::CHAPTER 30::

Richard’s POV

I peered up at the restaurant we’d parked in front of. This is new. I’d passed this street a ton of times on my way to and from school. This place hadn’t been there before. There had been nothing but an abandoned parking lot, patchy grass and weeds last time I saw it.

Hopping off the bike, I scanned the outside. It was pretty big and the windows were tinted too dark to see inside. Nye cut off the engine and sidled up beside me.

“Nexus?” I read the white cursive writing above us.

“It came out a little after you left,” he grinned. “It’s really cool. You’ll love it.”

“I’m getting the feeling you’re a bit of a regular here.”

“And why would you think that?” he asked and walked through the door I held open for him.

“Alpha!” a group of people on one end called, waving at him.

“No, you’re right. That’s crazy talk,” I nodded.

“I’m not a regular,” he nudged me with an elbow and gestured at the interior, “I can’t afford to be.”

Looking around, I got what he meant. A place this flashy didn’t come cheap. There were a couple of bartenders pouring drinks, sure. But there was also a lineup of flairtenders too; pulling tricks, juggling bottles and glasses, doing balancing acts with liquor bottles and pouring drinks from the oddest angles. The music was upbeat and jazzy and the flairtenders somehow kept time dancing while mixing drinks and performing these feats for patrons who wanted a show. The LED lights under the transparent bar top gave the glasses and colorful drink the coolest look.

I wanted to take it all in some more, but Nye was already leading me to the group who’d hailed him out. One look at their eyes marked them as definitely human. They all were around my age but more rough around the edges, clad almost entirely in black with helmets on their laps and a round of beers on their table. “Bikers, Nye? You have biker friends?” I raised a brow chuckling, “Surprise after surprise.” He shot me a look that said to behave just before we reached them.

“I thought you forgot all about us, Alpha,” one grinned.

“Me? Never,” he leaned against the booth as comfortable as ever with an easy smile.

“Who’s your friend?” a woman asked nodding toward me.

“Richie – uh – Richard,” he corrected.

“Richie?” she laughed, “I’m guessing you have a monopoly on that name.”

“Of course,” I slung an arm around his shoulders, “You know how bossy he gets.”

“I am not bossy,” he said but even he had to laugh at the bold faced slie.

“Sure thing,” one of the guys scoffed. He got up, stretched over the table and held out a hand to me. He flashed a smile that was all kinds of invitations, “Hello there. They call me Misfit, but you can call me–”

“–an ambulance if you don’t sit your ass down, buddy,” Nye interjected as cool as if he were ordering him a drink.

“Aw man. He’s taken?” the woman asked.

“Very much so, Gaudy” he shrugged and gave me a once over, “Crying shame, really.”

“Yes,” I eyed him, “My boyfriend’s not the sharing kind it turns out.”

“Not in the least,” Nye agreed.

“Blast him, the selfish bastard,” Misfit said but he was smiling around his drink.

“Mmm,” Nye gave a sympathetic nod, “Indeed.”

“Either way, you two should join us on our road trip next week,” Gaudy suggested, “You can even bring that boyfriend of yours along, Richard.

“I’m not sure I’ll be in the country next week,” I frowned, “So – um – yeah.”

“…yeah,” Nye echoed but he was staring at me, “Guys, we’re going to head over to the bar but I’ll see you later.”

They barely got to wave goodbye before Nye was already stalking away. I followed behind, already sensing trouble before he grabbed us a couple of empty barstools in front of a flairtender. I checked the drinks menu but everything was signature to Nexus. I didn’t recognize any of them. I scanned the content list next to each choice and looked at the pictures before settling on a cocktail I wanted to try. Nye had already ordered. I paid the flairtending price for both drinks.

Glancing over, I saw that Nye sat facing me directly; his eyes gone wolf and arms folded. His stare was challenging and I startled a little. Well that’s not unsettling at all.

“When were you going to mention that you were leaving next week?”

“When I knew for sure?” I glanced at the show of fluidity and balance in front of me as the girl behind the counter made my drink, “Like I said to your friends over there, I’m not sure.”

“So what happens when you leave?” he asked.

