Chapter 23
Nadia
“So… how do you feel about all of this?” Helena had asked when I called her yesterday. “Like you have a wolf? And fated mates?”
I hadn’t been able to answer her then and the next morning, when I woke up alone in a strange room, I wasn’t any closer to formulating a reply.
Something was there, like a shadow out the corner of my eye, moving just enough for me to notice, but not turn to take a look at.
I frowned and then stripped off, walking into the ensuite.
Damn, Candy hadn’t lied.
The shower was freaking palatial. Like the spare bedroom at my place was probably smaller than this thing.
Shower heads dotted the walls, which had me conjuring scenarios where they were all in use.
Not just me stepping under the water, but Tex, who’d smile at me, right before he poured soap into his hands and turned to rub it into my shoulders.
Grey would be all business, washing himself like it was his full-time job, but he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from stealing looks at me.
As I lathered the soap, I spent a few seconds trying to imagine exactly what the alpha looked like naked. And Ethan… My hands went still.
Ethan wouldn’t be here at all; he’d made that clear.
Getting put out that one of the three hot alphas that rocked my world wasn’t declaring himself as my fated mate was stupid.
It was like being handed a whole box of chocolates and then pouting because there was no cheesecake to follow.
With a nod, I focussed on the job at hand.
It felt like all of my worries, concerns, everything, went swirling down the drain just like the soap did, so that when I stepped out of the shower, I was ready to face the day’s challenges.
Only to realise I didn’t have any clean clothes.
Had Ethan picked up my bag from Helena? I pulled on the plush robe that had been left hanging on the back of the door and checked my messages.
Helena had a lot to say while I slept. Mostly completely inappropriate suggestions about whether or not multiple orgasms could help me shift, but yep, she’d handed the bag over to the alpha.
I opened the door, scrolling through my messages, and as I was reading one from my manager, I nearly went flying as I tripped over a very large, furry obstacle.
“Whoa!” Stumbling out into the hallway, I collided with the wall as I spun around to confront a massive black wolf.
Blue eyes stared into mine, his pupils the only thing that moved.
“Ahh… nice doggie?” A pink tongue and a massive set of fangs was revealed as he began to pant, right before his nose lifted in the air.
One long huff of a breath, then another.
“Are you…? Are you scenting me? Because you really don’t need to. You just scared the shit out of me!”
The wolf went perfectly still and then made a noise deep in his chest that was a partial growl, partial grumble.
“But that is totally fine,” I stammered, taking in the size of the creature. Just how big was revealed as he stretched, then got to his feet and padded over. “Absolutely fine and… you’re sniffing me.”
I was 100% more of a cat person, so a cold nose being thrust into my hand was not something I really knew how to respond to.
A long lick? Yeah, I winced, fighting the urge to rub my palm against the robe until it was clean.
The wolf opened his jaws and very, very carefully gripped my hand and then used that to pull me forward.
And when a big wolf tries to take you somewhere, you go.
“Something you want, fella?” I asked in the kind of high-pitched tone people seemed to use with their dogs.
“Some kibble or something?” That thought had me pausing and the wolf looked back to see what the issue was.
“Goddess, if I manage to shift, am I going to eat dog food? Or…” I shuddered. “Rabbit?”
My stomach roiled. I wasn’t feeling anywhere near as seedy as yesterday, but I drew the line at eating things while they still had a face.
“Oh.” The wolf let go and sat down abruptly in front of a familiar suitcase. “My stuff. Um… thanks.”
Those blue eyes stared at me as my hand moved towards it, but he didn’t move, not until my fingers sank into his fur. Wow, he felt like the plushest, most luxurious fur throw, and his ears… They were like velvet and his eyes closed just a little as I gave the bases a scratch.
Of course, that was the moment when the wolf shifted back into a man.
To my horror, my fingers raked through Grey’s hair, finding it almost as soft. His eyes were just as heavily lidded as the wolf’s were. That was the moment when I snatched my hand back immediately, right?
Not quite.
We both seemed to need a second to process what the hell had just happened so as to change tack, but a small sound of pleasure from Grey finally had my brain kicking into gear, stopping myself from patting him.
“Shit!” He blinked, looked around and snatched a tea towel from the kitchen bench, trying to hold it over his groin.
I wondered what he looked like naked while I was in the shower. Who knew I’d get my answer so quickly? Long, lean, hard muscles everywhere, along with a vein that trailed down his abs, that for some reason I felt the need to lick. Grey was a picture of masculine perfection.
And also was very, very hard.
