by Godiva Glenn
“We’ve got a long journey tomorrow?” she asked, voice raw with desire.
“Are you sure you want to leave this? What about your NBA?” he asked seriously.
She rolled her eyes. “MBA.” She sighed and stared up at the sky. “I don’t know what I want, but it’s not this. I don’t care about it. If I let you leave, what are the odds I’ll get this opportunity again? Nothing here is leaving, except you.”
“But you may not be able to come back.”
“Come back to what? My life has been empty, on autopilot. I’m here because I don’t know what else to do. School has been my home. Do you realize how sad that is?”
“But if it’s home, it’s something. I could take you away only for you to regret every minute.”
“That’s my problem. You can’t even imagine what it’s like to wake up every morning and feel like something is missing. That you don’t belong.”
“No, I can’t.”
“Trust me, it’s cold. And if you think your pack can help me find my parents and answer the hundreds of questions I have, why wouldn’t I take the risk?”
“We can do out best. It’s not a guarantee,” he clarified.
“A chance is better than nothing. So how far is your pack?”
He took a deep breath. They could argue, but he didn’t see the point. Her optimistic smile was covering a loneliness he understood. Being on the road, away from his loved ones for weeks if not months at a time wasn’t easy. She’d been alone her entire life.
“Don’t tell me you changed your mind?” she asked softly.
“It’s a day of riding, but we’d have to take breaks. I’m not accustomed to having a passenger, and I suspect you wouldn’t want to skip eating just to make it there sooner like I’d planned,” he replied. He cast a glance at her gorgeous figure while she tiptoed to the shore.
“I thought so.” She lifted her arms high and twisted her body in a seductive stretch. “What do you say we hit my apartment, grab a backpack of my things, fuck, and get a few hours of sleep?”
“Of course.” Damon snatched her up into his arms to cart her back to his bike for her clothing. “First you get dressed, then we start a new adventure.”
Charlotte hummed and kissed Damon’s neck, her touch electrifying his blood. They’d just met but he could already tell she was the one. Most lupine didn’t believe in fate, but he did. His parents had instilled it in him.
Running into Charlotte the way he had was too clear a sign from the ancestors to ignore. His wolf warmed to her faster than ever before, and her voice and smile filled him with the comfort of home, even miles and miles away.
Did she feel the same? Maybe. If not, he had no doubt that she’d come around. He wanted to keep her, but he knew she wasn’t ready. There was no telling how long she’d need to adjust to pack life and everything else. Finding her family trumped all else, first of all. But once the dust settles, she’ll be mine.
Thank you for reading Night Discovered. I hope you enjoyed it. I would appreciate your review!
Charlotte’s story returns for a grand finale in Night Revelations. Continue reading for the first chapter!
PREVIEW
Charlotte stared up at the sky, mesmerized by the pink trails of morning sun through wispy clouds. The night before, she’d run with the Bronze pack—her pack—and gotten lost in the scents and scenery of wild landscape. Will it ever lose its magic? It had only been two months so far, but she wanted to hold on to the fresh feeling forever.
To belong was all she ever wanted, and now she had it. The only thing missing was knowing who she was. Damon’s pack had accepted her and welcome her as family without knowing much more than her name, but she wanted more for herself. Somewhere out there, under this same sky, her parents were carrying on with their lives. Do they think of me?
As usual, she was last to wake after the wild night, and she’d been given privacy. Someone had even thought to place a small blanket over her while she slept. She wasn’t a prude, but it would take more than a few months of pack life to remove a lifetime of inhibitions. The notion that there was no shame in her natural state was appealing. Logical. Yet she still froze and wanted to run away if anyone saw her without clothing. Trained shame, Damon called it. Whatever it was, it was on its way out. Wolf moons meant stripping, and she was frustrated to be the only one hiding behind a tree.
She rose to her feet, brushing dried leaves from her naked body. Following the scent of bacon, she grinned. Nearby, a small blue cotton shift dangled from a tree. Just another instance of the politeness of people who two months ago didn’t know her at all. She slid the dress over her head and continued towards the smell of food and the faint sound of talking. Her fingers combed through her long black hair as she emerged from the trees and came upon a small gathering huddled around breakfast.
“Morning, dear,” Ann said and held up a plate. Along with her husband, Boone, Ann had adopted Charlotte. Since she was already an adult it was no more than a formality, but the couple did their best to treat her like a daughter they’d always known.
“Thanks. It was a wonderful night, wasn’t it?” Charlotte took the plate and glanced around.
A chorus of agreement met her. She smiled and squatted by the fire to eat, surrounded by friends and family. She looked nothing like them, being the only Asian, but that was nothing new. Her features were the only difference around here, and no one cared. Everyone spoke about the night before, until the conversation turned to plans for the day. With not much to add, she simply ate and listened.
She was somewhat surprised that their Alpha, Reid, wasn’t lingering nearby. He didn’t pry but kept a watchful eye to make sure she was getting along okay. He was quiet but kind, offering his time whenever she felt lost.
