25. Rhone
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
rhone
Harper was tense when we first met the kids, but their cheerful greetings and the fact that they really were unfazed by her presence relaxed her quickly.
I stayed close, and when she started feeling bloodlust, she took my hand.
When the kids tried to talk me into shifting and going for a run with them, Maverick pushed me toward them, promising to keep an eye on my vampire.
Harper rolled her eyes at him, but told me through our mental bond that I should go have fun. I regretted telling her that it had been a long time since I did that.
I only regretted it for a minute. As soon as I was running around with the kids while they pretended to fight, I felt alive in a way I only had with Harper since the war.
She was a little pale when I got back, so we ducked inside for another round of blood and sex before rejoining the pack for the massive barbecue Maverick had asked someone to put together.
It was chaos.
Not my scene at all, but Harper seemed fascinated by the pack, so I dealt with it.
Bloom introduced my mate to dozens of people. Though she gripped my hand tightly the whole time, she was interacting with a lot more energy than I expected.
I tried not to seem like I wanted to leave, for her sake. Probably failed, but tried.
Despite my itch to get the fuck out of there with my mate, I did have a few conversations that weren't terrible. It was nice to see Maverick having fun, too.
For the first time in a long time, I could admit to myself that these were good times. We'd lost a lot in the war, but we'd also built a lot afterward.
By some miracle of fate, I had a mate that I was fucking obsessed with.
The Wilder Pack was backing us, so things should settle down on the challenge front.
All there was left to deal with was the Vampire Guild murders. Eventually, we'd find Holly and Neve, and take them out too.
It was late when we made it back to our apartment, walking with Bloom, Maverick, and a bunch of the enforcers. The women and Mav together were the life of the party. Everyone revolved around them. As much as I hated to share her, my mate was practically glowing.
When I looked at Bloom, she was happier than I had ever seen her. That alone told me that this was the version of Harper she knew. The snarky, upbeat, social side of her.
She could never be that full time. Not with the bloodlust she dealt with and everything else that had changed for her.
I didn't care which version of her I got. I fucking adored all of them.
The majority of our group kept walking when we reached our apartment, but Harper didn't hesitate to say her goodbyes and go inside with me. As soon as the door locked behind us, she threw her arms around me.
I pulled her closer, not sure why she was hugging me, but glad she was.
"Thank you," she whispered fiercely, squeezing me tightly. "I haven't felt this normal since I turned."
"This is why I've been trying to get you to integrate with the pack."
"It's not just the pack, Rhone. It's you. You're the one who stabilized me and held my hand the whole time. Thank you."
I grunted.
It wasn't me. It was her. She didn't seem to want me to say that, though.
"Just say you're welcome so we can move on," she added.
The feeling that slowly came to life in my chest was unfamiliar.
Some mixture of satisfaction and pride that I didn't have a name for.
"You're welcome, Trouble."
She kissed the side of my throat, then slipped out of my arms. "We need to shower again before we get in bed. I don't want the sheets smelling like the pack."
"That makes two of us." I followed her to the bathroom, and she turned the water on.
I grabbed the hem of her shirt, but she swatted my hands away, pulling it off without my help. "Take your own clothes off. I want you naked."
I wasn't about to disagree.
She dragged her hand down the length of my erection after I stepped out of my shorts, and I palmed one of her tits before she led me into the shower.
The hot water stung our skin as I pulled her to my chest. She pressed her cheek against me as she leaned in.
"You're a good Beta," she said, catching me off guard. Compliments weren't really something I ever dealt with.
"I do the bare minimum."
She rolled her eyes. "That's bullshit, and you know it. You like it more than you think, too. You loved running around with those kids. You enjoy being the hardass behind Maverick's charm. You have fun with it, even if you don't want to admit it to anyone. Including yourself."
I didn't know if that was accurate.
I'd never stopped to consider whether or not I enjoyed being the Beta. I didn't want to answer to anyone other than Maverick, and no one could take me down, so the role was naturally mine.
"Anyway... have I ever told you that I like you?" she asked.
Something had gotten into her. Fucked with her mind somehow. She was never nice to me.
I would've avoided her from the beginning if she was nice to me, but strangely, I didn't hate it.
"The look in your eyes says I haven't." Her lips curved slightly as she looked up at me. "I like you, Rhone. You make me feel safe. You're easy to talk to. You have a good sense of humor. You're obviously amazing in bed, to top it off. I get why fate paired us."
I stared down at her.
She was pressed against my chest. Holding me, as much as I was holding her.
Her body was bare, her red eyes were so bright they basically glowed, and her light pink hair was plastered to her face and part of her neck as it dripped water.
The words she said made our situation strike me in a way it hadn't yet.
I had a mate.
One who liked me.
People didn't like me. I hadn't tried on that front in a long fucking time. It hadn't mattered to me after the war.
People hated me. Or they were neutral toward me. Or they were irritated by me. But they never liked me.
Harper did, though.
Not just physically.
She liked my personality.
"I thought you hated me," I said.
"I thought I did too. I think mostly, I was just bloodthirsty and sad."
"You've called me an asshole dozens of times."
"You are an asshole. A lovable one."
I continued staring down at her while she relaxed in my arms.
I had a mate. I had Harper.
And she fucking liked me.
I'd done everything wrong. I'd been too pushy. Too rough. Too harsh.
She liked that version of me, though.
The real one.
I found myself walking her backward.
She lifted her head to meet my gaze as I pinned her between me and the wall, careful not to hurt her.
Her curious expression met mine when she tilted her head back.
My chest rose and fell heavier than usual, my gaze locked with Harper's. "We're mates."
"Seems like it," she agreed.
"You're mine."
"And you're mine."
"Permanently," I added.
"Permanently."
"You're okay with it?"
"I'm glad about it, actually."
My chest rumbled of its own accord, and my lips crashed into hers.
It wasn't soft or sweet. It wasn't gentle.
It was me.
Her.
Us.
The way we were supposed to be. The way we would always be.
Harper pushed my face away after a few moments, breathing hard. "This is the part where you tell me you've also gladly accepted this hellish fate as my unfortunate—"
I kissed her again. She dug her hands into my hair, pulling me closer before pushing me away again.
"I wasn't kidding, Rhone."
I took her chin in my hand and tipped her head back until our eyes met again. "You're the first thing I've wanted in a goddamn century, Harper. I like you, and I fucking love that you're mine."
"Phew."
I kissed her again, deeper.
Softer, too.
Not for the sake of being gentle, but because I knew she liked it, and I wanted her to feel good.
She hooked a leg around my waist, and I lifted her off her feet before she sank down on my cock, taking me like she was made for me.
She might as well have been, because I was sure as hell never going to let her go.
Her body was tight around me, soft and slick and demanding.
I drove into her slower than I ever had before, just to see how she reacted.
Her moan was so loud, I had to grit my teeth against the urge to fill her with my release.
The way she moved as I took her slowly was unreal.
The arching.
The gasping.
She came, loudly, falling apart while I watched.
It didn't feel like sex.
It felt like love.
The second time she lost it, I went with her. My knot swelled, and she cried out again in pleasure.
The release was unreal.
The way she clung to me, trusting me to hold her, was even more intense.
I washed her hair and body between climaxes, holding Harper with her body wrapped around and connected to mine.
It was intimate, in a way I fucking craved.
Harper was my mate.
She liked me.
I was never letting her go. Not a fucking chance.