Chapter 27
Silas
My lips meet Junie’s, and instantly, I’m home.
Anywhere she is, I want to be.
“You can’t ignore me now,” Junie says between kisses.
“Mm.” I move to kiss her jaw, and she tips her head back against the wall. “I won’t.”
“I’m serious, Silas.”
I stop kissing her for a moment so I can look her in the eyes. “Have you always talked this much?”
Her jaw drops. “Oh, my god. You’re such an asshole.”
I smirk and claim her mouth again.
“I. Choose. You,” I say in between kisses, then place my hands on her ass to lift her.
Junie wraps her legs around me, and her arms tighten around my neck.
As my tongue slips past her lips and dances with hers, I’m now certain this is where I was meant to be.
When I first saw Junie, I thought my interest in her was purely out of curiosity. She’s not a wolf, and honestly, one of the first humans I’ve ever had eyes for. Even if all we did was have a one-night stand, I knew in that instant I wanted something.
My wolf felt it too, since our first sight of her was when I was in my wolf form, rescuing her from the snow. Is it possible that he knew all along? Deep down, could my wolf have felt that she was meant to always be ours?
I spin Junie around and walk her back toward my room, out of habit, and mumble a string of curses against her lips when I find it locked.
“Unlock it,” I say, separating my lips from hers.
“We could go to my room.”
I shake my head. “No. I need you. I need you in my bed.”
“Won’t it be our bed?” Junie muses.
“Such a fucking brat,” I say, chuckling.
Junie reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tiny pin to unlock the door. I’m glad to see she was hopeful I’d choose her back.
“Convenient, huh?” she muses, and I want to kiss the smirk off her face.
Then I remember I can.
“Silas,” she chuckles. “I’m trying to put this tiny pin into your door. Stop distracting me.” Junie tries (and fails) to turn her smile into a flat line.
I boop her nose. “You’re bossy.”
She grumbles and mocks me under her breath, but little does she know, I find that even more adorable.
“Do you need help?” I ask.
“It’s not working.”
“Do you need help?” I ask again.
“Perhaps.” Junie sighs, dropping the tiny pin to the ground.
I grab the handle and give it a hard twist, breaking the lock.
“You could have done that this whole time?” Junie asks.
“Oh, break my door? Yeah.”
“But you didn’t earlier?”
“I forgot?” I give her my best smile, but she doesn’t buy it.
“Mm, nope. I don’t believe you.”
I smile. I can’t stop smiling. I’m nearly forty years old, and I’m grinning like a freshman in high school who just laid eyes on their first crush.
“Maybe I was love-struck.”
“Silas.”
“Or,” I grab Junie’s ass and haul her back into my arms, “maybe you’ve bewitched me.”
She playfully slaps my chest. “Don’t joke about that. That’s not funny.”
I walk us over to the edge of my bed and toss her in the middle.
“I’m not making a joke, brat. You’re the one who got stuck in the middle of a snowstorm when the weather was clearly headed that way.” I grip the bottom hem of my shirt and pull it off. “Who does that?”
“Maybe it was fate,” Junie muses, lifting onto her elbows.
“Or maybe you read too many werewolf books and were looking for a good fuck.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I’m your asshole, at least.”
I crawl on top of Junie and cup her face, bringing my mouth to hers.
It’s not often I get to savor the things I want. Being an Alpha of the packs means I have to make sacrifices, and although I’ve made a lot over the past decade, it’d be nothing compared to sacrificing my mate.
“I can’t believe I almost lost you.” I pause, resting my forehead against hers.
“You can’t lose me, Silas.”
I lift my head. “It could have happened. If Jake didn’t come and—”
“No, I mean, literally. When I die, I’m becoming a ghost.”
“What?” I ask. That wasn’t what I was expecting.
“Well.” Junie tilts her head, biting her lip. She’s so goddamn cute. How did I get this lucky? “When Ophelia and I were younger, and she was practicing spells, she did one that ensured our death would result in us, you know, haunting our loved ones.”
I wait a moment, ready for her to tell me she’s joking, but she stares at me.
“You’re serious,” I say.
“Yup.” Junie grins, and who am I to question that?
“No offense, but I’m glad you didn’t die. Even if you were looking forward to becoming a ghost.”
Junie chuckles. “Me too. Because then I wouldn’t have been able to do this.”
She grips the back of my neck with one hand and pulls my mouth back to hers. With her other hand, she trails it down my torso, gripping me over my jeans.
“Fuck, Junie.”
“I want to bond with you,” Junie says.
“We can wait if you need to,” I hiss, resting my head down on her shoulder. I would wait for however long she needs me to.
“I want this.” She slides her hand up my jeans and trails her fingers along the band. “I want you.” Her hand slides in, gripping me bare.
“Fuck,” I drawl.
“Do you want—”
“Yes,” I say with zero hesitation.