That was a good question. Things were different. I couldn’t just slip away expecting to be mildly missed with plans of keeping in better contact. As of this morning, I have a mate. He was an Alpha who had to stick with his Pack so he couldn’t come along. I didn’t have an answer for him.

“I’ll be back, you know. It’ll only be for a little while.”

“How long is a little while?”

“The dates aren’t finalized,” I admitted, “It’s hard to guess how long it’ll take exactly.”

“Estimate,” his eyes narrowed the wolf coming closer to the surface.

My gaze dropped at his tone but I knew he didn’t mean to force me to submit, “Two or three weeks maybe?”

He released a sharp exhale and took a sip of the blue and yellow drink now sitting in front of him. He massaged his eyes and shook his head.

“Okay. Alright,” he returned his gaze to me, “I can do that. Two or three weeks. That’s fine.”

“It’s shitty,” I said what he didn’t want to, “I know it is. I should have thought about this before.”

“Before you said yes to me?” his hand stilled on his way to reaching for his drink.

“No. No, not that,” I shook my head, “I don’t want to undo any of it. This trip back home should have been better planned.”

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have planned for this. You only found out this morning,” he mumbled into his glass, “I can’t expect you to have prepared for factoring – you know – into it.”

“Hey, we’ll work something out okay? I promise.”

“There it is. That sad, kicked puppy smile,” he huffed eyes going warm and human, “My kryptonite.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I get in trouble with you.”

He rolled his eyes and stole a sip of my drink. It was a scandalous shade of purple and its color was kicked up a notch by the LED lights beneath the bar top. The purple almost glowed. Nye choked on it, eyes going wide. “Okay, I dare you to drink three of these and walk in a straight line,” he slid it back to me laughing. I gave him a suspicious glance but sampled it.

He laughed harder at the look on my face. It was really good but damn it was strong. It was the like those fruity drinks that got you drunk off your ass. Except it looked deceptively sweet and tasted like you’d be streaking naked down the street within the hour. Still, it was so damn good. Especially with the raspberry garnish. Even more deceptions. As if anyone would expect something garnished with a raspberry to knock you flat on your ass after downing two glasses of it.

I can usually hold my liquor but only two drinks in and I was acting like a lightweight.

Nye seemed totally sober if it weren’t for him quietly giggling through his rendition of a Chosen nursery rhyme. “Alrighty. C’mon, baby boy. Let’s get some food and water in you,” I lead the way upstairs to where I assumed the restaurant was. It only then occurred to me that we’d been drinking on an empty stomach and hadn’t even had breakfast. No wonder we were tipsy.

The restaurant felt intimate. There was dim lighting and cozy, circular booths with stained glass lamps to brighten each table and corner seats that were pretty private. I chose a corner booth and slipped through the opening in the nearly complete circle.

Nye sat on one end and I was on the other. A waitress welcomed us, introduced herself and handed us our menus before leaving.

I flipped through mine and scanned through each item, fully aware that I was being stared at. It was hard not to know. Nye wore his intensity like a second skin. It came off him in waves and hard to ignore if you were close enough. His intensity was nearly tangible in a booth that was as enclosed as this one was.

Smiling to myself behind my menu, I didn’t say a word until the waitress returned. He then gave his order and waited a beat before meeting my gaze. His head was cocked in a purely wolfish way and his lips turned up at the edges.

“Has anyone ever told you that you sometimes smile like you know exactly when the world is going to end?”

“No never,” he leaned back from the table, “That’s a new one.”

“Yes,” I grinned bobbing along to the slow pop song playing on the speakers, “I kinda wonder if you’re planning the apocalypse when you smile like that.

“Y’know what I’ve been wondering?” he asked letting his voice drop an octave.

“What?”

“I’ve been wondering,” he repeated in a tone far lower than before, “why you’re sitting all the way over there.”

I hesitated a fraction before sliding over and settling in, fingers drumming an absent minded beat onto my thighs. A warm hand covered my own, stilling the movement. I let his fingers slot between my own.

No one could see us, but I felt a thrill at the contact. We were out in public. I would never have been so brazen that I’d take his hand out in the open.

“What’ll we do when we’re done here?” he looked up at me.

