Land of Wolves: Chapter 98

I do my best not to waddle when Cole shows up with mine and Caleb’s bags. I’m slightly sore, and every step I take feels like a light punch to my vagina.

I blame it on Caleb.

My attempt to walk straight is sad, and I can tell I’m not successful as Cole smirks in my direction and sets our bags on the floor. Even Caleb seems proud of himself as he lounges on the couch with a content smile.

He’s been doing that since I ran off to the bathroom to pee and wipe smeared cum off the inside of my thighs.

“Thanks, Cole,” I say.

I shift my weight from foot to foot before returning to the boxes I’m currently unpacking. It was physically impossible to relax when they were on the floor enticing me, and I’m having a good time putting everything back into place.

Plus, I’m finding many fun treasures I never even realized we own. It’s like going shopping.

“You need any help?” Cole asks, glancing between Caleb and me.

I shake my head, and Caleb does the same.

“I already moved the big furniture pieces into place, and Ev’s insisting she does the boxes herself,” Caleb explains.

It’s true. Caleb had furnished and lived inside this house for years before I came here, and I’m excited to give everything new homes. It made no sense to rearrange everything before, but now that I’ve been given the opportunity, I want to do it myself.

I’ve never truly gotten to ‘make a home’ before, and this feels a lot like doing that.

Even if I’m just putting away things we already own.

Cole chuckles. “Alrighty then.” He watches me struggle to rip open a box before turning back to Caleb. “Adam’s got the safe house cleared of electronics, and I’ve let everybody know all future meetings will be held at the office.”

I pull a couch pillow out of the box and toss it in Caleb’s direction before reaching for my phone. Caleb mentioned having a few hours of meetings this afternoon, and I intend to use that time to go to the human apartment building and ensure everything is okay.

I’m sure we’d have heard if there were any significant issues, but I want to make sure Jack wasn’t planning on speaking to us about anything important or time-sensitive.

I assume not, considering he decided to stay behind with his mate, but I’d like to make sure. Besides, I think the humans will appreciate the attempt.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they’re beginning to warm up to me.

“A few human news channels have reached out to us today,” Cole says, continuing to brief Caleb on everything he’s missed these past few hours. “They’re trying to secure an interview with us, but I turned them down.”

This has become common since the human government officially announced the ending of HPAW earlier this week. For some reason, though, I thought today would be quiet. Rumor has it that most of HPAW’s employees have already received their exit packages and final compensation, but today is the day the government is officially overtaking and shutting down the offices.

I suppose that means more to the wolves than to humans, though. HPAW shutting down doesn’t affect their day-to-day life as it does ours. They weren’t the ones who spent decades being hunted, kidnapped, and tortured.

Caleb told me most of the packs, not including the ones who still have warriors out, are celebrating.

The humans, excluding the dozen or so thousand who are protesting the government’s decision to dismantle HPAW, are probably going about their normal day.

But the news channels are in a frenzy.

They’ve been ruthless in their attempts to seduce either the wolves or the marked humans into giving an interview. The marked humans, surprisingly, haven’t taken the bait. They’re still pissed about their last interview, but a large part of me thinks they haven’t spoken up because they’re growing content with their lives here.

Several of them are still developing relationships with their mates, and even the ones who have chosen to be alone are enjoying more freedom than ever before. They can do just about whatever they want, and they aren’t expected to answer to anybody as they did in the facility.

We aren’t anything like HPAW, and I think they’re beginning to see that.

“You know,” I start, turning toward Caleb. “It could be good for you to give an interview. The humans are more receptive now than ever to what you have to say, and it could help to soften their views of the wolves.”

Caleb purses his lips before shaking his head.

“I’m not interested in earning the affections of the humans,” he explains. “The human government is on board with a fully shut border, so I don’t want to mess with that. I’d rather they fear what life looks like over here and stay away than grow interested and try to integrate.”

I suppose that makes sense. The humans can be sneaky when they want to be, and if they find themselves intrigued by the wolves, I wouldn’t put it past them to try and open the borders. They’d find themselves sorely disappointed when they realize the wolves won’t have anything to do with them, though.

Unless you’ve got a mark on the back of your hand, you aren’t worth their attention.

“What about the wolves who are living with the humans?” I ask. “What are they going to do?”

I know several wolves choose to live among the humans, and I haven’t heard anything about them returning.

Caleb shoots me a soft smile. “They’ll continue as they are. We have several ways to travel back and forth undetected. It’s common for wolves to attend human universities, anyway, so we’ll need to keep access for those who wish to do so.”

I completely forgot that Caleb attended a human college. He’s mentioned it in passing a few times, but there’s never been a good time to ask more about it.

“How do you manage to get accepted into those colleges?” I ask.

There’s no way they’re claiming to be wolves on their applications, but if they have no records that prove they’re human, I can’t imagine any universities taking the time to consider them.

It’s Cole who answers me.

“We have agreements with several high schools along the borders,” he explains. “We pay their expenses, and they don’t question when we say we need a transcript for a student they’ve never heard of before.”

I raise a brow, surprised to hear that. I figured the wolves were doing something sketchy to be able to get into human colleges, but I didn’t anticipate there’d be any humans involved. I suppose money’s a good motivator for most, though.

