Chapter 7
GABE
Anger flared in my gut. Mika was my mate, but no one told me what to do. I'd moved out of my dad's apartment to avoid his constant bitching.
I swallowed hard and glanced around the room. This was nothing like my old room. My dad had yelled at me for leaving a book on a side table. Now, I had several piles of books on the floor beside my couch, since I didn't even have a side table.
I hadn't expected my dad to pack all my books in boxes.
On moving day, he threatened to carry them to the curb if I didn't take them with me.
The smart thing would have been to go through them and only take what I wanted, but who had time for that?
Instead, I'd brought them all to my apartment, returned the boxes when he insisted he needed them two days later, and the piles still stood in stacks like abandoned and unstable buildings.
Not that Dad wanted to visit, but I wouldn't let him up to my apartment if he did. The place was a disaster zone, and he would have every right to say he told me so.
Mika tugged my crossed arms apart and slipped his hand into mine. The moment his warm skin made contact, my temper cooled.
He pointed to the walls behind my table. "My mom has some old bookshelves that would fit in this corner." His soothing voice calmed me even more. "If that's not enough, there are some really cool storage units at the home goods store. I've thought about getting some for myself."
"You wanted to go hiking," I whined. "I've fucked everything up."
He shook his head. "You wanted me to fight for you, remember? This place is dangerous, and I'm willing to go into battle with your piles of books and laundry until I know you're safe."
He raised his chin and touched our clasped hands to his chest. "Will you fight beside me, my mate?"
I tried, but I couldn't hold in the giggles. He was absolutely ridiculous, but he was mine. I nodded and dropped a kiss on his knuckles. "If you really want to help—"
"I'd be honored."
"Where do we start?"
He released my hand and pulled out his cell phone. "I know it's only our second date, but are you ready to meet my mom?"
Presumptuous of him to think this was our second date, but also adorable. "Let's do it."
Full disclosure, no, I was not ready to meet Mika's mom.
On the drive east through rolling foothills and the occasional mountain, Mika coached me on how to best approach the matriarch of the Mears family. Direct eye contact, always. Stick to one-word answers, or as few words as possible. At the first sign of fear, she would eat me for lunch.
Talia Mears was a force of nature. It wasn't enough to say my omega senses responded to her the way I would an alpha.
She had Mika's same dark hair, light brown skin, and soft brown eyes, but her presence was almost godlike.
My hand trembled when she took it in hers, and my lip quivered when I tried to return her smile.
She leaned in, took one sniff, and turned to Mika. "Yes."
"Hmm?" He blinked.
"He's your fated mate, and I approve."
Mika pulled my hand away from her and stepped between us, blocking my view. "Mom, we just met."
She shoved him aside and looked me up and down. "What's wrong with him?"
"Everything," I said.
"Nothing!" Mika's alpha voice overpowered mine.
"Then stop fighting it," she said. "The builders are just finishing up with the new assisted living development, and the wolves are almost done with Bruce's new home. You always said you wanted to be his next-door neighbor again, and now's your chance."
"Mom." Mika rolled his eyes. "All I need are a few shelving units. That's all."
"When is your next heat?" she asked me.
"Wow, invasive!" Mika stepped between us again before I could answer. "Please, please just give me the keys to the storage unit so I can grab the shelves."
Every time Mika stepped between us, she danced around him to speak directly to me. "If your heat will be within the next three months, you'll need more than shelves! Mika's apartment isn't big enough for two people, let alone a baby. Is yours?"
"You don't have to answer that," Mika said, backing me toward the closed door.
I shook my head. "I have an efficiency apartment."
"That will never do." Talia grabbed my hand and pulled me down a hallway, leaving Mika to stomp behind us.
"Tell me honestly. Is this room bigger than your efficiency?
" She opened the door into a bedroom that would easily fit two of my apartment.
Not only did it have a roomy king-size bed, but it also had a desk and reading nook in one corner and a small leather seating area in another.
It looked like a furniture showroom, but somehow it all fit together.
"This isn't a bedroom," I whispered. "Is it some kind of museum?"
Talia scoffed. "Ha. Yes. The museum dedicated to my second-oldest child who left home nine years ago but returns every weekend. Such a good son." She turned and patted his cheeks. "I would be honored if you both moved in with me while you wait for your house to be built."
Wow. No wonder Mika was worried about introducing me to his mom. My omega dad believed in, "My way or the highway." Meanwhile, she was the highway, and we were on it, no matter what.
"Thank you, but no?" I glanced at Mika, trying to convey my apology with my eyes. I quaked in my hiking boots.
