AllFreeNovel
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I cough as my eyes start to water, and I quickly reach for my drink, downing the rest of it in hopes to dislodge the burn in my throat and chest.
Finally able to catch my breath, I turn my gaze on her. “Why would you ask that? Of course I don’t regret it.”
She shrugs and looks down at her hands, where she starts to fidget with her water bottle. “I don’t know. I just got the feeling that you might. I thought things were supposed to change or advance between us, and they haven't. I don’t even know what to expect anymore. So it got me thinking that maybe you just regret it.”
‘She’s right, you know. You’ve kinda left her to figure this out on her own,’ Dusky agrees.
‘How can I guide her when I don’t know what to expect?’ I argue. ‘I just learned that you guys can communicate with me after all this time. I don’t know how this whole mate thing works.’
‘Well, what do you normally do when you start dating someone? Go on… I’ll wait.’
‘Ugh. Just tell me. I don’t have time for this round-the-bush shit,’ I growl out.
‘Try sharing your life with her. Opening yourself up and letting her get to know you. That’s one way of strengthening your bond. And I don’t appreciate your attitude, so until you learn to behave, you can get your advice from the others.’
Shit. ‘Dusky, I’m sorry. Okay.’
Nothing.
FUCK!
“See, you’re twitching, and it makes me think I’m right and you just don’t want to admit it,” she confirms.
Turning to face her, I grab her hands. “Kitten, it’s not like that. I was just getting frustrated with Dusky and—”
“Dusky?” Rez tilts her head, and I realize she doesn’t know about his name or the fact I can talk to them.
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “One of the things I guess that’s changed, besides us picking up on each other’s emotions and thoughts, is I can talk to my animals now.”
“Really?” A smile blooms on her face “You’re not joking. What are they like?”
There’s a commotion as Reaper takes off and chases a few of the lizards until most dip into the underbrush while one starts running over the water. He whines and runs over to Zeke before he plops down in front of him to be fed some snacks.
“Well, Fluffers is a jokester, and I swear, he has ADHD. Baron is a posh know-it-all.” I feel him humph his displeasure at me. “Dusky is my Stardust kitten that you met. His voice is higher pitched like a kitten, but the way he speaks… He reminds me of a wise old man, and I’m still feeling him out,” I sigh, shaking my head. “Of course, you still need to pick his name. That’s the name he gave himself until you could find a new one.”
Rez tilts her head to the side, and she thinks. “Well, I’ve already met him, and he was so adorable. The way he moved, his coloring. I think I want to keep the name Dusky. It suits him,” she says with a smile. “That is, if he’s okay with it?” she retracts before biting on her lower lip.
‘You okay with that name?’ I try to reach out, but apparently he’s still upset with me. I, at least, get the impression of him giving me a firm nod and then turning his back on me.
“He agrees with the name,” I tell her, and she rewards me with a bright smile. I let out a sigh before addressing her. “He’s also the one that’s telling me I need to share more of myself with you to strengthen our bond.”
“Oh,” she perks up and smirks at me. “So I get to learn all the secrets of my scary alpha?” she teases and finishes her drink.
Our group is starting to pack up, so I grab our trash and stash it in my pack before helping her up.
“I promise you, it’s not all that pretty,” I say so she knows I’m nothing special, but she steps into me and grabs my chin.
“Everything that you’ve gone through or have done has made you the man that you are today. So, that doesn’t scare me.” Her confession has pride rolling through me. My mate is clearly fierce, to stand here and say that. “What scares me, is the idea that you don’t want me,” she admits. “So, as long as that’s not the case, I’m good.” She smiles. “Now spill.” She grabs my hand, and we follow everyone out of our rest area.
I help Rez fix her mask as we find more bloodied bodies, and the road starts a steep decline.
“Is this right?” I call up to Zissa.
She turns and nods, allowing Knots to pass her. “Yeah, we’re almost there according to what the merchant said. This is the ravine, then there’s a cave at the end where he normally goes to get the Demstones, and he said there’s bat flowers there also.” I nod in understanding, and she jogs to catch up with Knots.
“Knowing my luck, the bastard had the ingredients and he just said he didn’t to get us to bring him more,” Rez mumbles under her breath.
“You probably have a point,” I agree. “I want you to know that I’m sorry about the way our relationship has been going. I truly didn’t mean for you to feel like I regretted this. I couldn’t dream of a better mate than you. I promise I’ll do better to help our relationship grow, okay?”
