Chapter 24
FANG
The sushi is set up all along her coffee table.
It’s social media worthy, and I chuckle as she takes a picture with her phone, documenting it to send to Blair and Piper.
Her eyes are still glassy, her nose still puffy and red, but she’s smiling, at least.
When Ivan messaged me, my fucking heart sank in my chest.
Maeve’s sensitive, but it’s not a weakness.
It’s a kindness, a goodness that the world needs.
I intend to make her see that, even if it means I bribe her with sushi every day for the rest of my life.
“They’re going to be so jealous,” she murmurs. “This is the best, and my favorite sushi spot in Luna County.”
“Oh, I’m aware. Avery told me.”
“Wait.” She blinks. “Avery?”
We’re both settled on her couch, her farther from me than I’d like, but close enough that I’ll deal with it.
“Oh, yeah. We had a talk.”
Her amber eyes almost bug out of her head, and it would be comical if sadness wasn’t still stained across her face. “You talked to my brother?”
“You’re damn right I did.”
“About me?” she looks like she might hyperventilate, and I reach out and pat her knee gently.
“Yes, babe. About you. About us.”
“Oh, god,” she groans, putting her face in her hands. “What did you say to him?”
“I made it very clear my intentions with you, and he told me what his reservations were. We were colleagues before I knew you, so part of him was resentful that I had pursued you behind his back.”
“It wasn’t behind his back—”
“It was, in its own way. He didn’t know I was going along on the trip to pick up Agnes, or that I had offered you private lessons. That was a mistake on my end, and I owned up to it.”
She wraps her arms around her knees and curls up on the couch, sighing deeply. “I feel awful about our fight,” she murmurs.
“He feels awful about how he spoke to you, baby. And I think if you’d answer his calls, he’d tell you.
You’re my scent match—you’re the most important person in the world to me, and I know Avery is important to you.
I didn’t want to be the cause of any rift; and if I fucked anything up, I wanted to repair it. ”
She’s silent for a long time, until a tiny smile forms on her face. “I can’t believe you talked to him,” she mutters.
“It was going to happen eventually. I’m in this for the long run. There’s no one else for me, ever. Only you.”
Her eyes gaze into mine, searching for something. “I feel a lot,” she says softly. “Sometimes too much, all at once. And you haven’t seen that side of me until now.”
I nod. “Feelings are complicated.”
She chews the inside of her cheek and looks away. “You haven’t seen how bad it can get.”
“I can’t wait to.”
“What? You can’t mean that.”
“I can mean that,” I promise. “Because this?” I motion to her. “This wonderful woman in front of me? Every smile, every tear, every irrational, or rational moment? That’s what makes her up. I don’t only love parts of you, Maeve. I love all of you. Even the scary, darker parts you’re ashamed of.”
The words slip out before I can stop them, and she gasps.
“It’s barely been a month,” she whispers. “How can you know?”
I knew she was special the second she walked into my class, and truthfully, I probably fell in love when she entered my office.
“Because my days without you are duller. Food doesn’t taste right. Colors aren’t as bright. Even the air is harder to breathe when you’re not around.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I worry about cats too much,” she cries.
“I worry about everything too much, Fang. I’ll make up scenarios in my head, and it feels real to me, but it doesn’t make sense to anyone else.
And eventually, you’ll be tired of reassuring me everything is fine. Your life will be dull because of me.”
The tears are devastating. She’s wrong, incredibly wrong, but I’m not sure if my words will be enough to change her mind.
I turn on the couch to face her fully, pulling my feet up onto the cushions. “Can I show you something?” I ask her quietly, and she nods wearily.
I hold out my left hand, keeping the other in my lap. I keep my palm facing down, and hold it outstretched, waiting for her to notice the slight tremor.
“You’re shaking,” she murmurs.
“That’s how much I’m feeling right now,” I admit. “Sometimes, when it gets intense in my head, it will show up in my body.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. That trip to pick up Agnes, I was twitching the whole time in the car on the way there.”
“I didn’t notice that.”
“No. You were too busy being…affected by our scents.” I grin at her, and she huffs out a quiet laugh. “But you’re not the only one that experiences things intensely. And it’s not a bad thing, I promise.”
“It is when I run out of work because I can’t handle what’s happening.”
“You know why I took up guitar, originally?” I ask, and she tilts her head, curiously.
“Because you loved music?”
“I was a nervous wreck as a kid. I still am, occasionally. But my mom, at the time, didn’t know what to do.
But our neighbor was a guitar teacher, and she offered us discounted lessons.
So, I learned from our neighbor. Obviously, I was still a fidgety, shaky little kid,” I chuckle.
“But it helped a lot. I think that’s why Avery put you into class, too.
Music activates a different part of your mind.
And for the record, I’m still the nervous, shaky kid, just now with adult money and access to tattoo parlors. ”
“Your mom sounds nice,” Maeve says wistfully, a faraway look in her eyes.
“She is. She’s been dying to meet you. You two will get along great.”
“You have more faith in me than I do,” she says, shaking her head.
“How do you know it’s not the scent match talking?
” Panic colors her voice. “I mean, I had to walk out of work, because of something I made up in my head…” she winces.
“I did it with Bean, too. I even did it when I saw your Stormie. I was worried something was wrong with her or she was pregnant and I would never know.”
“It’s not the scent match talking,” I promise her. “I felt this way about you before the match.”
But her frown is still evident, no matter what I say or do. Even as we enjoy our dinner, her scent is still sour.
“Where are Logan and Ivan?” she asks, after she finishes the last of her salmon roll.
“They’re giving us some time to talk. Are you still comfortable with me here?”
Leaving her would be awful. My inner Alpha would rage against it, demanding to stay in her presence and take care of her.
“I am. Thank you for coming, by the way. I wouldn’t have eaten if you hadn’t.”
I know. I know you better than you think.
“It’s harder to do things when we’re paralyzed by our own emotions,” I offer. “Everything is more difficult, at least for me.”
“Tasks are harder,” she adds.
“Exactly.”
“I didn’t realize you were such an anxious child,” she says, turning to face me fully. “I’m sorry you went through that.”
“I’m sorry for what you went through. But I’m not going anywhere, Maeve. None of us are, regardless of what you throw at us.”
Her fingers play with a lock of her hair, twirling the faded violet strands in her hand. “I need to dye my hair,” she murmurs. “I’ve been putting it off. I never do that.”
“You want help?”
At my offer, she smiles and nods. “Sure. It’ll be much easier.”
“Lead the way, sweetheart.”
I purposely don’t comment on her ruined nest when we enter her bedroom. The look of shame on her face is enough to make not ask about it, but I’m forever grateful that we dropped off our scented clothes and new nesting blankets for her.
My Omega is suffering.
She’s lost in her own head and hurt herself in the process.
But as long as I’m here, I won’t let her go back down that road.
One day, she’ll realize how much she’s loved by me and my packmates.