WILD

forty three

The first place Lorena lead him to was a small shop a few houses down from her own. It was one of her favorite places to go to when she was a young girl. Anyone who worked there back then always snuck her free toys and candy when they could.

She opened the door and a little bell rang, letting whoever was in the store know that someone was entering. "Nana, I'm back!"

"Is that you, Little Wren?"

Orion was busy looking around the cute, rustic shop, wondering how long it had been there. He chuckled when he heard whoever was working in the store call Lorena "Little Wren", as they had written letters back and forth with him calling her various birdnames as a joke. Apparently, it was a common thing for her.

Lorena elbowed him in the arm playfully just as the store owner was coming from the back room.

"Oh, 'Rena, how are you! And is this mister handsome?" The old woman with silvering hair chuckled and approached the two.

Lorena gave her a hug and kissed her on the cheek. She stood back and gestured towards Orion. "This is him. That's my mate."

"He's as handsome as you described, if not more!" Lorena facepalmed and blushed a deep red, and Orion chuckled and blushed as well.

He grabbed the old woman's hand and lowered himself to give her a kiss on the hand. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

The old woman gasped and looked towards Lorena, causing them both to chuckle.

"Well, Nana, I'm just showing Orion around our territory. We'll be on our way now, but I may see you tomorrow."

"If you're going to leave so soon, at least grab something to eat. I'm sure you're hungry."

"No, I'm-"

"Yes!" Orion said eagerly. "Since you're offering." He turned to Lorena. "Please eat something. I'm sure you haven't eaten all morning and afternoon and you've been working non-stop."

Lorena bit her lip and shrugged. "Well, okay."

After grabbing a snack and saying a farewell to Nana, Lorena led Orion to a large field and sat down on a large rock somewhere in the middle of it. Orion sat down next to her and they finished their snacks in a comfortable silence.

Once Lorena was done, she looked over at Orion, who was staring at the ground and seemed to be deep in thought.

Something about him changed, she noticed. She wasn't surprised that he had changed over the course of three years, but the level of maturity and also humility he had come back with felt weird to her.

"So, how are things back home?" She had a feeling that Orion had been through a lot, and she wanted to give him the chance to share what he wanted.

The alpha sighed and lifted his head, leaning back on his forearms. "Everything is fine. Max is doing great. Everyone is doing great. Some of the kids ask about you."

Lorena smiled. She didn't think that anyone would miss that high strung, bratty version of herself, but apparently the children in his pack did.

"They do, do they?" Lorena leaned back, mirroring Orion's movements, but then realized that it would be easier to just lay down completely. She did, and looked to the side to see Orion staring at her. "What?"

He chuckled. "Nothing, sweetheart."

"Oh! How's your father?"

Orion shook his head and shut his eyes. Lorena realized what had happened and she gasped. "Oh no. I'm so sorry-!"