Safety by Viola Rivard Read Free Book Online

something you can eat.”
    Taylor shook her head before burying it into the crook of Alder’s neck. “No, let’s go. I’m fine. Honestly.”

CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    Alder carried Taylor on his back all the way to the cabin. The ride back was much longer than she remembered it being, though she could attribute that to time being relative. She was exhausted, cold, and sore in every place imaginable.
    Hale came with them, though he kept his distance. Only the occasional glimpse of white fur moving through the trees told her that he was still nearby. When they finally arrived at the cabin, he hung back in the woods.
    Taylor dismounted onto shaky legs, pulling the furs close to her body as she gazed around the familiar landscape of her home. It was still early morning, and a thick fog had rolled in from the lake, making her cabin look as though it were floating on a cloud.
    Having shifted back into his human form, Alder wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her from behind.
    “Is there anything you need? Want me to bring you something to eat?”
    Taylor shook her head. “No, I think I’m going to take a nap.”
    He kissed the top of her head. “All right. I’m going to head up to the den for a little bit. I’ll be back to check on you soon.”
    After another moment, Alder released her and shifted back into his wolf form. With a quick lick on her cheek, he left to join his brother in the forest. Taylor watched them both go, a heavy weight settling over her.
    The fog parted as she made her way to the porch, her steps heavier than usual. As she reached for the door handle, the door swung open, revealing a disheveled-looking Lark.
    A look of alarm spread over Lark’s face at the sight of Taylor, and she hastily stepped out of the cabin, closing the door behind her.
    Her big eyes darted around the area. “Are they gone?”
    Taylor frowned. “Nice to see you, too.”
    “Sorry!” Lark said, wincing. She spread her arms to pull Taylor into a loose hug. “You look so tired.”
    ‘Tired’ was an understatement. Over the past—however many nights it was—her sleep had been terribly fractured. Alder and Hale had been insatiable, and neither seemed to have been able to settle on one sleeping pattern. Oftentimes, when one male would finish and she would start drifting back to sleep, the other would wake and be ready to take her again.
    Even if she’d had the strength to rebuff them, her body had been at the mercy of the thrall. No matter how tired or sore she was, she couldn’t help but respond to the touches of her mates.
    The memories made her shiver.
    “Are you cold?” Lark asked, helping Taylor to tighten the furs around her shoulders.
    “Yeah, but I think I’ll feel better once I get a few solid hours of sleep.”
    She moved to open the cabin door, but Lark blocked her.
    “Before you go inside, you should see the quail coop,” she said, snatching Taylor’s hand.
    Too weak to protest, Taylor let Lark drag her across the yard, frost-kissed snow crunching under their feet.
    The quail coop had several new additions, way more than Taylor had planned for. There were now seven quail in all, most of them huddled together in the hutch. The coop was a disaster, and it was clear that no one had been cleaning it out.
    Lark held her hostage for several minutes, telling her all about each quail and asking her to guess which ones had been caught by her and which by Glenn. It wasn’t difficult.
    “I’m going to say that you caught Scratcher, Chirper, and Beaky,” Taylor said, pointing to each as she ran through their names. “And Glenn caught Claw, Razor, and Daggerwind.”
    Lark looked amazed. “Wow, you’re so intuitive.” She rubbed her chin and then added, “And kind, wise, and compassionate.”
    Taylor’s brow furrowed. “You’re being weird, Lark. Look, I’m going to get some rest and hopefully get back on a nocturnal sleeping schedule. We can talk about the quail later.”
    Lark scrambled to catch up to