Chapter 40
Chapter
Forty
Nico wasn't nearly as tense as he had been the first time he sat in the zoo parking lot.
It wasn't dark today, and he wasn't there under false pretenses. The investigation going into his theft had clearly gone nowhere. And if something came of it, Cole had a couple of lawyers on speed dial. Nico knew not to say a word to the cops.
He spotted Elise coming out the front entrance and smiled. Any worries about potential criminal investigations evaporated.
It had been three weeks since, well, everything. The abduction. The revelation that his mate was basically a princess among witches. The truce between the coven and the pack. It was holding.
He and Elise were still going strong.
She climbed in the passenger seat and leaned over to give him a kiss. When she pulled back, Nico leaned in, ran his fingers through her hair, pulled her closer, and kissed her thoroughly.
He wasn't worried about charges for the robbery. But if they stayed in the truck for much longer, there could very easily be an indecent exposure charge.
Elise pulled back and grinned at him.
"Miss me?" she asked, still close enough that her breath warmed his lips.
"It's been too long," he said, brushing his thumb along her jaw.
"It's been thirty-six hours." She was smiling.
They picked up some tacos and ended up in a hotel in the center of the city, which was technically neutral territory. Plenty of the restaurants in the city were also considered neutral, but Elise and Nico weren't taking their chances.
Neither of them expected Dawson to go back on his word. But there were independent operators and other small packs and covens in town who might get ideas. They would have to figure out something eventually. But for now, they were both enjoying the privacy.
And as for the hotel, well … the grief Nico had gotten the few times he had stayed over at the coven house, and the way Elise flinched every time one of the wolves in the pack glared at her, made alternative arrangements easier.
Not every night. But when they didn't want to deal with all of the emotional baggage that came from apparently trying to change the world, they went to a hotel.
Nico hadn't told her, but he was looking at some of the cottages that were on the edge of pack-land.
He couldn't realistically move outside the territory, but he could find them somewhere more private.
And even though he was sure that he wanted her forever, he figured she might need a little bit more time before she was willing to move in with him.
They were on the roof of the hotel, which was open to guests. Right now, no one was there with them, which made it even more romantic and perfect.
"It's not always going to be like this." As if Elise hadn't been the first one to suggest they find a hotel.
She finished her bite of taco and then shrugged. "Yeah, probably not until everyone in the coven starts finding their own werewolf boyfriends."
He burst out laughing. "Do you really think that's going to happen?"
"I don't know," she mused, tilting her head. "I saw the way Delainey was looking at Reece."
"There is no force in the universe that would get Reece to date a witch." He shuddered at the thought. Then again, two months ago, the same thing could have been said about him.
"I don't think I'm talking about dating with those two. Honestly, they might kill each other after they …" She cleared her throat. "Well, I don't really want to think about what Delainey is doing with guys."
"She was the one who liked the rope, right?" Nico couldn't help but tease.
Elise flicked her finger at him, and a spark of magic bounced off his chest. She'd gotten more comfortable in the past weeks using her magic around him.
At first, it had been a little disorienting.
But the more it happened, the more glad he was.
She was being her full self around him. He couldn't ask for anything more from his mate.
"Have you applied for that EMT program yet?" he asked.
Elise bit her lip. "I don't know," she said, clenching both hands around her beer bottle. "What if I'm not good at it?"
"You're literally a healer," he had to point out. "I don't know how many times you've saved someone's life. You saved Cole's life, and he is a different freaking species than you."
"I don't think we're different species, technically," she said.
Nico rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"Yes, I know what you mean. But that's magic. I know magic. Magic's easy. They're gonna want me to know, like, how to do medical stuff."
"And plenty of humans figure that out every day. You're smart. But if you don't want to do it, you don't have to do it."
"No, I do want to do it," she said.
"Then apply for the damn program! What are you waiting for?"
Elise just groaned.
He was finding out that his mate sometimes needed a bit of encouragement to do things she actually wanted to do.
He wasn't going to force her, especially since he figured the EMT program would take more of her precious time.
They wouldn't have as much time to be together.
But that was one of the sacrifices he would be willing to make as long as his mate was happy.
He let it drop. Elise finished her tacos and then sat back in her chair, sipped her beer, and looked out over the lights of the city.
They sat in silence for a while. Nico soaked it in. He loved these quiet moments where they could just be together. There was no werewolf bullshit, no coven crap. Just Nico and Elise, existing.
"You never told me what it means," Elise said quietly, setting her beer down on the small table between them.
"What what means?" He racked his brain trying to think back over their conversation, but he had no idea what she was talking about.
"When Austin had us," she said. "I asked you …" She trailed off and cleared her throat. "I asked you what it means to be mates. And then we got so rudely interrupted by our rescuers that we never had a chance to finish that conversation. So I wanted to know—what does it mean?"
Nico drew a pattern with his foot on the ground and tried to figure out how to put it into words.
This was something he would never have to explain if he was with a werewolf woman.
She would just understand; it was part of existence.
How did you explain a fundamental truth that you couldn't put into words?
Under his skin, his wolf grumbled.
"You're my mate," he said. "I don't know if I can explain it anymore. It was my wolf—he recognized you."
"It's that simple?" she asked.
"There's nothing simple about it," he said.
Elise gave him a look. "So, what? The universe has put us together, and we're going to find each other in every lifetime? Or something like that?" Considering she was a witch, she sounded very doubtful about the concept of fate.
"I don't know if it's like that," he said. "But my wolf saw you. From that first moment, he wanted you, and he loved you even before I knew that I did. That's what it is, basically, between the wolf and the man, choosing our partner, our mate."
"For good?" she asked carefully.
He reached out and grabbed her hand. "I guess we'll see."
He had already made that decision. But she seemed a little bit freaked out right now, and he wasn't about to make any declarations that would send her running.
Though if she hadn't run yet, he doubted she would start anytime soon.
"I think I don't mind that," she finally said. "But there's one other thing I should have told you a while ago."
"What?" Were they keeping secrets now? What could it possibly be that she needed to tell him?
"Do you remember the tracking spell that the coven put on you?" He could feel the pulse of her magic in his chest.
"Yes, I remember the kidnapping," he said. "I remember being tied up in your basement."
Elise rolled her eyes. "I thought we were getting over that," she said.
"You literally joked about that two days ago.
" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, Serena lifted the tracking spell, so if you want, I can take my magic back.
It's not really doing anything inside of you, and it really is a risk to you if I were to—"
"You're not going to hurt me," he interrupted. "I know that. Even if something happened between us, I know you would never use that against me."
"I mean, yeah," she said, "but it really is—"
"I don't care," he said, and he was adamant now. "Is there anything harmful to the magic just sitting inside me? Is it doing anything to me?"
"No, it shouldn't be," she said. "It's just there."
"Do you need the power back?" he asked. "Am I leaching something from you?"
"No, it's just a little spark," she said.
"Well, then I don't want to give it back," he said. "It's mine now."
"Oh, it's yours now?"
"It is."
"Are you sure?"
"I like having a piece of you near my heart," he said. "My wolf chose you as my mate, and I like to think this is your magic choosing me."
She opened her mouth, and he thought she might have been trying to dismiss his admittedly sappy explanation. But then she closed her mouth and smiled and nodded.
"Okay," she said. "I kind of like the thought of that, too," she said. "But you tell me if you ever want me to remove it."
"I won't," he said.
And then he leaned in and kissed her.