Chapter 18 Adri
Adri sat perfectly still on the seat next to the bed, staring down at his mate’s face that was too pale, too lax. Rafe never looked so passive, even in sleep. He was dynamic. Dominant. This wasn’t right.
Adri had come to twelve hours earlier. Apparently, brain surgery was easier to heal from than magical burnout like Rafe had brought on himself.
Adri was wracked with guilt. He’d asked Rafe to heal the others first. It hadn’t even occurred to him that his powerful mate would struggle to heal all three.
That Adri’s request might push Rafe past the limits of his body.
“He’s going to be okay.”
Adri’s head jerked up at Marco’s words from the door. He hadn’t even heard the Alpha arrive.
“Relax. I’m just dropping you some food.”
“Thanks.”
They’d been brought back to the Lunetti pack lands, rather than Rafe’s apartment, where it was easier to protect them.
At least Marco had put them in one of the forest’s small cabins instead of the main house, though.
Adri didn’t think he could have coped with the noise and social expectations of being close to so many nosy wolves.
Stepping closer, Marco gripped his shoulder with a strong hand, passing him a steaming meat pie that had Adri drooling.
“You need to get your strength back. He’s not going to be happy if you’ve stressed yourself into being ill when he wakes.”
Not bothering to shrug off Marco’s touch, Adri tore into the pie, suddenly aware of his ravenous hunger now that he had food in his hands.
“Good kitten,” Marco murmured when he’d finished.
“Hey, only I get to call him that,” Rafe said, voice soft and raspy from disuse.
A strangled sob left Adri as he pulled himself away from their Alpha and flew into his mate’s arms.
“Oof. Gentle, kitten. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Adri clung to Rafe as the doc continued his string of reassurances, his trembling hand petting Adri’s skin, soothing him with the reassurance that he was finally there.
“Don’t you ever fucking do that to me again,” Adri growled, as he clung even tighter.
“I have no plans to go digging in your brain again if I can help it,” Rafe said, pushing himself up until he was sitting.
“Not that,” Adri snapped, rolling his eyes. “I don’t give a shit what you have to do to me to save me. Don’t ever leave me like that again. Don’t go where I can’t follow.”
“I think I’ll leave you two to it. Come find me when you’re bonded,” Marco murmured, silently sliding out of the cabin and closing the door with a decisive click.
“Come here, kitten,” Rafe said, pulling him closer in his arms and entwining their bodies until Adri couldn’t tell where he ended and Rafe began. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m yours.”
Adri nuzzled in under Rafe’s jaw, breathing in his scent and grounding himself in his solid calm. His eyes slipped shut as they lay together, revelling in his mate’s presence.
“I need everyone to know I’m yours, too.”
Rafe’s gentle stroking paused. “You mean that, kitten? You’re ready to wear my mark for real?”
Adri’s words finally caught up with him and his heart rate sped, but it wasn’t nerves. It was excitement. He was past ready, but his mate was still burned out.
“You need to eat first. And sleep.”
Rafe rolled him onto his back, pinning him to the bed and staring deep into his eyes. “You really mean it?”
Oh, this man. How had Adri made him wait all these years until he couldn’t quite believe what was happening? He’d have to make sure Rafe never had any doubts again.
“I’ve never meant anything more in my life. I want you to fuck me under the moon like you wolves are so keen on, sink those beautiful fangs into my neck, bond us for eternity, and then fill me with your knot until our bodies are as tied together as our souls.”
“Even if it means being pack?”
Adri thought of the way Marco had come through for him and his fighters, of the welcome he’d had at the pack run, and the care he’d been shown when he woke scared and confused and howling for his mate the previous day.
“I’m already pack.”
“Fuck, I love you,” Rafe murmured, pressing a kiss to his lips. “I’ve loved you for thirteen fucking years, and I will love every single breath, every fight, every act of defiance for the rest of our lives.”
“What about every act of submission?” Adri asked. “I love you, too.” Then he tilted his head and bared his throat to his mate.
