I was a rogue, I would have hidden so she wouldn't have even realized I was in the area.The brown-haired lady was more laid-back and easygoing, and she seemed to enjoy picking mushrooms. I could tell by her slight limp that it wasn't anything serious enough to keep her away from the training sessions. The overprotective mate bond appears to have taken will for another loop around the block.I trotted through the space between them, my nose close to the ground, looking for the scent of a deeply buried truffle. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find another of the rare and coveted objects

After supper, we sat outside under a tree, watching the sun go down. Nix wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned against him. Nix practically doubled as a heater as the air cooled down, and I was comfortable.“I am afraid that feral wolves are nearby our pack borders,” Nix blurted out.“The dead rogue. That wasn’t the feral wolf’s doing,” I whispered, inhaling deeply. “Because most rogues would avoid a fight with a feral,” Nix growled, he must have been imagining how I had survived outside, in no man’s land, where feral wolves are unpredictable and abundant.“Calm down, Nix,” I whispered, “I know how to survive out there. And I am safe now. I have you.”Nix's finger swirled absently along my arm, leaving trails of sparks and heat in its wake. He leaned his chin against the top of my head. I raised my head to plant a timid kiss on his cheek.He turned his head qu

I came to a halt when I noticed a glint of eyes from afar, the smoke blurring the light. With a sinking feeling, I took a step forward to get a better look. My heart started racing, and the cougar stared at me, unfazed by my human form. I didn't have my bow on me for some reason. Other than a tiny pocket knife, I was also missing all of the other weapons I usually carried. I waited with increasing trepidation, hoping it would leave me alone and spare my life. The cougar took a slow step forward, and I took a cautious step backward, never breaking away from its gaze. The cougar charged after my shoe cracked a twig. I jumped to the side and shifted into my wolf form, allowing the cougar's leap to fly high above my runt wolf form. This form was even worse; a cougar is at the advantage of our chase and would not hesitate on chewing my back paw. There were no bushes or rabbit burrows to be found. The cougar turned and leaped once more. I darted to the side, shifting back and grabbing a l

"Are you ready? Do you need any help setting something up?" Nix asked."I got everything done this morning, and it's all waiting in that meadow," I replied. "I'm looking forward to this.Nix let out a soft chuckle. “I was surprised at how many people were interested. We had to turn people away to keep the class small enough. You could do this a few times."I shook my head. "I have no objections to doing this again if it’s going to be successful. It will be easier with a maximum of fifteen people. More than that will just create a flurry of scents as they experiment.”Nix planted a kiss on my hair. “Let’s go?”We made our way to the meadow, where I was going to demonstrate how to mask one's scent. I had set a limit of fifteen people but offered to let them take the class as many times as they wanted. Since Tiffany had taken off as quickly as she could yesterday, a couple of pack members had helped me set everythin

In disbelief, I looked at her. "I'm not sure if I heard you correctly, but do you want to go mushroom hunting with me?" Ruby was unfazed. "Yes." It was incomprehensible to me. She had approached me and asked if we could go mushroom hunting. I knew she hadn't had a good time the last time we did that. In fact, she had grudgingly agreed to it, as if it were an unpleasant guard assignment. Nix had asked her the previous time, enlisting the help of an old and powerful friend to persuade her to agree. I knew Nix wasn't going to be involved this time. Ruby appeared to feel compelled to press her case. "The cooks haven't had mushrooms in a while, and I know Nix doesn't want you going deeper into the forest without a fighter nearby." She was looking at me as if what she was suggesting was a simple everyday task that she didn't mind assisting with. But I could tell she was intensely focused, excited, and determined. For once, she didn't have the obvious look of intense concentration of a fi