Chapter 45 Rafe
Rafe
I am sick of my mate being so far away. I realize she’s a bridesmaid, and bridesmaids have to sit at the head table, but this sucks.
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the speeches are over, the food is done, and the first dance and parent dances are finished.
I’m on my feet before the rest of my pack can even move, speed-walking toward my omega.
People stare. I probably look ridiculous. I don’t care.
Her perfume has been calling to me all day. I scented it as she walked down the aisle. As she gets closer to her biannual heat, it’s been deepening, turning into something lush, like a garden at the height of summer. Others won’t notice, but as her mate, it’s intoxicating.
“You all say I don’t have any chill,” I hear Zeke grouse behind me.
Eli doesn’t care that I left the table. When I glance back, his eyes crinkle over his mask, clearly laughing at me. I stick my tongue out at him. He doesn’t like to dance. I love to dance. Winnie is the perfect compromise between us.
When I reach her, she’s staring at me with one eyebrow cocked. “Can I help you?” she asks, amusement clear in her voice and in the small quirk of her lips as she tries not to smile.
“Can I dance with the prettiest woman at this shindig?” I ask.
She steps forward and slaps a hand over my mouth. “Rafe, you cannot say that. This is a wedding. There is a bride,” she reminds me.
Oops.
“Honestly, with you in front of me, I forgot,” I say. She laughs, but it’s true. It’s hard to concentrate when she’s near. All I can scent are lilacs and roses, and all I can see are her curls, her freckles, her eyes.
I hold out my hand, and she takes it. Her fingers are small, soft, and warm in mine.
The song is slow and romantic, and we sway together for a minute.
“Finally, my favorite part,” I murmur in her ear.
“Dancing?” she asks slyly.
“No. Being near you,” I say, earning a small giggle and a playful swat to my arm. Her perfume washes over me again, thick and heady and something else I can’t quite place.
“Are you okay, Dulzura?” I ask, studying her face and movements more closely now. She seemed fine during the ceremony. She stumbled a bit on the way into the reception but recovered quickly. Every so often, I noticed a small crease between her brows, and I thought she was just concentrating.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, but there’s strain in her expression.
“Dulzura,” I ask carefully, “are you lying to me?” Warm laughter rises in my chest, and it takes effort to keep it down.
“What? No!” she exclaims, looking a little panicked.
“Wow. You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met, and I’ve met more than my share of teens trying to pass for eighteen to get a tattoo.” Then it clicks. “You’re not okay. What’s wrong, Dulzura?”
“No, no, no,” she whispers sharply, trying to push me back into dancing. I go along with it, reluctantly. “You can’t stop dancing. Everything’s fine. I’m just—” She huffs.
“What?” I press.
When she hesitates again, I pull out the big guns. “If you don’t tell me, I’m marching over to the table and telling the pack something’s wrong. Then they’ll all be out here demanding answers.”
Her eyes widen, then narrow, but I don’t budge.
“Fine,” Winnie says. “I might be experiencing some pre-heat symptoms.”
The words hit me like a motorcycle slamming into a brick wall. The deeper scent. The crease between her brows. That wasn’t focus. It was pain. Heat cramps. If she’s heading into her biannual heat, that kind of pain can be brutal.
Fuck.
I glance toward the table where my pack sits. Corbin is talking with Cole. Gage is deep in conversation with Zeke. But Eli looks up immediately, locking eyes with me. He straightens, reading the edge of panic on my face.
Before I can mouth the word heat, thin fingers curl around my chin and jaw, pulling my face back to hers.
Winnie looks up at me, eyes pleading. "This is my sister's wedding. It's just a few more hours. Please, just help me get through this."
Good lord I don't know who on earth is strong enough to resist that face but it sure as shit isn't me.
"Fine, but I am telling the others. I'm not getting my ass kicked because you went into heat and I didn't tell anyone." She lets out a very annoyed little huff and I have to bury my face in her curls and scent mark her hair to keep from chuckling.
"Dulzura, I love you." I confess and her eyes go wide.
"I love you in a way I've only experienced once before and if anything ever happened to you," I look toward Eli who's still looking ar us.
"To either of you. I couldn't handle it.
So please, let us take care of you." She leans up and kisses me gently before pulling back to meet my eye.
"I love you too," she admits.
The song ends and all of the eligible women in the room are called up to catch the bouquet. I turn to the pack table. Now everyone's looking at me. Eli clearly clued them in that something was up. I take a deep breath.