Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
TEAGUE
Macklin studies the five men in her sketch. “I’ll go by the hospital first and check on Andros. Then pay a visit to Lawson.”
“Who’s Lawson?” Charli asks, her eyes darting between the two of us.
“He’s the alpha of the Crescent Mountain pack,” I tell her. “They have a ranch outside of town, near the tree line on the south side.” I glance at Macklin and silently tell him I want that wolf’s head. Literally. He subtly nods.
A line appears between her brows. “I thought Leif was the alpha?”
“He’s the alpha for the Vintervargarna—the Winter Wolves—pack,” I reply. “Each pack has their own alpha. It’s the same for most shifters, not just wolves, although the name varies—pack, clan, sleuth, pride, etc.”
She groans. “I’m so clueless.” Scooping up the last bite of eggs, she leans back and looks at Macklin. “That was delicious. Thank you. But I’m sad we still haven’t gone to the bakery yet.”
He stares at me, and I arch a brow, silently asking him when he’s going to claim her. Instead of answering me, he turns back to her. “We’ll go tomorrow morning.”
She beams at him. “Sounds good.”
“Why don’t we move your stuff before we go to the hospital?” I suggest, wondering if she’s going to balk in the light of day.
“What stuff?” Macklin asks, grabbing his keys.
“Charli’s moving in,” I say lightly.
She anxiously glances at Macklin as if she thinks he might object, and I want to snort. After what happened last night, neither of us wants her living on her own.
He flashes her a rare smile. “Guess that means we don’t have to take turns sleeping outside your door.” His head dips as he passes by. “That’s good. I’d much rather sleep next to you.”
Her jaw drops, and she swivels around to watch him walk out the door. She turns to me, a guilty expression on her face that makes me want to punch Macklin for not claiming her.
“I thought last night was a one-time thing. The three of us.”
I nearly groan at the image her innocent words conjure. “Did it make you uncomfortable? Sleeping with us both.”
Her quick headshake almost makes me smile.
“Good. That’s all that counts. Let’s get you packed up,” I say, draining the last of my coffee.
She bites her bottom lip and looks down at the clothes she’s wearing, but I wave a hand.
“You can shower and change once we get back. The clothes you wore last night have been destroyed.”
Macklin and I couldn’t stand smelling Gregor’s, the wolf she crushed with her car, and Martin’s scents on her clothes. It fed the fury riding us both. After she went to sleep, I got up and burned them.
Her relief is palpable.
It takes little time to pack up her stuff. Partly because she never really unpacked and partly because she owns very little. After we bring back the first load, I send her to take a shower while I return for the other items. I’m hanging everything up when I hear the bathroom door open.
“We’ll have to make sure we get the rest of your stuff out of your car,” I tell her. “But for now, everything fits in my closet.”
“Sounds good. I hope you don’t mind; I borrowed your robe,” she says, coming out of the steam-filled bathroom, an uncertain expression on her face.
“It’s not mine,” I remark, watching her fingers stroke the thick sleeve. She studies the length, then the sleeves, as if it didn’t occur to her that it would be too small to fit me.
She stiffens. “Whose is it?”
“I bought it for you.”
Pink flares across her cheeks. “For me?”
“After your first night here,” I say, keeping my voice nonchalant. “While you get dressed, I’ll hop in the shower.”
I pull off my shirt and head into the bathroom to shower. Keeping myself in check and my desire blocked, I stroll into the bathroom and shut the door.
Given how skittish she was when she arrived, I thought it would take us months to get her moved in. I was willing to wait. Let her get acclimated. Give her space.
Last night changed things. Hearing Martin’s threat and her screams, I’ve never been more terrified and helpless in my life. I thought I was going to lose her. If Andros hadn’t gotten there…
I step into the shower and scrub a hand down my face, trying to get the sounds playing on repeat out of my head. That motherfucker touched her. For a brief second, my skin hardens into grey stone as the gargoyle’s rage takes over. Their deaths were too easy. My nails lengthen into claws.
Martin and the other three lying in the morgue were lone wolves. But the fifth. I growl. It’s all I can do not to fly out to Lawson’s farm and decimate his entire pack. Guilty or innocent. And that’s exactly what I’ll do if Lawson doesn’t agree to hunt down and kill the bastard.
Breathing rapidly, I press my fists against the tile until the urge to wage war subsides. She’s here. Under our protection. In my bed. My arms. The urge to complete the bond riding me hard, but I refuse to rush her. When it happens, I want her to have no regrets.
Finishing my shower, I step out and wrap a towel around my waist. Not thinking, I walk back into the bedroom a minute later and find her dressed in worn jeans and a familiar black sweater, sitting on the floor, drying her long blond hair.
Fascinated by the image of my mate getting ready in our bedroom, I lean against the doorframe, watching her, and see all the years that went by without her.
Not alone but lonely. Always searching and hoping for the person who was meant to share my soul.
Share in the laughter. Drive me crazy. Make me a better person.
And suddenly, here she is, and everything I thought I’d do or say went out the window.
I’m left stumbling around like every other mate, trying to figure out how to give her all the things she deserves.
Her light green eyes widen, and the pink on her cheeks deepens, and I groan and tighten my grip on the towel. “Sorry, I didn’t think before I walked out.”
She shrugs and makes a shooing motion. “You’re making me nervous watching me dry my hair. Go away.”
“Never.”
Her breath catches, and her hand lowers. “Promise?” She tries to pass it off as a teasing joke, but I see the worry and yearning in the depths of her eyes.
Making me wonder, for the hundredth time, what happened in her past. “Promise.”
She turns toward the mirror, but I can tell she’s on autopilot, her mind swirling with thoughts.