“I have a present for you,” I shrugged, “And you’ll probably ignore me once you get it.”

“Oh, then it’s bound to be good.”

“Definitely,” I said then thought on it. Cocky probably wasn’t the way to go on this gift. After all, it had been a while since he’d begged his parents, uncle and aunt for a pet. Any pet. Even a fish would have done. Maybe this Nye was the kind of guy who didn’t mind petting a dog in the store but was old enough to realize how much work would go into it.

“Okay I take that back. Strike it from the record. There’s a chance that you’ll actually hate it,” I frowned, “and in retrospect I probably should have talked to you first before I got it.”

“Now I’m worried, thanks,” he shook his head looking amused, “I don’t think I’d hate anything you got me.”

“What if I got ice-cream banned. Like internationally. Like intergalactically.”

“I’m not going to push my luck and say you don’t have that kind of power,” he pursed his lips and stroked his chin, “but if you did manage that I’d forgive you in about three or four.”

“Years?” I raised a brow.

“Decades. Three or four decades. Give or take.”

“Noted,” I raised my hands in surrender.

“But seriously, I’ll like anything you get me. Just ‘cause it’s from you.”

“And you call me the sap,” I hid a smile.

“Made you blush though,” he nudged me and wiggled his eyebrows looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

Smug little shitbasket. “I heard that,” he said with a chuckle, “And whatever a shitbasket is, it sounds endearing when you think it.” Before I could protest, the waitress returned with a tip-me-well smile and our drinks. We thanked her and I gave her enough time to get out of earshot and then rounded on Nye.

I didn’t have to say anything. He gave a shrug, “You think when you agreed to this it would be easy? A relationship perfectly constructed in the heavens and the cosmos just for you, yet no drawbacks? None whatsoever?” Well when you say it like that… “Doesn’t matter how I say it, it’s true,” he took a sip of his decidedly non-alcoholic – for the most part – drink and hummed his approval.

He slid his glass over without a word and I took a sip of it out of reflex more than decision. “Mmm, good,” I slid the glass back, “And I did expect some downsides. You not being able to be apart from the Pack for long and me needing to be near you. Things like that.” Nye shrugged as if it was the least of his problems. It probably was now that I thought about it.

“Look, it’s part of the ­deal. We’re perfectly custom made life partners. The ultra couple. We’re Ahmose-paired and all that jazz,” he wiggled his eyebrows and grabbed a taste of my drink before pointing at it, “Almost better than mine.” I took a taste and had to admit he was right.

Mine had strawberry puree and lemon with a sprits of something bubbly, something tasting vaguely alcoholic and something delicious and so refreshing in the icy blend. His was a mango and pineapple combo with ice-cream – big shocker ­­– mixed with pine liquor syrup on top of the whipped cream.

“Anyways, how come I can’t hear any of your thoughts?” I asked. He opened his mouth to reply, but we were temporarily distracted by two gigantic platters of sizzling and popping meat and a generous amount of side dishes.

When Nye finally responded, mouth full and table manners long gone, I’d almost forgotten that I had asked him a question. This was mostly because my own mouth was full too. The steak fries were too good a combination with the baby back ribs and salad for it to be any different.

“See my wolf and I have a powerful link and we talk a lot so my mind is pretty occupied by him. You’re a third party who’s new to this. I’m guessing you can’t just waltz in and disrupt our mental link. Plus you’re too used to dealing with your own mind to know how to navigate two foreign ones,” he explained, “The animal on the other hand communicates primarily using his mind. He’s good enough at this that he can get into your mind.”

I pulled a shrimp out of his burger and munched on it while he polished off the rib he’d gotten a hold of. “I can roll with that theory,” I said finally, “It’s as good as any.” He opened his mouth and leaned in for the fry I held out. It was nice that things hadn’t changed that much.

Nye was still comfortable getting into my space, demanding attention when he wanted it and stealing food off my plate to his heart’s content. This felt easy. Good. “Well that was nice to hear,” he said smiling around his fork. I shot him a look at his mental invasion. “Hey, I can’t help it. I’d respect the privacy of your mind if I could, but you’re broadcasting,” he gave a shrug, “Your mind is relaxed. You’re not guarding it at all.” Never had to before.

