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Yeah… it’s probably that last part.
And, even more amazingly, I still have a couple of days left until our honeymoon is over and I have to head back down to Muncie.
We haven’t discussed it yet; at least, not more than me mentioning my other home and him distracting me with another kiss. I get the idea that Ryker assumes that, now that we’re mated, I’m going to give up on my silly idea of living in the Fang City instead of on pack territory with him.
As for me? I’m his mate—and I don’t consider myself a lone wolf any longer—but as much as I love him, I’m not giving up everything I worked for just because I let him mark me. By becoming the female half of Mountainside’s Alpha couple, I don’t have a claim to being the Alpha of Muncie any longer, but it’s still where I belong for now.
He knew what he was doing when he mated an alpha female. We’re partners, but I still need my independence and my freedom. I don’t regret mating him so suddenly; I think it was inevitable from the moment Ryker reappeared in my life again that we’d end up bonded.
When it comes to Muncie, though? I’m just not ready to say goodbye yet. And, no… it has absolutely nothing to do with my ex-roomie who refused to attend the ceremony we held the night of the full moon.
Obviously, I get why he didn’t. Still stings. Not gonna lie. He said he’d respect my choice, and maybe that was Aleks’s way of respecting it, but I held out hope until Luna came out.
He needs his space. I’ll give it to him. But I’m going back to Muncie and, now that I know that Roman allowed Ryker to purchase the townhouse for us outright, I have my argument already settled in case my mate tries to give me crap about it.
He gave me his word. I’ll return to Accalia whenever he asks me to—so long as I can find coverage at the bar if I’m scheduled for a shift—and, whether it’s in our bed in the townhouse or in our cabin, I’ll sleep by his side every night, but I’m an alpha. I need to be free to live my life.
Even if I’m sharing it with Ryker and the Mountainside Pack.
He won’t like it. Of course not. His alpha wolf nature demands that he coddle his mate, defend his mate, feed his mate, and, well, mate with his mate. As the other half of the Alpha couple, he wants me with him so that he can take care of me; in turn, we’re responsible for the rest of the pack. And I’m okay with that. It’s just… I like my job. The friends I made in Muncie. The ability to walk around without the expectations of an alpha female.
If I’m being honest, it’s that last one that appeals to me the most.
Now that Trish has made her apologies and Shane is gone, I’ve been welcomed wholeheartedly by the Mountainside Pack. They love me because Ryker does, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that they don’tjustlove me. They fear me and what it might mean that I’m only the second female alpha on record since the Luna.
They expect things from me that I’m not even sure I can give them, so sue me if I want to hang onto my anonymity a little longer. Especially since I have the sinking suspicion that Shane was just one facet of the Wicked Wolf’s plan to get control of me.
I’m mated. Forever bonded to Ryker. Even if something happens to him—Luna forbid—nothing can change that. I’ll never be any other wolf’s mate. There shouldn’t be any reason why he’d continue to hunt me down.
Shouldn’t be, but on the few rare occasions when Ryker wasn’t making me moan this last week, I would catch him with that all-too-familiar calculating expression as if he’s working on figuring out what my bio-dad’s next move will be.
He’s concerned. I try not to be. I don’t want a single fucking thing ruining our honeymoon—which is precisely why I’m not bringing up my return to Muncie again until I’m packing up my Jeep.
Ryker’s free to come with me; he knows that even if I know he won’t. Just like how I belong below the mountain, his place is firmly on it. Doesn’t mean we have to be separated, though.
Compromise. It’s all about compromise.
Getting him to finally mate me was the hard part. Now that nothing—not my dad, not my enemies, not the Luna herself—can separate us, I’m absolutely positive that me and Ryker can handle anything that gets thrown our way.
We’ll make this mating work. I’m sure of that. We have love and an unbreakable bond on our side, even if we’ll clash sometimes. We’re both alphas so butting heads is inevitable, but that also means that we understand each other in a way that some bonded mates never could. Ryker gets that I’ll need space, that I’ll need some measure of independence, but that I’ll be as loyal and as protective and as devoted a mate as he could ever want—and I expect the same from him.
He’ll be based in Accalia. Me, in Muncie. Still, it’s not too far of a distance, and as long as Roman keeps the perimeter open to me and Ryker, we’ll only be a quick run away. I can teach him to drive one of the pack vehicles if he wants. If not, with his speed, his wolf can travel down the mountain into Muncie just as fast. I understand that the pack has a claim to my mate—and, I guess, me as well—but either I’ll come to him, he’ll come to me, and we’ll be together.
Just like we should be right now.
Huh.
Waking up without my mate’s heavy arm sprawled possessively over my waist… that’s what wakes me up this morning.
Last night, it was my turn to cook dinner for us. After we were full, we retired to the living room, cozying up on the couch as we watched the flames in the fireplace flickering. It’s closing in on September and the mountains are chilly at night—not that we need an excuse for the fire. Even in the dead of winter, we’d survive just fine without one, but Luna if it isn’t romantic to snuggle with your mate with a fire going.
In our cabin, we can let down our guard. It’s the first time in my life that I truly can, and I adore this time with Ryker more than I can ever tell him with words. Especially since our snuggling turned into foreplay turned into mating on the rug in front of the fireplace pretty quickly.
We moved to the bedroom after Ryker’s naked ass was singed by a stray ember that escaped the grate; well, actually,hemovedmesince I nearly pulled a muscle cackling when my strong, powerful alpha yelped that something was burning his butt. Nipping at the mark that curved around my neck, he tossed me over my shoulder like a rugged caveman, then brought me to the bed. He demanded an apology for my laughing at him, and when I stubbornly refused, he promised that he’d find a way to make me change my mind.
Spoiler alert: he totally did.
Before long I was panting out “I’m sorry” as he made my toes curl. Of course, I repaid him by taking his cock in my mouth, teasing him wildly until he was begging to come. He did, and then I scooted around and lapped at the raw patch of his skin on his ass cheek.