Rafe moaned, mouthing at the sensitive skin there. “Fuck, you’re too tempting, kitten. You’re going to make me forget I don’t have the strength for what I need to do to you.”
Adri’s brow furrowed in concern, and he rolled Rafe off him so he could go grab another pie from the kitchen. When he turned back, Rafe was watching him with a smile.
“What?”
“My wolf loves that you want to feed us.”
Adri huffed a breath and sat back on the bed next to him, breaking off a piece of pastry and meat and pressing it to Rafe’s lips instead of handing him the food.
Rafe held eye contact as he licked the juices from his fingers before biting down gently.
Once he’d finished, Rafe pulled him right back into his arms, like he couldn’t bear not having every inch of their skin pressing close from chest to toes.
Adri’s chest vibrated as he finally let himself relax now that his mate was fed and conscious.
“Are you purring, kitten?”
Groaning, Adri hid his face in Rafe’s throat, sparking a laugh from the older man. “Can we just go to sleep and pretend my jaguar isn’t a total simp for you?”
“Yes, but only because when we wake up, I’m going to devour you.”
Adri’s purr grew even louder, and Rafe moaned. “That’s so hot. Love the noises you make. Love everything about you.”
Settling down, Adri let the reassuring noise of Rafe’s deepening breaths lull him into sleep. Just before he succumbed, he whispered into his skin, “I love you, too.”
Strong arms tightened around him, and Rafe kissed his nape from where he was spooning him. “It means everything that you trust me enough to tell me, kitten. Thank you.”
Adri must’ve been more tired than he thought because when he woke later that night, Rafe was already up and dressed—if you could call low-slung sweatpants and nothing else dressed—as he moved quietly around the cabin, making them coffee.
Kicking the covers down, Adri indulged in his jaguar’s need to stretch, exaggerating the arch of his back when he felt Rafe’s eyes on him.
By silent agreement, they orbited each other at a distance as Adri rolled out of bed and headed to the shower.
Poised. Waiting. Like they both knew that the second they touched, it was on.
The clink of cutlery was the only noise as they ate breakfast for dinner—fluffy eggs and crusty, thick bread with freshly squeezed orange juice.
Adri had been hard since before he woke, and his cock only ached harder the longer they went without touching.
Knowing where this was heading, he’d taken the time to clean and prep in the shower.
He hadn’t bothered with clothes when he emerged, and Rafe’s knowing eyes shone gold with his wolf as he tracked Adri’s naked body moving around the space.
“Tell me you want this,” Rafe said as Adri stacked their dishes in the sink before turning to lean back and stare at his mate.
Like so often when he didn’t brace himself before glancing at Rafe, Adri lost his breath for a moment as he took in his tanned, powerful muscles, the silver-grey of his hair glinting in the light, and his furry chest just begging for Adri to run his fingers over it.
It was the look on his face that undid him, though—hope. Affection. Love.
If Rafe needed reassurance every day that Adri was in this, he’d give it.
Anything to keep that hopeful, contented look on him.
Rafe carried so much past hurt, gave too much of himself to everyone around him.
Adri was going to make sure he never had to do it alone again.
Rafe had shown him over and over again for more than a decade that he was there for him, and Adri could finally believe that care came with no strings.
That Rafe was never going to try to control him in ways he didn’t want to be controlled, or stifle the fierce independence of his jaguar.
“Make me yours, Rafe. Bond me so you never doubt how much I need you again. Bond me so I can feel your soul curled up in my chest where it belongs. Bond me so my strength can bolster you when you tire, and my love can carry you through when the pain you see every day is too much.”
Rafe opened his mouth like he was going to ask if he was certain again, and then closed it. The tension in the room spiked, and Adri drew in a sharp breath as raw dominance emanated from his mate.
“Then, run,” Rafe growled, shoving his sweatpants to the floor and stalking in Adri’s direction.
Mouth stretching in a wicked grin, Adri spun lightly on the balls of his feet and tore out of the cabin into the moonlit forest.