Leaving her there, I walk into the closet to get dressed and see her old clothes mixed in with the new. Quickly pulling them off the hangers, I toss them down the laundry chute. Then I slip on a pair of jeans and a blue button down.
Walking out of the closet, I lift my arm to button the cuffs, but she stands and brushes my hands away. I look down at her bent head and smile.
“Today’s Thursday, isn’t it?” She blows out a breath and buttons one cuff, then moves on to the other. “There are a lot of projects in the office that need your attention. Maybe you should drop me off at the hospital. I’ll let you know how it goes with Andros.”
I lift her chin, my face set. “No space, remember? How are you feeling this morning?”
Her mouth drops open. “I thought you meant, you know, us living together.” Her forehead scrunches. “Are you going to go everywhere with me?”
“Me or Macklin,” I say with a shrug, noticing she hasn’t answered my question. “Maybe Andros in the future.”
“That’s absurd,” she says, throwing her hands in the air.
“I think you mean, thank you,” I correct her. “Maybe I’ll feel differently once we bond, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”
“Bond?” she questions, and I freeze, wondering what she’s going to think. But it’s time. Past time.
“When mates have sex for the first time, pieces of our souls merge, solidifying the mate bond. For you…it also means you’ll become immortal like me.”
Her mouth opens, and she stares at me, then swallows. “I…what does that mean?”
“You’ll never age, and you’ll be hard to kill,” I reply with a frown. “I’ll have to do a little research to find out exactly as it differs between species.”
“Okaayy,” she drawls. “And the bond?”
“It won’t happen until you’re ready,” I promise.
Her fingers pluck at the edges of my cuff. “Why do you block your feelings? From me.”
“I don’t want to overwhelm you,” I reply, knowing she’d bolt if she knew how much I want to sink into her sweet body and claim my mate. I watch the expressions flit across her face. “It will change once we’re bonded. You’ll know more about me than you might want.”
The line between her brows smooths. “Can I block you?”
Every atom in me wants to shout no, but instead, I jerk my chin. “All you have to do is picture a wall between us.”
She peers up at me, and her tongue darts out to lick her lips. “The bond. Does that include fooling around or only…sex?”
An image of me gripping my cock in a blue tile shower comes barreling down the connection from her to me, and I inhale sharply, not realizing I’d forgotten to block her that morning.
Given the distance, it didn’t occur to me.
I scrutinize her pink face and nearly smile when I see the glaze of desire in her eyes. Maybe I don’t need to block everything…
Stepping in close, I breathe in her light vanilla scent, my body hardening, and place my mouth next to her ear. “Only sex creates a mate bond. The rest. Touching. Tasting. Licking. Whatever you want. Wherever you want.” I send a pulse of heat down the connection.
She gasps, and the little flutter at the base of her neck picks up. I grab her hand and pull her out of the bedroom before I’m tempted to lock us both in here.
Andros is only allowed one visitor at a time. We peer into the window and find Macklin standing next to his bed, gripping the railing, as he listens to whatever Andros is telling him. The metal bends and twists beneath his large hands. Not good.
Andros’ mouth stops moving, and he turns to glare at Charli, like he knows she is here. Then he grits his teeth and turns away, effectively dismissing her. It both pisses me off and amuses me. It’s too late for him to run.
She motions to the chair in the hallway. “I’ll stay here while you visit.”
“He can’t really go anywhere. Go, talk to him,” I prod.
“Okay,” she capitulates, fingering the hem of her sweater.
I rap on the window, motioning for Macklin to step out. He rubs the back of his neck and nods.
“If you get scared, or if he’s too much of an asshole, walk out,” I order, watching her take a deep breath and lift her chin.
Macklin gives Andros a pointed look as he leaves, silently warning him to curb his cutting tongue. The bastard lifts a single arrogant brow but promises nothing. I smile. He’s going to rue the day he didn’t get down on his damn knees and thank the Fates for sending him a mate.
Charli’s hand curls against her side, but her expression is calm as she enters. Andros watches her every step with a careful stillness that tells me everything. The last thing he wants to do is scare her.
Macklin clears his throat. “The fifth shifter’s name is Clive.
Lawson’s going to personally hunt him down.
Redeem his pack honor and all that.” His voice is tight.
“I know why he joined Martin. It’s my fault.
His girlfriend kept starting trouble. I warned her several times, but I ended up banishing her. ”
I snort. “Clive always liked trouble, but he picked the wrong person to follow this time. Did you tell Lawson we want proof?”
He dips his chin. “His head.”
Lawson’s got a strong sense of right and wrong. Grew up the second son of an alpha. Had to leave when his brother inherited the pack leader role. Two alphas divides pack loyalty. Traveled around for a while until he landed here fifty years ago. Started the Crescent Mountain pack.
“What was Andros saying?” I tilt my head toward the twisted railing on the bed.
“When he got there, Martin had Charli bent over the back of her vehicle. Pants down. He tried to get to her, but their bullets slowed him down. He wasn’t sure if Martin had… I told him he hadn’t.” He wipes his haggard face. “He can’t get her look of terror out of his head.”
I told Macklin last night after Charli had gone to sleep. I knew he’d been thinking about it ever since she asked to take a shower. Neither of us can stop the gut-wrenching guilt we feel from not being here when she needed us most, or the pure relief that Martin didn’t force her.
“She goes nowhere without one of us,” I state adamantly and see the same determination on his set face. “I need to go into the office. Do you want me to take her with me, so you can stay here?”
“MacKenzie has two possible antidotes to try this afternoon,” he replies. “They’ll knock him out for a while. I’ll take Charli home, fix her lunch, and try to get her to rest.”