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Chapter Four
Zion
I never wanted to be pack alpha.
Not for a minute. But by the time we drove up to the cottage my in-laws had started their mated life in, I was still halfway back in the packlands, making sure everything ran smoothly. I parked in the short drive off the highway and turned off the engine then sat there.
“You’re thinking about back home, aren’t you?” Andrade fixed me with a very serious stare. “Mate, this is our time, but I have an idea.”
“What’s that?”
“Right now, before we get out of the car, call your beta and see how things are then remind him that you are only to be called in case of a dire emergency.”
“You don’t mind?” Tension I hadn’t even realized my chest held began to ease.
“No, but after that, you let it go. Trust Guillermo to do his job and back you up. If you never get a break, you won’t be good at yours.”
I knew he was right, but it still felt great to call my beta and hear that things were going fine. I didn’t even have to remind him to call me because before I did, he said, “And don’t worry about a thing, alpha. If something comes up that I don’t feel 100 percent able to handle, I’ll contact you immediately. So, if you don’t hear from me, everything is perfect. You two have a good time.”
“Thank you.” I let out a long breath. “I don’t think you know how much I appreciate and rely on you.”
“My mate told me you’re going to gift us a trip to the coast. That’s very generous thanks. Bye, Boss.”
“Goodbye.” I flipped the phone closed and turned to my omega. “You’re very smart, you know that?”
“I do. Ready to see the cottage? I’ve always wanted to come here, after listening to my folks talk about it my whole life.”
“And they never brought you or your sibs?”
“Nope, they took us other places, as you know, but this was special to them in a romantic way, not so much for family times.” He opened his door and stood up. “Let’s get everything stowed away and go for a swim?”
“I’ll agree to getting at least the perishables from the store in the refrigerator and freezer, but then I have plans for you.”
“Plans that don’t include swimming?” he guessed.
“Oh, you can swim…later. How do you feel about checking out the bedroom first.”
We headed into the cottage carrying our gear and food. It took a few trips, but we got it in, good-naturedly debating what we’d do next, the whole time. The local store had a lot of good things, and we had probably bought too much, but we at least wouldn’t have to do any shopping for a few days.
I stepped out onto the balcony that extended over the beach and looked out. Although the night was still fine, there would be fog before too long. We’d gotten such a late start that it was well after dark already. I’d begun to think I was wrong to shut down the swimming idea, but while we’d been fooling around and unloading the car, the weather had made my decision correct. “Mate, I think we’re going to have to put off our swim until tomorrow. We can shift and go run for a bit on the trail or the beach, but it’s going to be pea soup out there soon.”
He came to stand beside me. “Darn, what a shame. I hoped to see your naked hot self splashing around in the waves.”
I looped an arm around him. “Tomorrow. Pretty soon, we won’t be able to see anyone’s hot naked self doing anything at all out there, and I didn’t wait this long for our honeymoon only to spend it in a kayak paddling around looking for my mate.”
“Is there a kayak?” he sassed, ducking out from under my arm and sashaying away into the house.
“I don’t know. But if there isn’t, I’d have to wait for the surf shop down the coast to open, see if they have one, then set out after you. You’d get awfully tired of treading water by then.”
He paused and faced me. “Are you saying you’d leave me out there all night?”
“No.” I prowled up to him. “I’m saying nobody is swimming until the fog lifts sometime tomorrow morning.” Scooping him up into my arms, I planted a kiss on his full, sweet lips. “But we do have a little time if you want that run? I feel safer on the marked trail than in the unmarked ocean.”
He snuggled in closer. “I don’t know. That fog is awfully menacing. Maybe we’d better stay here, crawl into bed, and pull the covers over our heads until it passes. We—”
I held up a hand. “Shh. What’s that?”
“I don’t hear anything.” He cocked his head. “No…not a thing. That fog muffles everything.”
