Chapter 18
Eighteen
Jarek
The faint buzz in the bond grows the longer they're gone. It brings a smile to my face to be able to feel their heightened energy.
I'm glad Kade demanded Vivie get out of the house today.
It makes me wonder if we need to push her a bit more than we have in previous years.
She's been home a lot more this month which isn't all that uncommon.
But when I compare how many times she's left the house in the past year with previous years, it's not good.
Maybe we're enabling her depression by accepting her preference for isolation. That's not to say we don't all have pack dates and do fun things. We do; it's just become more hikes and less crowded places.
Pushing away from my desk, I swallow my natural inclination to growl over the distance I feel in the bond. I hate when she's physically far from me. That with my other two mates being ten miles away, I feel like I'm being stretched thin. Like I might snap at any moment.
Closing the office door behind me, I breathe a sigh of relief. My dick twitches at all of our combined scents. Fuck, I'm so glad it's Friday and we can put work on the back burner for a few days.
I love my job, but there are a lot of days where I just want to be with Vivie. It wouldn't be sustainable, and I'm sure she would grow tired of me always around, but I could work on some hobbies.
Maintaining our lawn is something I've always taken a lot of pride in.
I'd also love to get a big ass aquarium or two and have some cool fish, but it's not realistic right now.
We're saving up for an underground pool, and quitting my job to play around with fish tanks won't work well for my desire to provide for my family.
A few dishes piled up in the kitchen sink pull me from my thoughts. Deciding I'll get going on a few of our chores so we can have an easy night, I get to work.
With the dishes in the dishwasher a few minutes later, I turn around to wipe the counters only for my breath to be sucked from my lungs completely and my knees crash into the tile at my feet.
"Vivie," I wheeze, grabbing at my throat in a panic. Her terror sucks the life from me, but the prick of pain in my skull shoots a spark of adrenaline through my veins.
She's hurt!
I'm about to force myself up and figure out what's going on but suddenly, as if amputated from my soul, she's gone.
My thundering heart crowds my airways, restricting my ability to breathe. Without Vivie, I don't know how to get the fuck up.