He looked up at me as if to gauge my tone before returning my smile and returning to his plate.I noticed that he was closer now. Slouched into the booth and me. His body heat was a line at my side, his weight pressed against me. My arm curled around his shoulder so he could lean back better. Being angled away from my plate didn’t stop him from stealing another rib any more than he could keep me from his shrimp and drink.

“So now that we’re mated,” I whispered in case someone was nearby, “does that mean I can know where the den is?”

“Why? D’you want to know?” he tilted his head back to look up at me.

“Wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to know. I’m pretty sure every human in the village wants to know.”

“You’re not in the village. You’re somewhere in between,” he said.

“So you won’t tell me?”

“I could but you’d need a guide to find it. And no one can know that I showed you.”

“Do you have a room there?” I asked. My fingers toyed with his scarf, pulling it away enough that I could see the hidden bruises I’d left on his skin.

“Behave,” he gave my leg a little smack and flashed an easy smile that reached his eyes, “No propositioning me over lunch.”

“I wasn’t! I was only asking, you perv. I heard all the soldiers get one. Not sure how true that is.”

“We do. The Alpha gets the biggest room,” he said and then puffed out his chest, “I have the second biggest. Mates get one too.”

“We don’t need an extra room. I could always share yours,” I pressed a kiss against one of the marks on his neck.

“You’re incorrigible,” he squirmed away with a laugh, “It’s not like we can tell everyone.”

“But we can’t exactly hide it from Asher. You can’t avoid your Alpha and he’s bound to know something’s new.”

“I can keep it to myself.”

“Have you seen yourself lately?” I scoffed, “You’re freakin’ glowing. It’s in your eyes. You’re happier.”

“And you’re no better,” he chuckled and finished the last of his lunch.

“Can’t help it,” I smiled, “I like being mated. It suits me.”

“Yeah, it does. It’s a good look for you.”

He sat up properly and put some distance between us for the sake of the waitress who’d be back in some time. It didn’t matter. Nothing about the spacing felt platonic anyway. No matter that we were joking around and pushing and shoving at each other and teasing all the while and slumped like beached whales after that big meal.

The waitress cleared our tables and brought the bill while we still tried to recover from the food coma that was starting to kick in. “I am so full but I could do with another drink downstairs,” Nye gave a little stretch and slid back down into his seat. Well damn. I used to think it was hard to deny him anything before. Now I had this strange urge to spoil him rotten. “I for one am not opposed to that,” he beamed at my thought.

I scoffed and made to leave, “Come on, you brat.” He followed behind with a groan rubbing his stomach. His biker friends were gone from their seat in the bar area. “You know Nexus is a club if you go around back,” Nye said once we got to his bike, “We should go sometime.” I glanced back at the building. The restaurant and bar were pretty flashy so I could imagine the club. It was bound to be good. I climbed onto the back of the bike and wrapped my arms around his waist, “Yeah, we should.”

“I really shouldn’t be getting on this bike after eating so much.”

“Danyel Evan Maynard, I swear to God,” I glared at the back of his head, “You better not puke going lord knows how many miles per hour.”

“Chill!” he laughed, “It’ll be like a romantic comedy or something.”

“Not funny!” I jabbed him in the back, “You’re so gross.”

He was already on the road and laughing away before I could say anything else. I could have feigned being upset about this, but it was hard to with the adrenaline rush I was getting from the ride home. Plus I had Tommy waiting there with Nye’s present. My mind was too distracted to bother.

Tommy was pacing around outside when we got back. He was in the middle of a call and fanned us away when we tried to say hello. I figured I knew who the call was with at that moment. I knew how he got sometimes with his father. They were close and the man was supportive but, even in retirement, Mr. Ackles still was highly invested in his company. He never interfered but he liked to be kept up-to-date and share advice that no one particularly asked for. No one largely consisted of Tommy himself.

I closed the door behind us and stepped in Nye’s way before he could go any further. If I were to believe Tommy’s text message earlier then the dog would be asleep on the kitchen floor where she’d settled earlier.

