Chapter Eight
“You can be pissed at me all you want, but Mateo needed to know the truth, and I’m not the one who showed him that picture. Dad was.”
Harper rubbed at her temple.
Mateo had shown up for work, it was now lunchtime, and he’d offered to get himself, Franny, and Harper lunch. He’d been gone ten minutes. She’d waited until he had left before confronting her best friend.
“I can’t believe he would do that,” Harper said.
“Look, you and I both know you were in a bad way, and it had everything to do with Mateo. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault but his. We all know that,” Franny said. “Why are you so upset?”
“Because…” She didn’t have anything to add. Her lips still tingled from the kiss he’d given her the previous night, and she wasn’t feeling too happy about it. She shouldn’t be getting kisses, or feelings. She had to push Mateo away.
“Because?” Franny asked.
“It wasn’t his place to know. He was the one who pushed me aside like I didn’t matter. He didn’t care what he did then, and I don’t think he should be told what happened in-between.”
“Ah, so you’re being stubborn. I get it.”
“I’m not being stubborn. Mateo didn’t need to know.”
Franny’s brows rose up.
Harper rolled her eyes.
“Why do I even bother?” she asked.
“Well, I could also ask that, and besides, you can act that way if you like, but we both know you’ve got a thing for your mate,” Franny said.
Harper had been happy to go back to her desk and look over the upcoming order of new products. She’d been sent a list of what was new and what to expect by several of her distributors.
She spun back toward Franny. “What?”
“Are you going to tell me, Harper dear, that you are not a little curious about your mate?”
“No, I’m not.” Yet, the words felt like a lie as soon as she said them.
Franny tutted.
“The full moon is in less than a week, and I’ve already noticed the way you look toward your mate. Have you?” Franny asked.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Of course not, because then you’d have to admit you’re not half as stubborn as you think you are.” Once again, Franny gave that tut. “I wonder how that would feel? Not being so stubborn.”
“I thought you were meant to be my friend.”
“I am your friend.”
“Then why are you fighting me on this?” Harper asked. “Why are you trying to make me forgive him?”
“I’m not trying to make you forgive him, stupid. I’m trying to make you see reason. I’m trying to make you understand that this time next week, you and him, and your wolves, might have done some serious fucking. Seven years’ worth.”
“He banished me.”
“But that hasn’t stopped the mating need, has it? Just because he said he banished you, tell me you don’t feel the least bit attracted to him. Tell me in the time he’s been working here, his scent hasn’t started to make you horny, or think of dirty things, or whatever! Tell me, Harper. Come on, let me hear that pretty voice of yours tell me that you feel absolutely nothing for Mateo.”
Harper glared at her friend. She clenched her hands into fists and felt the tears coming close to the surface. Silence filled the void.
“Shit, Harper, I’m sorry.”
“I promised myself I wouldn’t fall for him. He hurt me and I didn’t know what to do, what to feel, how to be.” She pressed her lips together and glanced down at the floor. “You’re right. With him being here, it’s hard to hate him. He is so close … and I’m not going to lie, he does smell good, and it’s nice having him around, but at the same time, I can’t help hating it a little.” She sniffled.
Franny went to her, and she was tempted to push her friend away, but what good would that do? She would be no better than Mateo when he pushed her away. She wrapped her arms around Franny, and her best friend held her tightly.
“What am I going to do?” Harper asked.
“Accept that he is your mate, and when the time comes, you’re going to want to have all kinds of sexy fun with him.”
Harper burst out laughing, she just couldn’t help it. “Let it happen?”
“Yeah, and don’t feel guilty.” Franny pulled away and cupped her face. “Mateo isn’t too bad, is he? He makes you laugh and you have started to enjoy spending time with him.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “Yeah, I have.”
“Then consider that a good thing.”
Franny wiped the tears off her face. “Start to look at the now, and not what he did back then. Men—people—always fuck up. Think about what he’s doing now, and if he’s not too bad, then … enjoy him.”
Harper sniffled and looking past Franny’s shoulder, she saw Mateo heading back, carrying a few food cartons. “I’m going to freshen up.”
She made her escape before he could arrive and start to ask questions. Stepping into the small bathroom, she locked the door and turned toward her reflection in the mirror. Her makeup was smudged. She hadn’t gone with a waterproof mascara, that was her fault. She reached for the bottle of makeup remover and a small cloth and began to clean up the mess the mascara had left behind. As she did this, she couldn’t help but think about Mateo.
Did it make her weak for thinking about him? For being curious about him? She found herself late at night, alone in her bed, with her thoughts drifting toward him. She couldn’t stop herself from imagining a life with him. Not only did she think of the future, she also thought about getting naked with him, mating with him.