Halfway through her scrambled eggs, the sound of snapping twigs and shuffling caught her attention. She turned and saw Damon picking his way through the trees from the direction she’d come earlier. A tight grey shirt stretched across his solid chest, outlining each muscled contour. The thin fabric hid nothing and worked like a beacon, drawing her attention and teasing her. She swallowed and forced herself to lift her gaze from his pecs.
Her cheeks burned at the sight of his rugged grin. From the first time she’d seen his spiked jet-black hair and alpha male swagger, she shook with desire. Even if their first encounter had been strange, even if the scent of him had terrified her, she’d wanted him. And that desire had yet to cool.
“Hey there, stranger.” She tried to sound nonchalant but couldn’t tell if he bought it. “Didn’t expect to see you so soon.”
He nodded and sat on the floor beside her. The rest of the group suddenly had places to be and vanished. Though she and Damon were far from coupled, this sort of spur of the moment seclusion was fairly common. And it wasn't just him. Sometimes it seemed like she lived in a matchmaking scheme. She was given alone time with the pack's bachelors without trying. If Damon noticed, he didn't let on.
“I meant to be home yesterday, actually. I hate spending the full moons alone,” He replied. His smile remained fixed, but his tone was filled with loneliness she recognized.
“There’s always the next one. And the next. I’m looking forward to it, really. Running with you.” She held out her last piece of bacon to him.
He shook his head at the offering. “My next mission is in a few weeks. Probably be to the north, close to the border. And I’m told I’ll be having a trainee soon.”
“Really? Someone thinks they're able to handle it?”
“Wyatt.”
“Oh?” She didn’t know Wyatt well, except that he was a chronic smiler. The type that loved life. “You’ll have more help then. Three is better than two.”
Damon gave a slight shrug. “Two would probably be fine if Rosa wasn’t still stuck in Florida.”
“She can’t leave until that pack stops fighting, right?”
“More like won’t. Probably something more going on there.”
“Wh
at do you mean? Do you think she’s hiding something?”
He brushed idly at his knee while he spoke. “I wouldn’t say that. I think if we needed to know, we would. I just mean that as a runner, sometimes extra information presents itself, and you have to handle it on your own. Rosa rarely communicates insignificant details, and that’s fine. It’s just that to her, a little detail could be as big as a war.”
“Ah. I guess that makes sense.” Charlotte had spent little time with Rosa, but it was clear that the runner was even more restrained than Damon. Getting her to talk was akin to pulling teeth. “Rosa’s been a runner for a long time, hasn’t she?”
“Fifteen years now. She started before she was twenty. Most do. Wyatt’s older than most to be starting, but age isn’t too much of a factor I guess.”
“He’s got to be about my age,” Charlotte guessed.
Damon’s head tilted as if he was counting. “Twenty-three. I started at sixteen, but I was always different.”
“A rebel?”
“A pain in the ass, I’m told.”
“I don’t know if I’d call you that.”
“You don’t know me well enough yet.”
She arched a brow and gave him a look. They’d gotten to know each other fairly well in certain departments.
He brushed his hand through his short hair and grinned. “Anyways, did you have a good night?”
“Of course. There’s an odd satisfaction to chasing down rabbits and not eating them. When I was alone I thought the whole point was to hunt. In my mind, if I caught a deer or something, it would fix me.” She laughed to herself. “Man, was I lost.”
“There’s nothing wrong with hunting, but you’re right. It’s definitely about more than snacking on woodland critters.” He plucked a leaf from her tangled hair. “Does it feel right?”
She knew what he meant, and nodded. She’d abandoned her life when she met him. Not for him, of course, but to meet his pack and try to make sense of it all. “No regrets. I still know this is where I’m meant to be. This is home. I’ve got more happy memories here than I could have ever scrounged for in my old life.”
“There’s a college near here.”
“I know. You’ve mentioned it quite a few times, and Boone and Ann even got me a brochure. I don’t feel the need to continue that daily grind. Honestly, I chose my major because it was my roommate’s. Then I continued to grad school because I got offered a scholarship. It was a free ride, and now I feel guilty because I should’ve let someone else have it.”
He shrugged his broad shoulders and glanced off into the distance. “Still, we all have something. I'm glad you're happy, but don't be afraid to pick up something else. You won't be less wolf if you decide you want to work in town sometimes.”
“For now, I’m happy to learn about traditions that the rest of you have known forever. Learning how the pack got here, all the backstory of lupines and wolves—it’s helping me grip this side of me.”
“You adapt quickly. From thinking you were a monster.”
She sighed, recalling their first encounter again, but this time the unpleasant part. The part where she believed that she was cursed. She didn’t understand her heritage before she met him.
He’d found her at a party and explained that her monthly fur retreats weren’t a curse. Then he went further, offering to help her find the parents that abandoned her, and show her how their kind—the lupine—lived. But though Damon had explained as much as he could about lupine life, there was always more to learn. Reid had explained the pack system, which she’d largely misunderstood.
When Damon had introduced himself as part of the Adams clan, she'd just assumed it was a fancy way of saying his last name was Adams. On arriving at the Bronze pack she learned that groups of families formed clans, then clans formed packs.