“So um…I have your present here,” I said, “It’s in the kitchen. Now if you don’t want it, you don’t have to keep it.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it,” he cracked a crooked little smile that had my stomach in knots, “Let me see it?”

“Yeah. Sure. C’mon,” I lead him in the direction of the kitchen.

The dog was no longer asleep but nosing at her water bowl with a suspicious sniff. Nye just stood in place staring at her. He didn’t say anything. He only stared. When I thought I couldn’t handle the silence any longer, he turned to me.

“You got a dog?” his voice was soft, “You got me a dog?”

“Surprise?” I gave a weak smile.

“Richie,” he dove onto me and hugged me tight enough to hurt, “You know I always wanted one. Why’d you think I wouldn’t like it?”

“Her. The dog’s a girl.”

“Really?” he turned around with wide eyes, “Oh wow. Okay. She’s cute. I’m digging the black and white fur.”

“Yeah. I saw you playing with her in the pet store so I thought you’d like her best.”

“Definitely. And she was surprisingly docile,” he inched near her, “Hey, doesn’t her fur remind you of cookies n’ cream?”

“You are not naming my present after ice-cream.”

“I’ll do what I want,” he grinned, “Why are you shocked by this?”

“I’m not shocked. I’m protesting. Don’t put the poor dog through that name.”

“Too late. I’m calling her Cookies for short.”

“What have I done?” I shook my head.

“Something awesome. Thank you,” he took a seat on the floor and motioned for me to do the same.

“I am not calling her Cookies.”

“Yes you are. Cookies n’ cream is my—.”

“—favorite flavor. I know.” I’d meant to sound exasperated but it came out doting instead.

“Right. Then accept it.”

“I’m calling her C.C.”

“CeeCee?” he made a face, “Isn’t that a little human sounding? I’m not giving my dog a human name.”

He gave the floor a couple of pats. The sound was enough to get the dog’s attention. She looked at him long and hard as if sizing him up. “C’mere Cookies,” he said. She blinked at him as if deeply questioning her new name. “Is it just me or is she really expressive for a dog?” I asked, “Is that normal?” She huffed at me as if understanding perfectly. Either way she padded over to us.

She sniffed at Nye and licked him. She looked up at him with her head cocked to the side; assessing. Cookie was smart, I would admit that. Nye shot a smirk back at me when he heard me use the name. “Okay, we need to work on making my mind private again,” I said, “Right now.”

Nye frowned, his hands absently smoothening Cookies’ fur. “What?” I asked, “What’d I say?” He shook his head, scratching the little, dog ears proffered up to him. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach told me that it was something. “Hey,” I bumped his shoulder, “Talk to me?” He visibly took a breath and his fingers froze.

“It’s fine,” he met my eyes, “It’s your mind and it’s a private place. You’re used to it being private.”

“Okay. So what’s the problem?”

“There is no problem,” he shrugged, “Everyone deserves their privacy. I’ll help you learn to get it back.”

“But you don’t want to.” He really really didn’t. I felt it like a new sixth sense.

“Doesn’t matter what I want. It’s your mind and your privacy. Your human right and all that.”

“You’re saying all of that and I can tell you mean it, but it’s bothering you.”

He didn’t say anything at first. I thought he wouldn’t answer at all after a while. I’d half given up on getting a response at a point. He only had eyes for the dog he was petting.

“Me being able to hear you like that,” he started, “It’s because of our new mating link. It’s a big part of our mating link.”

“Oh.”

“But I can do without it,” he added quickly, “I can. I kinda…I always wondered what it would be like to feel connected to a mate like that. And now I know.”

“What’s it like? For you?”

“Feels like we’re bonded. I can practically sense you next to me even when you’re not there,” he said, “But, like I said, that doesn’t matter. You don’t like it and it makes sense that you wouldn’t.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, “You’re already used to sharing your mind with someone else. You and your wolf have years of practice. I’m brand new to it.”

“Not for long. I’ll show you how to block the link.”

“Look you don’t have to. I can get over it.”

“No. It’s fine, I can teach you. It’s not that hard.”

“Seriously, Nye. Don’t worry about it.”