She was a virgin. Mateo was also the first man she had ever kissed.
Shaking her head, she fixed her makeup, and for the first time in seven years, she couldn’t help but wonder if Franny was right. Would it be so bad, giving in to these urges? Even her wolf wasn’t so angry at being near him.
Maybe that was a sign.
****
“Yeah, my dad was so pissed at us. Trust me, he chased me around the yard, stick in hand, and my naked butt for him to get at.”
Harper laughed.
Mateo smiled.
“Wow, I can’t imagine you, a young Mateo, being naughty. Everyone always said that when the time came you were more than ready to take over, to be the main alpha,” Harper said.
“Yeah, because I was a rebellious kid.” He winked at her and she laughed some more. They were getting close to her house and he didn’t want it to end. He’d even started slowing his steps to prolong their time together.
At first, walking her home was spent in silence, but with Franny’s advice, he’d started to recount old memories. Franny had told him to start giving Harper a reason to want to be with him. He didn’t know if this would work or not. None of what he’d told her was lies, it was all the truth.
“I would have loved to have seen you then,” Harper said.
“You weren’t even born when I was a little one.”
Harper stopped and turned toward him. “Does that bother you?”
“It did,” he said.
“Oh.”
“Look, I know it’s different for every person. There are probably guys out there who are happy to be mated to a young woman.”
“You’re not one of them.”
“I … it’s complicated.”
“Right,” Harper said. “Complicated.” She started to walk away from him, and he reached out toward her.
“Don’t go.” He took hold of her arm, not too tightly, but enough to stop her from walking away from him.
“I don’t know what you want from me, Mateo. You don’t want to talk about what happened, and it’s getting late. I should go.”
“I always do this, don’t I? I always find a reason to fuck this up.” He shook his head. “I’ve got no good reason or excuse that even seems valid to me right now, Harper.”
“How about the truth?” Harper asked.
He opened his mouth and then closed it when several of the pack moved past them. Harper smiled and said hello to them, before turning back to him. “I think we should take this into my house.”
She grabbed her keys and then picked up the pace.
Mateo hadn’t been in her home, and this didn’t feel like a good thing. He wanted to be invited into her place, but for a much better reason than because he’d fucked up in the past.
The moment they stepped over the threshold, he smelled her. The mixture of cinnamon and vanilla. It was a scent he had gotten used to with Harper.
“This is my home,” she said, closing the door and flicking the lock into place.
“It’s nice,” he said.
She’d made it hers.
The walls were a nice ivory, and in the main hallway were wooden floors, and he saw the sitting room was carpeted in a deep green. She had made this place her home.
And this could have been yours back at your pack.
He was seeing what his father had been trying to tell him for years. That he could have been starting a family, having a home, wanting to come home at night. Instead, he’d spent most of it working, dealing with the pack, and trying to put out the constant fires, which had seemed never-ending.
Harper put her bag down and turned toward him. “What would you like? Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?”
A hot drink meant he was going to be able to stay, and he wasn’t willing to back down.
“Uh, I’ll have a coffee,” he said.
“Mine is not as good as the coffee shop, but I am always learning.” She snapped her fingers and walked into the kitchen. Again, it had a homey vibe. There wasn’t much on the counter besides a kettle, a food processor, and a couple of other pieces of equipment. He took it all in, trying to bide his time before she fired that question at him again.
“You made a home here,” he said.
“Yeah, kind of had no choice but to. Silver wouldn’t let me give up,” Harper said. “I had thought about leaving the pack. After my dad dropped me off and I realized how hard it was going to be, I was tempted to travel.”
“You didn’t travel?”
“Only to the local beauty campus and back. I told Silver what I liked and what my plans were at my old pack, and he made sure it happened. I think my parents also provided me with the funds to do exactly that.”
And the knife kept twisting. Mateo knew that their own pack would love a beauty salon, and to provide the services she did here, back at home.
“How come Franny doesn’t work for you full-time?” he asked.
“Franny likes to jump around from job to job. She likes to go where she is needed, and she’s not been trained like I have. Trust me, it took a long time to get to this stage in the game and it wasn’t easy. I know the pack was nervous with me being out, and venturing among the humans to get my qualifications, but it was all worth it. At least, I think it was.” She offered him a smile.
The kettle finished boiling, and he didn’t like how little time that had taken. She made their drinks, and he took his from her.
They stood opposite each other, and he was quite happy to leave it like that. To drink their coffee and not say a word.
“Why?” Harper asked.
He didn’t even bother to pretend he didn’t understand.
Nothing he said was going to justify what he did.
Harper only wanted the truth.