An Alpha's Choice (Talon Pack #2)(34)

Instead, he backed up a step, her claws leaving small gouges along his skin. “Come on, then. Show me where you want to run. I don’t know your den.” He tilted his head. “I’d offer my den so your Pack won’t see you, but that’s too far away. Plus, I don’t think you’d be as comfortable with so many strangers.”

Her gaze was on the blood on his chest, and he wanted to curse.

“You didn’t hurt me, Brynn. I liked it. Now, come on.”

She shook her head then took a deep breath. “Thank you. I need to get out of my head and then I’ll be back.”

“I know. Sometimes we need to just let it go. I get it.”

With that, he reached behind her and opened the front door. She stepped out of the way and followed him to the porch. He could feel the stares of the dominant wolves on him as he and Brynn made their way to one of the forested areas of the den where Brynn wanted to run.

Brynn let out a curse as soon as they reached the tree line. “I don’t think you should come to the den anymore.”

He almost tripped over a rock at her words. “Excuse me?” He let the Heir come into his voice, aware that he probably was going to piss her off. Again. “I thought our Packs had a treaty.”

Brynn blew a raspberry as they kept moving at a brisk pace. “It’s not a Pack versus Pack thing, Finn. Not really. You’re just so f*cking dominant that the other wolves don’t know what to do with themselves. It’s one of the reasons Gideon doesn’t go to visit Brie’s family all the time, and why Kade doesn’t stop by for coffee. They’re just too dominant to be around a lot of wolves that can’t help but want to challenge them since they aren’t sure of the ranking of that particular wolf within the Pack. And since it’s two different Packs, it becomes an issue. We’re the only two Packs I know of that have a treaty such as ours with so many of us going from den to den.”

Finn lifted a lip in a snarl. “I know they want to challenge me and can’t, but the Alphas don’t go to the other dens for safety and as a sign of respect.”

“That’s part of it, sure, but all dominant wolves need to be aware of how they affect those around them.”

“You’re talking to me like I’m a pup, Brynn. I know what my presence does. I can’t help how they react to me, but I don’t fight back. I let them stare and try to challenge. I don’t growl or bite. I know I’m on their territory, so I do my best not to let my wolf out. I only come to the den to see you, you know. I don’t even come to the Talons to see Brie.” He hadn’t even realized that was the case until he’d said it.

Strange.

Brynn let out a breath then stopped between a small circle of trees where a fallen log acted as a bench. “I know that. But it’s still a lot for them. Especially right now.”

Finn shook his head. “Then you’ll come to the Redwoods? Because if I can’t come here, you’ll have to come there.”

“Who says I have to meet you inside a den at all? We can call, text, or just meet outside. No matter the plans, we don’t need to see each other outside that.”

“You know that’s not the case. Not anymore.” He didn’t know what he was saying or why he was saying it, but he knew it was the truth right then.

“I can’t deal with this right now. I need to run.” Brynn sucked on her lips and shook her head before stripping off her tank top.

Finn looked away before he did something stupid like crush his mouth to hers. Wolves were used to nudity. When they shifted, it wasn’t as if their clothes magically fell away. If they didn’t strip down before they shifted to wolf, they’d end up tangled in their clothes. Brynn being naked shouldn’t bother him. He should have been able to see her take off her clothes in front of him and shift to a wolf and be fine with it. They were wolves. That was how things were done. Wolves didn’t let their eyes linger unless they were mates or had privileges that he didn’t have with Brynn. They weren’t as crass as to get off on another wolf doing what they had to in order to shift.

Yet Finn couldn’t hold back the urge to take her. Instead, he pulled his shirt over his head and undid his jeans. He heard her shuck off her shorts and bend down near the log. He wouldn’t think about her curves or how f*cking sexy she was when they were doing this. He had to be stronger than that. He quickly toed off his shoes and stepped out of his jeans before kneeling down.

“I’ll follow you,” Finn said. “Once we’re wolves, I’ll follow where you want to go. If I sense you need me to, I’ll pull you back, but just let go, Brynn.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He still didn’t look at her, afraid of his own control. Some dominant wolf he was. Instead of dwelling, he tugged on the bond that centered him to his wolf. The bond ached like a sore limb, pulsating until finally his wolf listened and came forward. He barely remembered a time when the bond between him and his wolf didn’t hurt. It had been different the first couple of times he’d changed as a child. That was before the demon had taken everything from him.

When wolves were children, the moon goddess spared the pain of shifting. Shifters didn’t turn for the first time until they were two or three. Until they hit puberty, and sometimes for a few years after that, they didn’t feel what the adults felt.