I pull another pillow out of the box I’m unpacking and toss it on the couch. Caleb quickly catches it and sets it next to his thigh, his smile unwavering as he watches me work. He was frustrated when I banished him to the couch after making him move all the heavy furniture, but he’s been a good sport.

Besides, we both know he doesn’t really want to unpack boxes.

“We should get going,” Cole says to Caleb.

Caleb checks the time with a quiet sigh. I stand and brush off my pants, preparing to follow them out.

“I’m going to head to the human apartments while you’re gone,” I say. “They’re probably worried about HPAW being shut down today, and I want to make sure there aren’t any concerns.”

I make my way to the front door before waiting for Caleb’s response. He gets so anxious whenever I visit the marked humans, especially when he fears their emotions will be high. I don’t share the same concerns.

If they were going to try and hurt me, they’d have done so already.

Besides, nowadays, there are typically several wolves in the lounge room. I doubt they’d let anything bad happen to me.

Caleb follows me to the door, his muscles pulled taut as he watches me put on my shoes. I know he isn’t happy with my decision, but I also know he isn’t going to try and stop me. I take my job very seriously, and ensuring the humans are as comfortable as possible has been my top priority since they were brought here.

It’s important to me, and I know it’s helpful work.

Without the humans speaking up, the world would’ve never known about HPAW’s testing and treatment of marked humans. Nobody would’ve ever believed a word the wolves had to say, but when it came from humans, they were inclined to believe it.

The marked humans are the sole reason demands for an investigation into HPAW’s practices were made, and if it weren’t for them, I have a feeling the human government would’ve sided with HPAW and joined the fight against the wolves.

As surprising as it is, the marked humans have been hugely beneficial to us. I like to think at least some of that was due to my attempts to make them comfortable.

I’ve gone out of my way to ensure all their wants and needs are met, and I’ve been careful not to force their mates or any wolf traditions onto them. Who knows how that interview would’ve gone without their gradually softening views toward the wolves.

We aren’t bad people, and they just needed to see it.

“I’ll call Tommy and ask him to meet you,” Caleb says.

I shake my head.

“Today’s Tommy’s mate’s birthday,” I say. “He’s unavailable.”

We both know Tommy would follow Caleb’s order and leave his mate’s side to accompany me to the apartments, but I refuse to let that happen. Poor Tommy’s been acting as my shadow almost every day, and he deserves some time off.

“I’ll be fine,” I promise Caleb.

Poor Caleb looks far from happy, and he frowns before giving a curt nod and dropping the subject. I appreciate it, and I grab his shoulders before tilting my head back and puckering my lips. It takes about half a second for him to kiss me, the man unable to resist even when annoyed.

Cole clears his throat when we get a bit carried away, and I hurry to step back and hold out my hand for the car keys. Caleb still looks wary, but after a moment’s hesitation, he digs them out of his pocket and hands them over.

“I’ll be home in three hours,” he says.

I fight back a laugh. “I’ll be back by then.”

Caleb nods, pleased with that answer, as he stares down at me. He lingers, waiting for me to finish getting all my things before following me outside. Cole doesn’t bother, and he steps around me before shifting and disappearing into the woods.

I assume he’s going to warn everybody that Caleb’s stalling and will be a few minutes late.

“I love you, Ev,” Caleb says as I make my way to my car.

I grin. “I love you too, Caleb.”

It’s cute when he gets needy, and he waits for me to get situated in the car before beginning to strip. I don’t stick around to watch him shift, hating the sight of his bones breaking and reforming. I love spending time with his wolf, but I have little interest in observing him enter that form.

Part of me is secretly glad Jackson won’t have to go through that. Both his biological parents are human, so he’ll never shift.

Wolf children begin to shift when they reach puberty, and I’ve heard it’s a months-long process before they can successfully transform between their two forms. They go to special classes and get a lot of guidance from their parents, but it’s not uncommon for a child to get stuck in some uncomfortable in-between while they’re still learning.

I’m not mentally prepared to come home to a child with a human body and wolf vocal cords, nor do I want to try to parent one stuck in their wolf form for months.

Jackson doesn’t have a wolf, so we never have to worry about it.

Hopefully, by the time Caleb and I decide to grow our family even further, I’ll have warmed up to the idea.

I peer into my rearview mirror, searching for Caleb, but he’s already gone. It’s been less than two minutes since we separated, but I’m already missing it. I know life doesn’t stop moving just because I’m finally content, but sometimes I wish it would slow down a tiny bit.

Sighing, I spare one last glance at our home before pulling up the map on my phone and beginning a route to the human apartments. It’s only ten minutes away, closer than I thought, and I crank my radio up as I back out of the small driveway and make my way onto the main road.

The kitchen is currently in boxes, but I think I’ll stop by the grocery store on the way home and pick up something to make for dinner. I’m pretty sure Caleb will be more than happy to dig through boxes and pull out all the utensils and supplies I need, and I’m confident he’ll enjoy a home-cooked meal.

It’s been so long since I made something nice for us.

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only a few chapters left in this story