Chapter 171


    LEAH


    I arrive back at the Rathborn mansion after spending the day visiting with the Leithrow wolves. They


    were surprisingly weing. and fell over themselves with gratitude, calling me Luna at every turn, and


    presenting me with avish lunch even though I hadn’t given them waming that I was showing up that


    day.


    I’d felt a little bad about that actually, catching them off guard like that.


    But I’d been so adamant about keeping busy and going to meet the pack members in person to


    hopefully smooth over Aaron’s new habit of running things remotely, that I didn’t even think about the


    fact it’d be polite to give the Leithrow wolves a day or two to prepare for my visit.


    I keep forgetting what my role as Luna really means to some people.


    Probably because I was Luna of the Rathbom pack for years, and they treated me like trash, so I never


    knew what it was to have real respect and deference directed at me.


    I’m restless, and ever since I saw Aaron yesterday, I’ve had this ache in my chest like a thorn beneath


    my ribs.


    I think maybe it’s my wolf missing her mate. Like seeing him made it worse, not better.


    Especially the cold way he treated us.


    It’s getting dark out, but I don’t want to stay cooped up in the mansion, trying not to think about Aaron


    and everything I’ve lost, so I make my way to the library and pause at the french doors opening onto a


    patio looking over the lushwn.


    Well, it’s a lushwn in summer. Right now it’s an expanse of pristine snow.


    I kick off my shoes and then slowly remove my clothes, garment by garment, enjoying the drag of


    Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.


    material over my skin and the anticipation building inside me-my inner wolf knows I’m going to let her


    free, and she’s almost vibrating with excitement.


    Just as I drop my panties onto the pile of clothes at my feet, I hear the slightest swish of movement and


    suddenly realize I’m not


    alone.


    I nce over my shoulder to see James standing in the doorway, his gaze roaming over my body in a


    way that can only be described as hungry.


    It gives me a secret thrill, one I know I shouldn’t feel as a mated and married woman.


    But with Aaron neglecting me the way he is, I can’t help but soak up the admiration from someone


    else…someone else who’s been looking after me so attentively since I woke up from mya.


    Eventually, James’s gaze returns to my face, and his wolf is shing in his eyes.


    He reaches up and draws off his shirt, revealing an expanse of perfectly defined muscles across his


    chest.


    So he ns to shift and run with me?


    Only if he can keep up.


    I throw open the doors, letting in the bite of the Montana winter air, and I’m shifting even as I step out.


    By the time I reach the snow on the ground beyond the patio, my four paws leave light trails through


    the powder.


    I bound out into the waiting world, and the night is mine.


    Gifts