Chapter 29 Grayson #2
"I don't know why you're dreaming of Silas and another woman.
Maybe subconsciously it's your brain manifesting your anxieties about what he did to you.
All I know is that it's okay to feel whatever you feel about him.
Anger, resentment, distrust. Lust. Jealousy.
Don't try to explain it away or make sense of it.
And definitely don't let yourself feel bad about it. "
"It just feels so wrong," she whispers. "Dirty."
"Because of what he did to you?"
"Yeah. And… I don't know. I can't explain it, Grayson, but…
it feels so real. I can smell the room. Him, her.
The magic. I can feel the stone walls. It feels dirty because they don't look okay.
And I'm ashamed to be jealous of her when she looks like she's half-dying.
Like, what the fuck," she huffs, about to berate herself again.
"Stop. Don't do that. You're entitled to whatever you feel."
"Do you think it's real?"
I shake my head. "Your dreams? I mean… I don't know. Just because a dream feels real doesn't mean—"
"Orion told me omegas can have other powers. Like, prophetic ones."
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "You think it's prophetic?" My instinct is to dismiss that as ridiculous. But Orion is right. Omegas do have other powers.
But it seems highly unlikely, especially in this instance. She's dreaming of the man who hurt her. It only makes sense it would manifest in a way that would invoke complicated feelings, considering he likely is her mate.
"I don't want you to worry about this right now."
She frowns, but it morphs into a yawn. She nods tiredly, then settles back under the covers. "Will you… will you stay?"
"I'm not going fucking anywhere."
She giggles, and the tinkling sound shoots straight to my heart.
And then she snuggles closer, a palm on my chest, the other reaching across my stomach, and when she pulls her leg up over mine, her knee grazes my cock, making it stiffen.
I swallow the groan and freeze, but there's no sense in pretending I'm not getting hard.
She's not oblivious. Her scent changes—sweeter, more honeyed—and her omega nuzzles closer.
She's here, in my arms. Cuddling closer. By choice.
Mona chose our clan today. And right now, she's choosing me.
As much as I want to take things to a place I've only dreamed about, it's not the right time.
Even if it has been over six months with nothing but my hand for company—the longest I've gone since I lost my virginity over a fucking century ago.
My gaze drags unwillingly to the hallway near the bathroom—the one that leads to the nest.
My father's original cabin was smaller. At first it was just him and my mother, eventually adding me and Silas.
They never bonded with any other wolves.
I think, as Lune, it was hard for him to add to his small pack.
He didn't have a twin brother like I did, or a friend like Orion that he grew up with. He didn't expect his family to grow.
Over the years, when it became clear Silas, Orion and I were pack—I think we were still teenagers at the time—he expanded the cabin.
Added more bedrooms, a third floor. And a nest—though the original intention was just to be a massive bedroom.
He knew we'd have a larger family. Someday, a woman of our own to share.
He didn't know we'd mate with an omega. That we'd need that room for heats.
I push thoughts of the nest from my mind.
There's already too much happening, and Mona needs time before we broach that particular subject.
This morning, when I read her detailed descriptions of her shifting experiences, I could tell by the way she described her first heat, she had no idea what was happening to her.
Likely still doesn't understand what it means.
I fucking hated reading her account of it—the way she suffered, confused and alone. In need. As terrible as it sounds, I think knocking herself unconscious after she threw herself off the cliff might have been a mercy.
What a fucking nightmare. God, the shit this girl has gone through.
I squeeze Mona closer, keeping my breath even so she doesn't know how close I am to the edge. How my alpha paces inside me like a captive beast, demanding we take control, that we do something.
There's nothing to control. Nothing to do in this moment but hold her tighter.
"Grayson," Mona mumbles on another yawn, her voice little more than a whisper.
"Mm?"
"Will you tell me about what happened earlier? With me joining the clan? Orion tried to explain it, but there was a lot going on."
I smile into the dark, reliving that feeling when her loyalty snapped into place. We all felt it, and I was standing around in the field with a few of my enforcers, and every one of them was fucking elated.
"When a shifter joins our clan officially, there's an acceptance across our bond.
It's not as strong as a mate bond, but it's a similar connection.
I don't know what it feels like for you, but for the rest of us…
having an omega join our clan… I've never felt anything like it.
I didn't think our clan was incomplete before.
But now, it's like everything has clicked into place. "
She hums softly while I tell her how important she is to us.
Maybe she went too long without assurances from the people who are supposed to care.
Maybe it's because she was touch-starved when she arrived.
But she's been letting us touch and hold her, and it's refilling something inside her.
Some connection to others that she's been missing for far too long.
"As Lune of Silent Peak, I want to officially welcome you into our clan, Omega Mona Ashland. We are honored to have you."
I think she's asleep until she mutters under her breath, "Ashland is your last name."
I chuckle, then kiss her temple. "It's yours now, too." Then I fucking bask in holding and petting my mate until she finally falls asleep. And just before I follow, I realize, for the first time in my life… I'm purring.