parley. Woodland are the ones who act without honor, not Alpine.”
Trinity’s cheeks warmed at the words, and she ducked her head and entered the tent to hide her embarrassment. All her life, she’d been taught to take pride in her pack, to be loyal, and to walk with honor. Matthias’s words brought shame on her pack, shame on her. She didn’t raise her head once she was inside the tent. She hadn’t thought she could possibly live with more shame but, well, Matthias had proved there was always room for more.
She hustled over to the far side of the tent, around the curled-up figure of Jax. He smiled at her sleepily, then his smile broadened when Matthias swept into the tent. She made herself comfortable, scooting as far away as she could from the large alpha as he took up a position lying across the front of the tent—effectively blocking any attempt to leave it.
He lay on his side, his arm pillowing his head, and for a moment she couldn’t help herself. She stared at him, at the bunched biceps, broad shoulders and muscled chest, his pants loose and comfortable and low on his hips.
When her gaze rose to his face, she realized he was staring at her, and the smoldering heat in his eyes called to an answering warmth deep within her. His regard was unsettling, patient and dark with sensual intent. She swallowed and lay down, rolling to face away from him. Even though she closed her eyes and had her back to him, she could still feel his gaze on her. The knowledge that he was prepared to watch her sleep set her heart pumping, and the muscles in her arm tightened with tension. She didn’t think she’d be getting much sleep at all tonight. She sucked in her breath as she heard him shift position behind her.
She was attracted to the guardian.
Matthias stiffened, his senses on alert as he awoke to the eerie sensation of someone watching him.
He slowly opened his eyes, then blinked, rearing his head back a little to allow his eyes to focus. Two blue eyes, innocent and watchful, hovered an inch from his face.
“I need to pee,” Jax whispered.
Matthias blinked again, then nodded. “Okay,” he whispered back.
He rolled to a sitting position, and looked at the other side of the tent. It was still dimly lit inside, but he could make out her form. The tracker lay curled up on her side, as though she was trying to roll into herself. Her chest rose and fell in a regular rhythm, and his lips tilted at the softest snore she emitted. She’d turned over during the night, and now lay facing him, her face softened and flushed with sleep.
Something unfurled deep inside him, a warmth that battled momentarily between lust and protectiveness, and he was surprised when his urge to safeguard won. He didn’t want to care. It felt wrong, to Alpine, but most of all to Cara. He backed out of the tent without his usual grace, anxious to get away from the threat to his peace of mind. Outside, the night sky was lightening to a golden gray, and most of his guardians still slept.
“Come on,” Matthias said to the kid, jerking his head toward a trail. He walked toward the ring of trees, and startled when a little hand slid in to hold his own. For a moment, something hard and brittle rose within, but when he looked down, that brittleness shattered when Jax looked up at him and smiled.
“Can we go hunt?” the boy asked.
Matthias arched an eyebrow. “I thought you needed to pee.”
“Then can we hunt?” Jax asked eagerly. He dodged a branch, pulling down on Matthias’s hand as he jumped over it. “I didn’t break it,” he told Matthias proudly.
He frowned. He had no idea what the kid was going on about. “Didn’t break what?”
“The branch.” Jax ducked around another one. “Trin says the less you break, the harder it is to track you.”
“Really? What else does Trin say?” He kept his tone casual as he led the boy over to a tree, and gestured, turning his back to go and relieve himself a little distance away. He couldn’t deny that he was fascinated by the tracker.
“She says the forest can be your friend.”
“Uh-huh.” He supposed a tracker would see it like that.
“She says not to hit Mia, even if she’s asking for it.”
Matthias finished zipping up his pants and waited for the boy to join him. “Who’s Mia?”
Jax frowned. “She’s in my class, but she’s mean. She’s always going on about her dad.”
“Why is that a problem?” Matthias asked as he led the boy through some more trees, until he reached the bank of a river. He could smell the sweet scent of the water, and they both knelt down. Matthias leaned forward to wash his hands.
“She’s always rubbing it in, that’s all,” Jax muttered, his lips turned down in a pout. An air of sadness crept over the little boy, one that Matthias didn’t fully understand but could easily recognize.
“What does your dad say about it?” he asked quietly, and found himself thinking for the first time what the boy’s parents must be going through, with their pup held by a warring pack, what Trinity’s family would be experiencing. He could easily remember that panic, that agonizing, gut-wrenching dread that could be so consuming as to drive all rational thought out of a parent’s mind.
“My dad’s dead,” Jax said quietly.
Matthias paused, then sank back on his haunches. “How long?”
Jax shrugged. “Not long.”
“And your mother?” Matthias found himself asking, a little knot of tension solidifying like a stone deep in his gut.
Jax blinked and ducked his head. “She’s sad.”
Relief, slow and cool, swamped the stone to bury it. At least he still had his mom. “I’m sorry,” he said, looking down at the sandy-haired boy. “It’s hard when you lose family.” He almost rolled his eyes. What a damned understatement. He tried again. “I mean, I get it.”
Jax lifted his head to look at him, his eyes luminous with unshed tears. Something passed between them, a recognition of shared misery that traversed ages.
Jax nodded, then blinked furiously as he looked down at the rippling waters of the river. Matthias didn’t know what made him do it, but he flicked a small amount of water at the boy. Jax squealed as he leaned back, gasping at the chill of the water, and Matthias smiled.
“This river comes down from my territory,” he told the boy. “It tastes good, too.”
He leaned over to scoop some water up in his hand and took a few sips. Jax watched for a moment, then tried to do the same. Matthias’s arm flashed out and caught the back of his sweater as the boy nearly toppled into the river. “Like this,” he said, and showed the boy where to plant his feet, then nodded approvingly when Jax successfully sipped water from his own cupped hands. “Good job.”
He sat back against the sandy bank, drawing his legs up and resting his arms loosely across the tops of his knees. The river flowed quietly past, with an occasional gurgle as it tumbled over rocks. The sky was turning a peachy orange as
