“Are you sure this is a good idea,lyubov' moya?” Kole has three sheets of paper in front of him, filled with rough sketches.
“I sure as fuck hope so,” I mutter, then excuse myself to the front door when I hear a knock. “Mabel!” I open the door with a smile. “You’re here!”
“Of course I’m here, Jojo,” Mabel chuckles, stepping inside and shucking off her shoes. Her hair waves slightly, and with the way it hits right at her shoulders, it seems very intentional.
Maybe Ishouldbe a hairstylist.
“How’re you feelin’?” I ask, gently guiding her to the living room where Kole is waiting for us. “You left in quite a bit of a hurry the other day.”
Now that I’m really looking at her, the dark circles under her eyes are obvious.
She sighs. “You know why. I can’t…I can’t be around him.”
“Right.” I quickly change the subject, motioning to an armchair adjacent to the couch. “I took the liberty of asking Kole,” my giant gives a meek little wave from his spot on the couch, “to draw up a few potential tattoo designs for you to cover up your marks.”
Her hands go to her arms self-consciously, even though she’s wearing one of Rory’s hoodies again.
“Jo…” she trails off, biting her lip. “I don’t know…”
“You don’t have to decide anythin’ right now,” I tell her quickly. “Just look. And…” I grab a box of tattoo body markers that I ordered before my heat hit. “He can always do temporary ones if you want to test it out first?”
Mabel leans forward, her gaze scanning the drawings on the coffee table. She fixes in on a drawing of vines and flowers. “Kole, you’re very talented,” she praises, her eyes lighting up as her fingers run over the vines in the sketch. “These are so pretty.”
“They are morning glory vines,” Kole offers, taking the design and a pair of scissors, cutting it out carefully. “They represent rebirth, which I think will be the perfect thing to help cover the sins of your past pack.”
She swallows roughly, shoving up one of her sleeves to reveal her forearm. Kole takes the design and gently lays it on topof one of her marks. “We could make it bigger, smaller, do whatever you like,Sestryonka. It is up to you.”
Nodding once, Mabel sniffs. “What…what does that mean? You called me that before too, the day you left to get Sam's dad.”
Kole smiles softly. “It is an affectionate term for a little sister. You know you have four older brothers now who will protect you just as fiercely as your sister will, yes?”
Her eyes grow glassy as she blinks rapidly. “I…thank you, Kole. Could…” her eyes dart over to the markers in my hands. “Could we start with those and see how I feel?”
“Of course.”
She shrugs out of her sweatshirt, revealing an oversized t-shirt underneath while Kole takes the markers from me, pulling out the different colors he wants to use.
“What color are the flowers going to be?” she asks curiously, watching as he takes out four different shades of green.
“They come in pinks, purples, and blues. So whatever you’d like.”
“Can we do purples and blues?” She sounds so hesitant.
“Are those the colors you want?” He diverts his attention from the markers, tilting his head.
“They are.” She sounds much more confident this time.
He smiles. “Then that is what you will have.”
Once his markers are sorted, he has her sit on one side of the coffee table and lay her arm on it. He starts working, his touch barely-there and his lines delicate. Perhaps if it was someone other than my sweet Mabel that my new mate was touching, I might be a bit more possessive. As it stands, it only fills my heart with joy to see her accepting my pack as a part of me.
That is…until a shadow in the corner catches my eye.
Instantly on high alert, my heart pounds in my ears as I approach.
It can’t be anyone dangerous, Aidan’s cameras tell us if we have intruders. So that must mean…
“Nolan?” I hiss, rounding the corner. The blond viking of a man winces at having been caught. Quickly, I grab his arm and drag him out back. He doesn’t fight me, just walks behind me like I’m in complete control. When we’re on the back porch, I turn around and glare at him. “Nolan. What are you doin’ here?”
