Chapter 15
Boris
I throw myself on the couch a moment after I've entered my house and grab my phone.
"Are you calling from prison?"
"Yes!"
Zahrah is quiet for a second or two. "I don't believe you. It's mean to let me get my hopes up."
"I'm stuck, so I might as well have been in prison."
"Stuck? Like in the pornos? Are you stuck in the dishwasher and want four burly blue-collar guys to come help you out?"
I snort. "I'm the burly blue-collar guy in those scenarios, not the one stuck."
"Hmm, too bad."
I roll my eyes. "Why?"
"Don't know. I wanted you to be swarmed by burly blue-collar guys."
"I think something is broken in your mind. I don't want burly blue-collar guys, I want Simon, but he thinks I'm insane."
She takes a deep breath. "Okay, tell me what's wrong."
I don't know. "It's everything. He lost his job today."
"That sucks."
"Yeah, but he refuses to let me help. The more I offer, the more annoyed he gets."
She groans.
"What?"
"You know I love you."
"Yeah." But nothing good ever came after she told me.
"I don't know Simon, obviously, but he's a proud man. He's made it on his own all this time. He lost his sister, became a father to her kid, and he's made it work."
"Yes."
"Now he's in trouble--"
"No, he's not. I'll never let anything bad happen to him."
"Boris, he doesn't know you. You know he's yours, but to him, you're a crazy person from across the street who sauntered into his life mere days ago. No sane person would accept help from a stranger they don't know if they can trust."
I whine as if I'm being skinned alive, which has her groaning again.
"Stop being such a baby."
"What? You say my mate doesn't want me and thinks I'm a crazy person."
"You are a crazy person, and I didn't say he doesn't want you, only...Hell, I don't know. I think hooking up is pretty low on his list of priorities right now."
"I'm not here to hook up." Though I wouldn't mind hooking up. "He's mine. I want to take care of him, want him to stop worrying, want him to relax, to be at peace, to know I have his back. I want him to know he doesn't have to worry about a thing because I will keep him safe."
"Oh, sweetie."
"What?"
I can tell by the rustling that she's shrugging. "Has he ever felt safe? He comes across as a bit...strained. Watchful. On guard."
I think back about what he told me about his parents and wince. Fuck, she's right. He doesn't know what it's like to feel safe, to know your pack has your back and nothing bad can touch you when they're around.
"What do I do?"
"Keep helping him, but don't talk about it."
I huff. "How?"
I hear her open the refrigerator and wait.
"I don't know."
"Zahrahhh!"
"I don't. I've never had to woo anyone without letting them know I'm wooing them. I guess you insert yourself into their lives. Without being creepy! Your stalker tendencies are already bordering on creepy, so keep it to a minimum."
"How?"
"Food. It's what you're good at."
"Food? How did we go from stalking to food?"
She growls. "We didn't. You're to stop stalking him and woo him with food instead. And things like you did with Ira's cookies."
I nod. Yeah, I need more things like that. Simon was grateful when I helped with the cookies.
"And disappear for a few days."
"What? No!" I rub my chest where the constant ache is whenever I'm not close to Simon.
"Yes, let him miss you."
My heart is speeding at the idea of not seeing Simon for a day.
"Come camping with me. We'll take some photos, run in fur, and be one with nature for a few days."
"No."
"Yes. Let's leave tomorrow afternoon. You can cook them something delicious, drop it off, since you won't be eating it now when I'm kidnapping you. We'll be gone for three days. It'll give him time to miss you."
"No."
"Yes. I'll pick you up at three tomorrow."
"Zahrah." My whine is pathetic.
"Trust me. He won't miss you until you're gone. Tell him you'll be gone for two days, and then we'll go for three."
"I don't want to lie to Simon."
"It's not a lie."
"Intentionally giving him the wrong information feels a lot like lying."
She chuckles. "Give him your number if he doesn't have it already. Maybe he'll send you a text asking how you're doing."
I would like a text. If he sends me one, it means I can send a few hundred back to him. "Fiiine."
"Awesome! You can model for me again, right? I need more photos of you in fur. People love you for some reason."
I groan, though I don't mind playing model for her.
"We'll tell them we're going out to look for the wolf pack, and he might worry about you."
"Again, I don't like lying to him."
"It's not a lie."
"Yes, it is. We are the pack. We're not looking for it, and we're not in any danger from it. I should come up with a way to tell him what I am, not deceive him."
She hums. "Yeah, that's gonna be an interesting conversation. How do people tell their mates they can turn into wolves?"
"No idea."
"Cook something good, run over there and give it to him right before we're to leave. Then he can eat your food and miss you."
I nod. "Okay, but I'm doing this under protest."
"Noted."
What should I cook? Running over there with a three-course dinner would be too obvious. It needs to be something I could've cooked for myself. I'm in the mood for savory crepes, but do children like those? I want Ira to miss me when I'm gone too.
"What's kid-friendly food?"
Zahrah is quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, did you ask me a food question? I fail at the kind of ramen you only need to add boiling water to."
"I was thinking savory crepes, but would Ira like those?"
"Maybe with a chicken--"
"No. I've fed them chicken twice in only a few days."
"Venison stew with rice. The one you make sometimes with carrots and celery with red wine in."
I nod. I doubt Simon has venison often. "Okay, I'll make that." I drag myself off the couch and over to the freezer, where I bring out a big chunk of meat to thaw overnight.
"Great. I'll pick you up at three tomorrow."
I didn't like this plan. Three days without Simon. It will be torture. I need to be here to help him.
"Boris?"
"Yeah, yeah, see you at three."
"It'll be fine, good even. It'll make him realize what life would be like without you."
"Or he'll forget me altogether."
"You're such a drama queen. He might not understand what's going on, but I doubt he's unaffected by the mate bond."
I snort. "He doesn't want me to kiss him."
"The pull is there. Trust me."
I trust her in most things, but I'm not sure about this.
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