21. Noah
Noah
It took everything in me not to get upset over what Finley had just done.
Normally I wasn’t one to get angry or overbearing about what our mate did, but this time, she’d done something that couldn’t be undone.
Getting up from my seat, I headed into the kitchen and started pulling things out of the refrigerator and pantry, trying to figure out what I would make for dinner.
It didn’t look like the senator was leaving any time soon as the others started to badger her and Finley with questions about what had just happened.
Even though Finley and I weren’t officially mated yet, I could still feel a connection to her, sensing what she needed from me.
My wolf was fighting for me to go back and join the others and support her in any way we could, but I just needed some time.
Oddly I feel like she betrayed us all by making this choice before even talking about it with the rest of us.
We were a pack and the pack decided things together to ensure the safety of all.
What she just committed herself to was the furthest thing from being safe that I could think of.
Taking my frustration out on the vegetables I was chopping up helped slightly, but it didn’t do anything to solve the problem we now faced.
How the hell could eight people go up against the Senate, take down the Dark Ring, and kill one of the most prominent alphas and survive?
It would take an army to accomplish one of those things, and while our pack was growing, we didn’t have the numbers or the right type of people to wage a war.
Moments ago, we’d been worried they’d come after our pack, and that was scary enough, but to willingly charge into the mouth of the lion seems asinine. A gentle hand ran down my back, pulling me back from my thoughts.
“Noah,” Finley murmured as she rested her forehead in the middle of my back. “Please don’t be upset with me. That’s the last thing I want is to cause more problems for us.”
Taking a deep breath, I set the knife down and turned to face her. She looked up at me, her cobalt eyes beseeching me as she waited for me to speak.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t talk to us about this before you accepted her request. You told her to ask her question already knowing you would agree to it, so why not give us a chance to agree along with you?
By choosing to do this, you’ve forced us to go along with you into this battle because that’s what mates do.
They fight for and with each other whenever needed.
This wasn’t needed, not really. I’m sure we could have found another way that wouldn’t put us on a suicide mission,” I vented, needing her to know that I was hurt.
Finley took my hand and tugged on it, encouraging me to follow her as she walked out the side door onto the patio. Leading me to the porch swing, she motioned for me to sit, then straddled my legs, leaving us face to face.
“I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to answer it honestly, not giving me the response you think I want to hear.” Frowning at her serious tone, I nodded. “Do you trust me? Or better yet… do you trust me to make a hard choice knowing it will be the best option for all of us?”
As she requested, I took a moment to think about what she asked me.
Some might think it would be crazy for me to say since we’ve known each other for such a short amount of time, but that is human reasoning.
Wolves, once they find their mate, they view things entirely differently.
Their mate is the other half of their soul.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there can’t be bad people that do bad things that mate to good people and drag them into things that get them in trouble.
Finely wasn’t that, though. In her heart, she was caring and selfless, even if she didn’t see it.
Everything she’s done, even if she didn’t understand it, was for the benefit of the protection of others.
Hell, she ended up as an omega trying to save Cory from the Dark Ring, changing her life forever.
Reaching up, I cupped her cheek with my hand, watching as her eyes closed, enjoying the contact.
We hadn’t had much time together since she came back from Florida.
Maybe that was part of it. I was feeling off-kilter since we weren’t mated, and she’d been spending time with the others while Colt and Lane sent us off to deal with pack matters.
Learning how to share when it wasn’t in our nature was a little more challenging than I expected for myself, but she shouldn’t have to deal with the repercussions of my insecurities.
Which I’m pretty sure is what was happening.
“Finley, I absolutely trust you,” I answered, caressing her soft skin with my thumb.
“It scares me to lose you before I’ve even had the chance to have you be my mate.
All of this is happening so fast that I’m feeling unsettled, and instead of pulling you aside to talk about it, I’m lashing out like a pup who’s sulking for not getting his way. ”
She gave me a sweet smile turning to kiss my palm.
“You’re right, though. I should have consulted with the rest of you before making that choice for us all.
Working as a team isn’t my strength and I need a reminder from time to time of how it works.
Morwyn might’ve been asking me to do this task for her, but in doing so, she was drawing all of you into it as well.
” Leaning forward, she placed a soft kiss on my lips.
“Just for the record, I didn’t see you acting like a child but a man who cares so deeply about me that he wants to protect me from the choice I just made, knowing it would be dangerous. ”
Pulling her to me, I nuzzled into her neck, breathing her scent in deeply, allowing it to ground me.
She was here in my arms, where I wanted her to be forever, but like she’d asked, I had to trust that she wouldn’t make a choice that would intentionally hurt us.
Although I felt like I needed to be the one to protect her from herself sometimes, making sure she didn’t give more of herself than she should.
“Can we stay out here a little longer?” I murmured into her skin.
She hummed her acknowledgment, wrapping her arms around my neck as mine tightened around her waist. This is what I needed, just a moment to have her to myself, knowing she cared about me just as I did her.
However, I guessed that my feelings ran deeper than hers, but I was more than willing to wait for her to reciprocate them in time.
I don’t know how long we just held each other enjoying the moment before my twin made his appearance. “So this is where you two have been hiding.”
Pulling back enough to peer over Finley’s shoulder, I spotted my twin leaning against the railing, arms crossed, grinning at us. “Don’t you two just look adorable all snuggled up together? I’m a little jealous.”
“What do you say I spend the night with just you two?” Finely asked. “I know things have been crazy since the attack, and our alphas tend to be a little domineering of my time.”
Mason scoffed at her comment about the alphas, probably thinking it was an understatement.
“What do you think, twin? You willing to risk the wrath of our alpha’s to steal her away for the night?” Mason asked me through our twin bond.
I rolled my eyes. “Right, like you would ever say no to an offer like that. They won’t argue if she puts her foot down. They know we all deserve some individual time with her. Speaking of which, thank you for letting me have this. I really needed it.”
“Always, man. I’ve been with you my whole life. I know when you need some space, and while you getting mad doesn’t happen often, I think you two needed to work through this on your own.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right about that,” I agreed.
“Well, snuggles, I think the answer to that idea is… hell yeah, we want you to ourselves tonight. Everyone’s gotten some lovin’ since you got back and we’re feeling a little lonely,” Mason responded, walking up to stand right behind her so she was sandwiched between us.
“Ever experienced being the center of an Oreo before? Because I’m thinking you need to be double stuffed. ”
Finley snorted at the innuendo, which made us all laugh. “Sounds like you only want me for my body,” she teased.
Leaning forward, I nipped her ear. “If that were the case, we’d have made that happen a long time ago.
No one can resist our twin powers when we put them to good use.
” Feeling lighter and more like myself, I lifted Finley off my lap and handed her over to Mason as I got up.
“Just know that you’re in for a night you’ll never forget,” I whispered into her ear, making her gasp before heading back into the house, a grin on my face.
A few hours later, we all sat around the massive dining room table, ready to eat the impressive meal I managed to whip up with Zander’s help.
I learned that there was a lot more depth to that alpha than we’d seen over the years.
Granted, none of us ever really tried to get to know him well since he preferred to live on the edge of the pack lands, keeping to himself.
Watching him interact with his mother was another interesting ball to unravel.
“Zan, have you officially become an alpha to this pack now that you share a mate with the other two?” Morwyn asked, cocking her head, taking in the trio.
All three of them paused in their eating to look at one another. We’d started to have this conversation before Finley shut it down due to my brother wanting to fight it out with Zander and we never got back to it.
“Officially, no...” Zander responded. “We’ve talked about it, and that is our hope, but it’s something we plan to bring to the attention of the rest of the pack before just making that change.”