Chapter 23 : The First Shift

*Estelle*

It had been a few days since the flowers had been discovered in the forest and things had been quiet, but tense since then.

Charles and Isolde had been absent from the main house, which was strange to everyone that I'd mentioned it to. There had been no more odd occurrences around the border or incidents in the village. Everything was quiet.

In the calm, Gabe hadn't had much to do. Because of that, we'd been spending a lot more time together. My wolf was thrilled at the attention. I'd never felt that part of me so content. It was weird, but in a good way. Gabe had gotten more comfortable touching me without checking to see if we were being watched. I was learning what it took to make him smile and I loved that it was something I could do.

I felt like I was getting my first taste of normality since I'd come to the village. It was nice seeing that Gabe's life didn't always have to be tense meetings and arguments. He liked to read, which explained the size of the lib