Looking was wrong. The man was obviously uncomfortable, and yet I couldn’t seem to avert my eyes. Whatever lurked beneath that scrap of fabric looked very impressive.
“Um… I think you’re gonna need something a little bigger than that,” I said.
“Ethan dropped off your bag,” he said in a rush. “Mine…”
With a shake of his head, he bolted for his room, obviously looking for his clothes. The slam of his door coincided with the one at the entrance opening and then Tex walked in, toting a tray of food that smelled amazing.
“Morning.” He came over and placed the tray on the kitchen counter with a flourish. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” I said, then my lips twitched. “No more hangover, but I’m not sure if that’s because of the adrenaline pumping through my veins at tripping over a massive wolf or because I gave him a pat, right as Grey came back to skin.”
Tex’s eyes went wide as he grinned.
“What?”
“Like is that OK?” I shook my head. “Everything I know about alphas is from romance novels, so I’m assuming that’s not real. If I pat you guys in wolf form, is that really disrespectful?”
“Whenever you want to touch either one of us.” He moved closer, that piney scent filling my nose.
“However you want, in either form, would be very welcome.” Damn, his voice had grown deeper, raspier.
Tex’s hands came to land on my shoulders and even through the thick fabric, I could feel their heat.
“It’s still early days. We’re still learning each other, but we will. For example, how’s this feel?”
He rubbed the line of my shoulders and I felt a whole body shiver in response.
“Nice.” I closed my eyes and then shook my head, letting out a long breath before looking up at him.
“Is a useless way to describe anything. It feels good.” And it did.
Being around him, feeling him hold my hand or be the big spoon yesterday was comforting in ways I found hard to describe, but I did then.
“I don’t know why, but whenever you touch me, something settles. ”
“So I’ll just have to keep doing that then.”
He was moving closer, the warmth of his body registering wherever my skin was bare.
All thought of sex was driven out of my head, because hey, talking life-or-death shit would do that to a girl, but it was now I started to see the upside to this whole situation.
What if every morning he brought me breakfast?
What if we let the food go cold as he pushed my robe off my shoulder, revealing a small square of bare skin?
What if his thumb traced the shape of the part of me he’d claimed?
I’d get all hot and feel that weird fluttery thing low in my pelvis and he’d lean down.
The smile would fade as it was replaced by something far more intent, right before—
“Tell me you haven’t eaten anything.” Grey emerged in a t-shirt and sweatpants, i.e. man lingerie, and I may have taken a second to enjoy the view. I mean, he was mine, right? Objectifying him was all part of the process of having a mate. “We need to be fasting for the blood tests this morning.”
“Shit!” I missed the heat of Tex’s touch as he pulled back and then looked over his shoulder. “Lucky I got distracted by my mate.” He winked at me. “Started thinking about something else I want to eat, and it’s not on that tray.”
“Blood tests.” I nodded as a wash of cold forced my head to clear. “Needles.”
My hands rubbed against the robe fabric, but the softness did little to settle me.
“It’s OK, Nadia,” Tex told me. “I’ll stay with you when they do yours.”
“Except you’ll be getting your own tests done,” Grey corrected, raking his hand through his hair. “I’ll… be trying really hard to stop my wolf from chewing the hands off anyone who dares hurt Nadia.”
That statement had me feeling conflicting things. No one had ever threatened to tear someone’s hand off for me, so I was kinda flattered. The reality though? I looked down, seeing the faint imprint his fangs had left on my wrist. That was a little scary.
Grey was a little scary.
“I better get dressed then,” I said, going to wheel my bag over to my room, when there was a knock at the door. Opening it, I expected to see Riley or Candy or maybe an orderly that worked here. Definitely not Ethan standing there, scratching the back of his neck.
“Hey, Nadia.” He smiled at the sight of me, then seemed to think better of it. “You got your bags OK?”
“Ah, yeah, thanks for picking them up.”
We both stared at each other for a second because I had no idea why he was here.
“So, they asked me to come in and do some tests.” He shook his head. “I was one of the guys that got you into this mess, so they need to work out how I factor into things.”
“Mess, right,” I said.
“So…” The skin around his eyes creased a little. “Are you OK? How are you feeling?”
People kept asking me that, but I was no closer to an answer, so instead I pulled back and ushered him inside.
“If we’re getting tests done, I better go and get ready.”
As I put on some clothes, brushed my hair and then pulled it up into a bun, Ethan’s words replayed over and over until I stepped out into the living room. All three of them turned around the moment I appeared.
“Let’s do this,” I said.
I’d focus on surviving the tests first and then maybe I’d find the time to try to process everything that was happening.