| watch as Rik turns and heads back to the packhouse. | feel like part of my heart. is leaving with him. | watch until | can’t see him


    any longer before turning back to my house and Liam.


    “Liam.” | say again. His smile is a wee hello and | walk into his arms and give him a hug.


    “So, you and Rik, huh? What happened to waiting for me?”


    | smack his chest. “Yes, Rik and | are dating. And not that it''s any of your business, but he’s been aplete gentleman about


    my limits.”


    “Your limits? Is that why his smell is all over you and your house?”


    “Did youe here to interrogate me, Liam?” | ask, my temper ring. He has been gone and has no right to ask me these


    questions.


    “No. | just wasn’t expecting toe here and smell him all over you. | don’t even smell your father, only the two of you, and it


    kind of set me off. | apologize. Can we start over?”


    I smile at him. “Of course. Come in. Are you hungry? I’ve already eaten but | can make you something.”


    “I''m good.” He says.


    “I''ll be right back.” | run upstairs and put on some clothes. When | return, | pull a beer out of the fridge. “Beer?”


    “Sure.” He says and | pop the top on two beers, and we head to the living room.


    “What have you been up to? | heard you were looking for Eli Gunnar?”


    He takes a sip of his beer, resting his hand on my knee. “He continues to elude me. I’ve been so close so many times. But he


    can only run so far so fast, and | have my best trackers out hunting him.” He says before taking a sip of beer. Then he looks at


    me. “So, where is your father?”


    I give him an update on my time in the Faend, what | learned about my parents and their wolves, and finally end with my father


    staying on to give them the story of Donovan and Andra.


    “Wow! That’s a lot. What do you think about your mother’s wolf spirit? Where do you think she could be?”


    I shrug. “Ailduin thinks she may be hiding in the human world, but | don’t know.


    +15 BONOS


    If Ailduin’s theory is correct, it means that Andra’s spirit knows about Artemis being her daughter. | can’t see her staying away for


    any reason. Not for thirteen years.”


    He looks thoughtful as he ponders what I’ve said. “That makes sense. So, what? You think some Alpha has her prisoner


    somewhere? That would be hard to hide. for this long.”


    “I''m not sure, but wherever she is, | think she’s being held against her will. | don’t think she could know about Artemis and stay


    away. | know Donovan’s spirit wouldn''t.”


    We finish our beers and | get us another round. We continue catching each other up on our life events since ourTêxt ? N?velDrama.Org.


    meeting. “I have to go back out. | have to keep searching for him until | find him.” He says. Then looks at me. “But | will be here


    for your birthday. It’s a big day and | wouldn''t miss it.”


    He smiles at me then leans in and very gently kisses me on the lips. The feelings that it used to bring to the surface when he


    kissed me don’te. It could be a brother giving me a peck on the lips or my father. There is nothing romantically responsive in


    me for Liam. He feels like family, whereas Rik feels like everything.


    Liam recognizes the change in me. He can see that I’m not responsive to his advances like | have been in the past. He stands,


    giving me his hand to help met up. We drop the empty beer bottles on the ind as we walk to the door.


    As he opens the door, he turns. “Don’t give up on me yet Cara. Please. Wait until your birthday. My feelings for you haven''t


    changed. | would be a good mate to you. Even if we aren''t fated mates, | would take care of you and make you happy.”


    | lean in and give him a hug. “I know you would Liam, and I’m not making any decisions until my birthday. | promise.”


    With that, he turns and heads out the door. | stand on the front porch and wave as he drives away. The problem is, while my


    head agrees to waiting, neither my heart nor Artemis agree. They both want Rik.


    After Liam leaves, | take a shower. | know Rik wille over. He’s here every night and has been since we returned. | don’t want


    him to be ufortable because | have Liam''s scent on me.


    When | call him to let him know Liam is gone, he arrives as fast as Kai can get him there. When he walks in, he immediately pulls


    me in for a hug, sniffing my


    hair.


    “You showered.”


    +15 BONOS


    I smile up at him. “I did. | didn’t want you upset if his scent lingered on me.” He nods and | can see the concern in his eyes. He’s


    worried that | still have feelings for Liam. It couldn’t be any farther from the truth.


    “Nothing happened between us. | want you to know that. That’s not why | showered. And you should also know, my feelings for


    Liam have changed. He feels like an older brother. Someone that will always be there for me if | need him.”


    | begin walking backward, toward the stairs, pulling him with me. “My feelings for you, however, are anything but familial. What |


    feel for you is....” | take his hand and | put it against my heart. “It’s here.” | take his other hand and | put it against my stomach.


    “And it’s here.”


    | take a step up as he watches me intently. “My feelings for you are so deep and so strong that | don’t know how to even put


    them into words. But | know how | can show you.”


    | crook my finger at him, asking him to lean in. When he gets close, | run my nose up his neck, to his ear, feeling him shiver as |


    smell my favorite scent in the world. “I’m very hungry Alpha, and | want brownies. Let me show you how much | want you.”


    As he growled in pleasure, | turned and ran up the stairs. He catches me just as | get to the door and | proceed to show him


    exactly how much | love the taste of brownies.


    Cooper Author


    +16 BONOS