"No?" She copied my inflection and turned to Mika. "I know what you're going to say. You like your apartment in the city too much."
"Mom—"
She shook her head and shoved us both aside to clear the path back into the hallway. "The offer stands. If your apartment building burns down or needs an exterminator, don't blame me."
"Are you sure she's not connected?" I asked.
Mika's laugh reached a higher-than-usual register. "Before today, I was positive. Now?" He shrugged.
"You know I can hear you whispering." Her voice echoed down the hallway. "Are you coming with me to the storage unit or not?"
I expected Mika to back out of the driveway and turn toward the giant wrought-iron gate leading out of the gated housing development he called the compound.
When he drove past the turn, I frowned at Talia, who pointed to the giant warehouse at the end of the street.
I'd missed it when we entered, but it was hard to avoid the looming building as Mika drove toward it.
It took up an entire city block and stood at least ten stories tall.
"That's a lot of storage," I said.
"It's not all storage," she said. "Some families prefer to burrow underground as their meerkats, which leaves little room for plumbing and other amenities. This is our public bath and indoor recreation building, along with storage and one-bedroom apartments."
Mika pulled into a parking spot along the street, and we followed Talia inside the metal door.
Mika took my hand, lacing our fingers together as we power-walked to keep up with his mom.
Children's laughter followed us between the rows of storage containers, but grew fainter as we hustled down the first row.
"Not quite the hike I planned," Mika teased when we finally reached our destination, a double-wide storage container at the far corner.
"Bookshelves are along the wall." Talia pointed. "If you take the tall ones, be sure to drape a flag over them and stay off the freeway."
"Yes, Mom." Mika caught her when she shoved the stall door up over her head, pulling her in and planting a kiss on her temple.
She hugged him tight, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Find me in the rec room before you leave."
"Of course!" He scowled. "Did you think I'd make you walk back?"
"Like it's far." When she rolled her eyes, her gaze landed on me, and we both grinned. I liked her already.
"It's rude!" Mika stepped up behind me and put his arms on my shoulders. We hadn't even kissed yet, but I loved the casual touches whenever he was near. Already, I felt closer to this guy I'd known only a week than to any guy I'd dated before.
"That's my good boy." She leaned in and patted both our cheeks before powerwalking back the way we came.
"Your mom is great." I craned my neck to see Mika over my shoulder and almost tripped when he spun me around and shoved me inside the storage container.
A few more feet, and he had me up against a stack of boards along the wall.
He cradled my head so only my shoulders hit the boards, knocking them into the metal container with a muffled bang.
His breath was hot against my lips as his gaze met mine.
"Don't just stand there," I said with my mouth so close to his that I could feel the bristle of his stubble against my lips. "Kiss me."
His lips pressed against mine, and it was too hard to keep my eyes open. I felt like I was still spinning, maybe falling, but then his arm cinched around my waist and pulled me against him. His skin was warm, and when he snapped his hips, his hard length poked me through our clothes.
He wedged his thigh between my legs, and I pressed against him, desperate for more friction on my own thickening cock.
I was still months away from my next heat, but a dribble of hot slick made my underwear stick to me.
The sensation felt so foreign, while at the same time inevitable. It shook me from my stupor.
I broke the kiss and rested my head on Mika's shoulder to catch my breath. He licked and sucked the pulse point where my neck and shoulder met. Instead of calming down, my heart sped up.
"You taste so good." He sucked a little harder.
"If you leave a mark on my neck, your mom will know exactly what we were doing in here." I tried to sound upset, but when I paused to breathe every few words, it sounded more like a dare for him to keep going.
"She said yes." Mika pressed his lips to my neck again, and then he slid his hands around my neck, covering up the mark and putting some distance between us. "I'm so sorry."
All my blood was still in my dick, and I was confused. "Why?"
"She said we could mate, but that doesn't mean … I shouldn't have jumped all over you like that."
I grabbed his hips and tugged him closer. "I told you to kiss me. I wanted this."
"What if I'd accidentally marked you?" He stepped backward out of my reach. "That's why you didn't want to be alone with me before."
I stepped back into his space and reached up to cup his cheek. "Then I got to know you."
"But—"
"You didn't mark me." I considered giving him permission to do it now, but that was a huge life decision to make with blood still throbbing in my cock. "Soon," I whispered. "We'll have that conversation soon. After we build some bookshelves so my apartment isn't as much of a death trap."
"Right. Bookshelves." He grinned. "I think I shoved you into them."