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I looked down at her, face flushed with intoxication, hair unkempt. The mating bond was demanding I grab her, embrace her, hell, even bite her. But I remained stoic and emotionless, despite how my insides swirled in a heaping mess. “I was hoping we could take a drive and talk.”
She bit her lip and nodded, telling the others she’d be back as she headed with me out the door and to my truck. I helped her climb in, securing her seatbelt before I got into the driver’s seat and took off out of the city. After a while, I parked in a secluded spot.
It was a familiar place, one that was close to the warehouse. I used to come here a lot after I became alpha, taking quiet moments alone to think about my life and what I was doing. This spot was private, in more ways than one. No one knew about it but me… and now Emily. That is, if she wasn’t too drunk to remember.
The drive had been silent, and for a few minutes, I wasn’t sure if she had passed out on the way. But every now and again I saw her glancing over at me, waiting for me to initiate the conversation. Not that I could blame her—I’m the one who showed up at her doorstep, scooping her up for a ride, and then not speaking the entire drive there.
The tension was thick, clouding the atmosphere in a dreaded haze that neither one of us knew how to approach. My heart thundered with every passing second that we sat in silence, the only sound being the crickets outside.
She cleared her throat, and I jerked around to face her, assuming she was about to speak, but she only looked at me in shock at the sudden motion. I guess not.
I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, closing my eyes for a moment to gain my composure. “Okay, I guess I’ll go first.” She waited expectantly as I sat there with my mouth open, nothing coming out. “I’m… I’m sorry, Em. For avoiding you. I should’ve called you back sooner, but I was just so angry about seeing you with Griffin.”
She looked away, hiding her embarrassed face. “I know.” Her voice was soft and a bit timid. When her eyes met mine, they were glossy and filled with tears.
“I’m sorry, Cass. I shouldn’t have kissed Griffin while you were in the other room. I swear I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I would never. You’re my best friend, my mate. But I can’t help the way I feel about Griffin because he’s my mate, too. I would give my life for both of you.”
“Please,” I begged. “Don’t ever risk your life for ours.”
“Well, I would.” Her tone was more serious, a fury bursting to life. “And I wish you would stop treating me like I can break. I can handle myself better than you think.”
I didn’t want her to get worked up. I’d spent all of two days being pissed off, and I didn’t want any more anger between us. “You’re right,” I agreed, taking her by surprise.
“I shouldn’t think you’re so delicate. It’s just…” I paused, choking on the words. I swallowed hard, a tight ball constricted in my throat. My voice cracked as I spoke, but I had to push past it to get the words out, because if I didn’t say it now, then I might never say it.
“I’ve lost so many important people to me. My mother, my father, my pack mates. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you, too. If that makes me overprotective, then so be it. But I’ll try to tone it down because I don’t think that you’re incapable. If anything, you’re more capable than the rest of us. Your whole world was turned upside down and look at you! You’re handling it better than anyone else would.”
She looked at me, a tear streaming down her cheek. I swiped it with my thumb, cupping her face for a moment before dropping my hand. “Emily, finding out that my best friend is my mate was the best news I could’ve received. But I don’t want to share you. Especially with Griffin.”
Sighing, she turned away, staring out the window for a moment before turning back. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t waited for the day when we could be more than friends. It’s all I wanted for so long, but I never pushed, never wanted to overstep my bounds as your friend. But now that we’re more, I don’t want to ever lose that. But Griffin is also my mate, and I can’t help the way I feel about him, about both of you. Please don’t give me an ultimatum.”
Even when he wasn’t with us, Griffin was still in my way. And just as I feared, she might not choose me if it came down to it. “I’m not giving you an ultimatum, but I’m allowed to be envious of the attention he receives. I mean, I see you guys and… What am I supposed to think? Of course, I got mad. Is this new or have you guys been doing this the whole time?”
I didn’t intend for my voice to raise, but I was growing angry.
She scoffed at my question. “We’ve only kissed one other time, just like us, so you can get off your high horse, Knox.”
“My high horse!” I shouted. “Why? Because I don’t want to be a third wheel in the relationship?”
“What relationship?” Now she was shouting, “We’re mates, but no one asked me anything about actually being with me. I was thrown into this mess the same as you. I found out that everything about my life was a lie. Everyone I knew an instrument in keeping me from the truth. I have to worry about Samara, worry about you, about Griffin, and Ember. I’m tired, Cass. I’m tired, and I don’t have the energy to deal with drama that doesn’t need to be drama.”
“You’re not the only one who’s been through stuff. I lost my family and members of my pack. I’m in the same mess you are, so don’t think you’re the only one struggling. And excuse me for being jealous of you kissing another guy. It’s not like you weren’t jealous when Ember showed up.”
“Why does everyone keep bringing that up?” she grunted, crossing her arms. “Look, I’m not your property, and I don’t need you making decisions for me. I want to be your mate, too, but not if it means dealing with constant fighting between you and Griffin, or with us. I can’t have you ignoring me for days every time I kiss my mate. Maybe that’s a ridiculous request, but that’s how I feel, and I will not change it.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. In a slow, steady voice—that took a lot to force out—I told her, “I can handle you being with Griffin. I can share you because that’s how badly I want to be with you. But you need to understand that I need you too. I want your affection and your attention, even around my pack. I want them to know you’re my mate… my luna. I need to know I’m just as important to you as Griffin.”
In a strange way, saying those words released more tension than I’d thought. Emily blew out a breath and stared at me. “You know, people will judge me for wanting you both. Think of how your pack would react. What if they don’t respect an alpha who shares their mate?”
“They will respect their alpha no matter what my mate chooses to do. Besides, I don’t care what they think about it. You and I… and Griffin… are the ones involved. Not them. I don’t care what they, or anyone else, think. As long as I have you, that’s all I need.”
Emily held my gaze, her head tilted to the side as she analyzed me and what I said. Her eyes softened, and I leaned in until I was hovering over her lips. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable and have her avoid me again, so I waited for confirmation that she would accept this.
Closing the distance between us, she pressed her lips to mine, the warmth of sunshine and love melting into me. My fingers grazed the back of her neck and twirled through her hair as she pulled away, resting her forehead against mine.
“You have no idea how much I needed that,” I whispered.
“Me too.”
I leaned in for another kiss, but my phone started ringing. I was ready to ignore it, but Emily insisted I answer Sam’s call because it might be important. And it’s a good thing I did because his tone was urgent.
“Cassian, we have a problem,” he said. “A feral wolf was spotted a few minutes ago in the woods by the warehouse.”
I glanced over to Emily who was so damn beautiful and… mine.
Damn.The urge to pull her to me almost overtook my senses.
She looked up at me, her eyebrows pulled in tight, mouthing “what happened?” All I could answer was, “We gotta go.”