“I don’t mind,” he insisted, “We can do it if you want to.”

“No.”

“Ahmose, you’re stubborn!”

“And you’re not?” I frowned, “I told you not to bother.”

“It’s not about what you said because you don’t mean any of it. You don’t want this.”

“Not the point,” I glared, “You want to keep it more than I want to stop it.”

“So?” he glared.

“So why the hell are you pushing to lose something when you want it so bad.”

“Because I’m your mate,” he snapped.

“And I’m yours,” I folded my arms, “You’ll have to come better than that.”

“It’s my job to make sure you’re happy.”

“Same here. Still not good enough.”

“Would you just shut up and let me help you?”

“Not until you can convince me to. Tell me why you’re being so persistent about it and we can go ahead.”

“You can be so frustrating!”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Because it’s what I do. I’m supposed to put you before myself!” he growled, “That’s what people do when they’re in love with someone and I love you so—.”

The silence seemed to fall even before he cut himself off. My eyes widened at exactly same time that his shut. I could see him internally wincing. At least three different levels of regret flashed over his features before they settled into something more neutral.

“I didn’t mean to say that. Not this early,” he admitted, “Definitely didn’t mean to blurt it out. Hell, I’d hoped for some finesse the first time.” He rubbed his palms across the thighs of his jeans while he collected himself. I opened my mouth to say something but I didn’t know what to say. “You don’t have to say anything back,” he added quickly and winced, “Well I mean unless you want to…I guess. Um.” I raised a brow. “Don’t say it. I know I’m awful at this,” he sighed.

“Really awful,” I slid my fingers between his, “But you’re probably better at it than me.”

“Well that’s something.”

“You don’t have to look that cheered up.”

He let out a soft laugh and ducked his head, “My bad.”

“Look, I’ll leave this mind reading thing be. This is still new. I haven’t given it a fair shot yet, right? If it really doesn’t work out in the end, then we’ll talk about it again.”

“Sounds like a compromise,” he agreed, “Look at us. Being adults.”

“Making adult decisions.”

“Adulting. High five,” he held up a hand and I stared at it, “Don’t leave me hanging.”

“You’re too lame for me,” I dropped a kiss on his forehead, “I don’t know why I keep you at all.”

“No refunds after ten years. Shoulda read the terms and conditions, buddy.”

“And deny you all of this?” I gestured at myself.

Cookies gave a huff at me looking thoroughly unimpressed. “I bought you,” I pointed at her, “Don’t you sass me, young lady. I’m a catch.” She gave a sniff and turned her tail at us in favor of eating out of her new bowl. “Your dog is just like you,” I told him, “Mean and rude.” He didn’t seem to mind at all, too busy grinning at her to care.

“She’s your dog too. At some point we’re going to be spending a lot of time together and she’ll be living with us,” he said.

“Speaking of which, I was thinking. Your aunt and uncle won’t be back for a little while, right?”

“Right. Why?”

“You wanna stay here until then? Y’know, with me?”

He looked at our linked hands and gave mine a squeeze, “Yeah. Yeah, that’d be awesome.”

He left to go get a couple of his things to stay over. Tommy, who I hadn’t realized had been sitting in the living room, took this particular time to come over and tap me on the head with a business folder. I assumed he heard a lot of what happened. Then again, it was Tommy. He probably heard all of it. He had a chronic issue with minding his own business. Especially when Nye and I were involved.

“That boy just told you he loved you!” he hissed, “What’s wrong with you? Why didn’t you say anything back?”

“What did you want me to say? I’m not going to lie to him.”

“Lie?” he blinked, “Are you messing with me? There’s no way you can convince me that you don’t love him.”

“Well sure I’ve always loved him. But romantically, no.”

“Why?” he sighed to the heavens, “We were making such progress, lord.”

“You are the king of overdramatic.”

“And you bought Jailbait a damn dog because he said he wanted one however many light years ago.”

“I might not know what love looks like, but I’m pretty sure that buying someone a pet isn’t it,” I shot him a look.

“My point is that you pay a lot of attention to him. Like a lot. Man, you hoard away these tiny things you know about him until you can use them to make him happy. It’s disgustingly sweet.”