In Damon's case, his family was lead in the clan. Adams was his surname and clan. But as a member of Ann and Boone's family, Charlotte was now of the Brightwater clan, even if neither Ann or Boone were Brightwaters.
Strangely, the arrangement of clans and packs was easier to understand than most lupine traditions and habits. She preferred the ones that seemed obvious, however, such as gathering for group breakfast after a wolf moon.
“As shocking as it all was, why wouldn’t I want to believe you? I thought I was a solitaire freak based on horrible fairy tales. Then you showed me I wasn’t alone and wasn’t a monster. Everything you explained just sounded right.”
She rubbed her head, continuing, “Plus, the wolf was snaring my attention that night. I could tell she was agreeing. That she trusted you. Even though I hated the feeling of her stalking in my brain before, she’d never let me down. Great judge of people. Kept me away from people I later realized weren’t good for me.”
“She holds your instincts. You were already a smart woman. Now you learn to be a clever wolf.” He rose and took her hand.
She melted at the heat of his touch but startled when he shoved a small bundle of fabric into her palm. Unfolding the surprise, her jaw dropped. She stared at the small pair of lacey underwear.
“I’m guessing you saw the dress and missed these. More of that adapting. Eating breakfast with the pack while going commando.”
* * * *
Orange leaves speckled the trees, gracing Charlotte’s hike with their delicate beauty. Though she’d never been one for the outdoors before, embracing her inner wolf had opened her appreciation for nature.
She’d gone most of her life attempting to ignore her heightened senses. Now she reveled in being able to see with such clarity and hear the birds singing as if they sang just for her. The smell of earth and pack swelled her heart, allowing her a glimpse of pride and love that she welcomed fully.
Leaning against a tree, she sipped from her water bottle. Damon was meeting with the elders so she decided to go for a hike. Long walks cleared her head. Occasionally they also helped tamp down her sexual cravings. Since she couldn’t stop thinking about Damon—tall, dark, and sex-bomb—she wasn’t having success in either goal today.
What would I have done if Damon had never found me? It was unlikely that another wolf would’ve run into her. She could have gone her entire life never understanding who she truly was. She may have hurt others or herself on the full moons, even.
Nothing she could imagine was enough to properly thank him.
Of course, he was too sweet to even consider it. He’d brought her to his home and said the only thanks he needed was her happiness; that she not feel obligated towards him, and be herself.
She interpreted that to mean that he hadn’t claimed her as his. While this was fine—she didn’t want to be claimed like property—it was also frustrating. She wanted him. Either he couldn’t tell or wasn’t interested. And since he tended to disappear on assignments, it was anyone’s guess. They were friends, sure. She needed more.
“Charlotte?”
She looked around, squinting to find the vaguely familiar voice that called to her. It didn’t sound like it came from the trail.
The canopy above her shook and dropped a shower of leaves. Looking up she caught sight of a man before he jumped and landed before her in a half-squat. She backed up with a gasp as a pair of sparkling blue eyes met hers.
“Holy fuck. Wyatt?” She looked back up to the trees, then to him. “Seriously? Can we fly or what?”
Chuckling, he wiped sweat from his forehead. “Fly? I wish.” Pointing up and zig-zagging his finger, he explained, “If you move fast, you can jump tree to tree. It’s part of my training.”
She nodded but was caught off guard by his appearance. This was a different side to the constantly smiling guy who blended into the background otherwise.
Standing at roughly six-foot-two inches, he towered over her. Brown jogging pants hung low on his waist, and his tanned chest was bare. He stretched his hands high above his head, showing off his lean torso and six-pack. His dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a messy bun, a look she noticed was just
as trendy among the lupine as it was for college men.
She held her water bottle out to him. “Damn. I knew runners had to be strong, but I clearly never thought of all that entailed.”
“Thanks.” He took the bottle, and in the exchange, his hand brushed hers.
Heat radiated from him, and now that she paid attention, his heart drummed in her ears—a rhythm that seemed to call to her for a reason she didn’t understand. “How long have you been at it today?”
“About an hour. I don’t usually take a break but… I noticed you.” He took a swig of water and handed her bottle back. “What are you up to?”
“Wandering. Nothing really.”
A crooked smile crossed his face, and he nodded. “I gotta get back to this, but I wanted to give you something. Think you could swing by my place later?”
His offer caught her by surprise. They barely knew each other. Hospitality was common, but a gift was something else. Probably something small. “Of course. You live…”
“In one of the many beige trailers towards the city. But mine is the one with no wind-chimes or garden gnomes.” He waved and headed off, disappearing from sight within seconds.
She clipped her water back onto the belt loop of her shorts. Her eyes narrowed on the path ahead of her, gauging the distance between treetops. Shaking her head, she flicked a piece of loose bark from a nearby tree. Hours of leaping between trunks and branches didn't sound appealing.
Neither did being away from home, traveling the country and going against the instincts that kept packs together. Maybe Wyatt could shed insight into what makes a pack runner tick. That could give her an idea on how to broach a relationship with one. She headed back towards the cabin she shared with her new family, curious about Wyatt’s gift and whatever warranted it.
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