Chapter 56: Freedom

Piper

I climb on his back, and he takes off to the border. His fur feels so soft under my hands. As he picks up speed, I grip him tighter and bury my head in his fur. The wind running over my body is exhilarating. I have never felt so alive. Grayson is what has always been missing in my life. I would do anything to protect him. That includes protecting our new pack. Wow, I can't believe I call them my pack. They are my pack, though, because Grayson is mine.

"Yes, I am yours. I will always be yours, and since I am yours, the pack is yours to firefly." Grayson tells me through our link. I love the nickname he has given me. I feel him slowing down, so I lean up to look where we are now. The pack lands are so beautiful. I never got to go out much while Joceline held me. I could stay out here all day and just look at the beautiful surroundings.

"This is the border," Grayson tells me as he comes to a stop. I slide off his back and walk in front of him. I dig into the ground a little, and I place the satchel inside the little hole I had dug. I then cover it and say a few words of protection. I then stand and look back at Grayson.

"I need to go to the East now to place the next one." I let him know, and he motions for me to get back on his back. I waste no time loving the feel of touching him and loving the sense of freedom riding on him. He was right about riding on his back. It did not seem like no time, and I had three satchels placed, and we were almost at the last spot. As he came to a stop, I slid off him and went to place the satchel. This time I said the spell for protection, and I could feel the magic roll over everything. I turned to look at Grayson, but his wolf was no longer there. He had shifted.

"Where did the clothes come from?" I ask, wanting to know where his clothes came from.

"I mind linked Brad when I shifted to bring my clothes here and leave them. I knew I wanted to shift back here."

"Why did you want to shift here? Are we close to the packhouse?" I ask, thinking he must have wanted to walk.

"No, there is something I want to show you, though." He smiled, reaching for my hand and taking mine into his. We walked in silence for a while. The forest was beautiful. We came to an area, and I could hear water, but I did not see any.

"Walkthrough here," Grayson said as he moved some branches from the area we were going. I lost my breath at the scene in front of me. There is a stream and a beautiful waterfall. I can see that the stream goes on for as far as I can see.

"This place is beautiful," I tell Grayson looking into his eyes.

"Still not as beautiful as you, but yes, it is a nice place. I thought you might like it, so I wanted to show it to you."

"Thank you for showing me, may I?" I ask, pointing to the waterfall to make sure it is ok for me to go closer.

"You don't have to ask permission from anyone to do anything, Piper." He says, smiling at me, and I know what he is hinting at. It is hard to get used to the fact I am free now. I no longer have to ask permission. I don't waste another second and make my way over to the edge of the stream where it meets the waterfall. It is not a large waterfall but big enough to know it is a waterfall. I lean down and let my hands run over the top of the water, and I am surprised at how warm the water is. I look back to Grayson, and I guess he can see the shock on my face.

"It feeds from a hot spring, so the water is always warm." He tells me with a smile. A thought enters my mind, and I can barely hide the excitement. I take off up the stream so that I am not too close to the waterfall. I hear Grayson from behind me,

"Where are you going?" I don't answer him, and when I am far enough away from the waterfall, I hurry and take my clothes off, tossing them to the side. I can hear Grayson taking deep breaths, but I don't look back to see where he is now. Instead, I take off into the stream, but it is deeper than I thought it was. I go in, but after a few steps, the water is up to my chest, and I gasp, not expecting it. I hear his laughter sounding like it is coming from everywhere. I look over to see him bent over laughing.

"Did you think that was funny?" I ask as I splash water his way. Then another idea hits me, and a smile takes over my face. I use my control over the air to toss a large amount of water at him. He is soaked and looking at me, shocked. The look on his face and the water running down him makes me laugh just as hard as he had.

"So that is how we are doing this, huh?" He says as he jumps in clothes and all. He jumps further than I am, and he goes all the way under the water. How deep is this thing? I think to myself. Then I feel something grab me, and I am pulled into the deeper water. I know it is Grayson from the sparks the light up my body. We both come up to the surface and smile at each other.

"That was not nice. You might need to be spanked." He says, giving me a mischievous smile.

"But that is not fair. You were not nice first." I say with a pout. Hoping it helps but truly not caring if he spanks me. I guess that thought came through the bond cause I see his face light up with lust.

"Oh, I am always nice firefly." He says as he leans in and takes my lips with a passion-filled kiss. My insides light up with want and need for him. I snake my hands through his hair and pull him as close as I can get him. I have never felt so wanted or needed someone as much as I need him. I feel his hands sliding up my body under the water. The water seems to have gotten hotter with us in it. I hear someone clearing their throat, and I jump away from Grayson, trying to cover myself with him. Grayson lets out a growl as I look and see Brian standing near the bank.

"I am sorry, Alpha, but it is an emergency. Bastien has been trying to reach you, and we got a package at the packhouse that I think you need to see." He tells Grayson in a hurry and keeping his eyes diverted from us the whole time.

"Ok, I will meet you back at the packhouse after we get dressed." Brian bows his head to Grayson then hurries off back to the packhouse.

"You still have your clothes on," I say with a bit of a laugh.

"Yes, but I was not going to point out that you are naked to my Beta either." He responds, then kisses me one more time before heading out of the water. When we are on the bank, I use my elemental powers to push the wind around us drying us both. It took a little longer since it was his clothes too and not just his skin like mine.

"That is pretty handy there, firefly." He says with a laugh as he places a kiss on my cheek. I hurry over to my clothes before responding.

"Does that mean no spanking and I made up for not being nice?" I grin from ear to ear.

"Hmmm..... I don't know about that." We both laugh as we head toward the packhouse at a jog.

When we get to the front of the packhouse, a few people are standing outside. They all look like they are circling a box. They hear us approaching, and all turn to face Grayson, giving him a nod of submission. I hear a slight growl come from Grayson, but I am not sure why. He reaches down and lifts the flaps of the box, and we all gasp at the same time. Why would someone do this, and what exactly is that in it. I know the red stuff is blood but is that a person or an animal?