“So? We’ve been friends for a while. It’s second nature.”

“You’re really going to look me in the eyes and tell me that you’re not in love with him?” Tommy folded his arms and stared.

“I don’t know if I am. I’ve never been in love with anyone before. Isn’t it supposed to be some big, in-your-face, explosive, hard-to-ignore kind of feeling?”

“Not always,” he shook his head, “It can be insidious too. Creep up on you so slow you don’t even know it’s happened.”

“Then how the hell am I supposed to know it’s happened?”

“When even you can’t ignore it anymore I suppose. You’re bound to figure it out eventually.”

I didn’t say anything. The front door had opened and Nye was back with some bags in his hands. Tommy gave a tragic sigh and walked back to the living room muttering, “These idiots will be the death of me.” Nye opened his mouth as if to ask but seemed to think better of it.

We got him set up in my – er – our room. All the while he touched each surface and fiddled with my things. He wasn’t in the least bit subtle with it. I suppose he didn’t feel the need to hide it. “You know you don’t have to scent mark my room. I’m pretty sure it reeks of you by now,” I grinned.

“You had the sheets washed,” he said sounding nearly petulant, “The room doesn’t smell like us anymore.” I glanced over at the fresh sheets – softer and silkier than the last – and felt the flutter in my stomach. He was right. The last ones had been saturated in his scent. It had been the hot and heady kind of scent that made it hard not to think about him.

It was strong enough to incite memories more vivid than I could handle without my body reacting to it. Washing them had been necessary if I’d planned to get anything done in this room without getting hard.

“It’s okay,” I assured him with a laugh. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He let me hug him, leaning into the contact. “You’re staying here now,” I murmured, “We have a ton of time to get your scent into these sheets too.”

His eyes paled at that, pulsing amber. “Promise?”

“I’m not sure if you’re looking at me like that because you want me naked and under you or because you’re a possessive Alpha who wants his scent back in here.”

“Why does it have to be one or the other?” he raised a brow, “We can have both. I can be flexible.”

“Oh, I remember,” I said and pulled away, “And you are a terrible influence on me. I refuse to be perverted by you and your lecherous ways.”

“Me?” he held his heart eyes going deceptively innocent, “As I recall, you were the one doing all of that this morning.”

“Please,” I scoffed, “You let me top but we both know that I was by no means the one in control.”

“Well I made the effort,” he shrugged and dropped the façade, his fingers tracing the bite on my shoulder. “And in the end, that’s what counts.”

“Were you always this possessive?” I watched him give the mark his full attention.

“Not this possessive, no,” his eyes raked over the wound, “but it’s nice not to have to hide it anymore.”

“So…you love me, huh?” I smiled a little at the memory of his outburst.

“Yeah. And you love me too,” he brushed a kiss to my lips, “You just don’t know it yet.”

“How do you know for sure?”

“’Cause you’re my mate. I can feel it.”

His eyes were warm when he said those words and I got the sinking feeling that he was prepared to wait on me for as long as it took to realize that. Except I wasn’t sure that I would even know for sure.

“No one’s ever told me they loved me before,” I admitted, “Not in that way. Never expected someone would.” I liked it though. It was nice to feel cared for. Like someone wanted me for more than my body. Nye looked at me long and hard, considering. I felt his wolf nuzzle my cheek and it pulled a smile from me. “I’d get used to it if I were you,” he said, “because we do love you and it’s not about to change.”

****************************************

I know some of my usuals and not-so-usuals have inboxed me and I haven't responded but I really haven't been in a chatty mood lately and I'm sorry.

I found out my cousin (who I grew up with in the same house for most of my life like a brother) died and no one bothered to tell me he was sick. So I got the news one day and had to watch him get buried three days later only to find out by accident that everyone knew for 3 months that he was dying and didn't want to tell me anything.

So yeah I was in a crummy mood.Definitely no mood to chat or write a happy, date chapter even though I could see it in my head. I did my best with this and I pretty much half assed the editing but I just wanted to get something posted. Maybe I'll go back and fix it later. Sorry about that.

Honestly, the Forever Alina ending suddenly seems even more selfish than I thought.