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It’s dark in the room. Maybe I should have kept the lamp on in case she woke.
“It’s okay. You’re safe,” I assure her. “You passed out when you were replenishing your magic.”
She frowns at me, her gaze moving away from me. “I did? Shit. I did.”
“What happened?” I ask, a little more worried now that I can see she’s as shocked about what happened as I am.
“I was impatient,” she admits, after a pause. “I tried to take too much all at once.”
“That’s all it was?” I ask, not sold.
She might not have a lot of patience, but I can’t help worrying that there might be more that she isn’t telling me.
She nods. “I feel great, now, actually.”
Her eyes are bright, and her smile comes easily.
My wolf growls. She’s not the only impatient one in the room.
“I could use a shower, though,” she adds, starting to get up.
She’s trying to get away from me before I can ask questions she doesn’t want to answer.
“Rachel,” I murmur, in my most compelling voice.
I have the ability all Alphas have, to use commands on members of my pack. The voice I use for those orders is rougher than my natural speaking voice and I’ve only tried to use it when any other way to get through to a pack member wasn’t going to work.
It’s not something that’s generally accepted by pack law anymore, except in extreme situations, or mutually agreed moments between consenting adults. I agree with that law, and I know why it exists, but there are definitely times when things would be simpler if it was a more accepted practice.
“I promise, I’ll be right back,” Rachel says, as she bounces up from the bed and leaves the room before I can properly protest.
I watch her go and I sink back into the pillows. I can hear the shower when it starts to run across the hall. I catch the slightly stronger scent of her wolf when she shifts, and I know she’s definitely hiding something. She might not have appeared physically injured, but there’s no reason to shift to wolf form if you’re not looking to heal a wound.
I get up and wait at the bedroom door, sensing it when she shifts back to her human form. I lean against the doorframe, listening beyond the rushing sound of running water for any sign that she isn’t feeling as good as she claimed when she woke.
Her breathing is normal. Her heartrate is a little high, but she did just shift forms.
She takes her time, and I start to wonder when Carter and Silas might be back.
It would be better if I could talk to her alone, but they’ve been gone for a while now, so it seems unlikely that they’ll be gone for much longer. Silas doesn’t like to venture too far from the house when he’s in his shifted form, and that goes double when he’s with Carter. Our Omega has a tendency to drive him insane.
When the bathroom door finally opens, and my mate steps out of the room with damp hair and no towel to cover her naked body, I lose my grip on the thoughts in my head.
She smiles as she slowly crosses the hall. “How much did my Alpha miss me?”
Oh, she knows exactly what she’s doing, but so do I.
This is going to be fun.
Chapter Twelve
Rachel
It’snobigsurprisethat Adrian’s angry. He contained it well when I was leaving, but now it’s like a massive grey cloud hanging over his head, full of thunder and lightning, a storm ready to erupt. The only thing that might diffuse it is a distraction, a redirection of his energy into something less destructive, if no less explosive.
My reason for leaving the bathroom without a towel is obvious, and my mate who just spent a few nights without my company and the demands of my heat, is drinking me in like I’m the wettest mirage in a desert. I don’t think I’ve seen this kind of desperation in his pretty green eyes before.
“How much did my Alpha miss me?” I ask him, raising an eyebrow.
