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“I tried to sit when you left and she freaked out.”
“This’ll help her.” I see him slightly shake his head in my periphery. “Just don’t get in my way then.”
“Don’t fucking make me.”
I clench my teeth and ignore him. Our mate hasn’t heard a single word of our silent dialogue and I don’t want her to think I’m pissed at her. At least I don’t think she has.
“I want you to come sit by me.” It’s a simple request. My words come out as soft as they possibly can. She stops rocking and stares at me for only a moment before burying her head between her knees as she shakes her head in denial. I resist the urge to growl, not at her disobedience, but at the former pricks who did this to her. Instead I pat the bed next to me and calmly repeat myself. “I want you to come sit by me.” I look at Caleb and then back to our scared little mouse. “We have something very important to tell you and I want to be able to hold you when you hear it.” Caleb’s lips turn up at the corners. I don’t know if he’s trying to force a smile onto his pretty-boy face or whether he’s trying to hold one in.
Caleb stalks closer to her and slowly drops to his knees at the foot of the bed. His tall frame hovers over the mattress as he bends to offer his upturned hand to Lizzie. “Come on, baby girl, I want to hold you too. Let’s go sit with Dominick.” She doesn’t even lift her head to meet his eyes. Her blond hair swings across her back as she shakes her head, adamantly refusing our requests.
“Let’s just tell her.” I hear Caleb’s words in my head, but instead of responding silently I continue to speak out loud so our mate can hear.
“I don’t want to tell her until I can hold her.”
“Stop being so fucking stubborn.” He continues his silent conversation.
“I’m not being stubborn; when I tell her that she’s my mate, she needs to be listening. She’s not listening to anything we say.”
“She is listening; she doesn’t want to obey. There’s a difference, Dom.”
“I know there’s a difference. She’s hearing us, but she’s not really listening.” I glance back at our terrified mate before looking Caleb in the eyes. “You want to claim her on the full moon?” He squirms uncomfortably.
“You know I do. But I don’t want to scare her.”
“Too late.” I speak out loud, but he doesn’t follow suit.
His shoulders slump in defeat. “I don’t want to give her a reason to fear us.”
“She already has one.” Frustrated with all this pussyfooting around, I question him, “Are you going to help me?” He grits his teeth and clenches his fists, but then he gives me a slight nod. I take a deep breath and crack my knuckles before turning to fully face our mate.
“Hey, Lizzie,” I say and stare at the back of her head. She stops moving but doesn’t turn to me, and she doesn’t respond. I know she’s terrified, so it doesn’t make me angry—in fact, it’s exactly what I expect.
I sigh and say as casually as I can, “If you won’t listen, I’m going to have to tie you up, little one.” Her breathing hitches, but other than that I get nothing. I’ll give her one last chance. “Come here. Come sit next to me so I’ll know you’ll hear me.” I pat the bed and continue to stare at the back of her head.
“How are we doing this?” Her lack of a response gets Caleb to finally relent.
“Well, do you want to get your eyes clawed out or have your nose kicked in?” A small grin plays at his lips.
Devin
I place featherlight kisses along Grace’s bare neck as she sits perched on the granite countertop of the large island in the center of the kitchen. I don’t want to let go of her, but I know she’s dying to get back to Lizzie. I breathe out deep and resign myself to feeding her and then taking her to her room. I’m vaguely aware of Dom’s and Caleb’s anxiety. They must be going to Lizzie, which means our mates’ room is set up.
Dom’s feelings are more of a painful anxiousness whereas Caleb’s are hopeful but tinged with apprehension. I block them out. They don’t need me interfering. They’d better come up with a plan soon to tell her that she’s their mate. I don’t think I can wait like I’d planned to. Keeping this from her is tearing me up inside. It’s easy to see when she’s overthinking it all. I know the moment I explain it to Grace, everything will fall into place for her. Our bond is already strong, as it should be between mates, but she’s still holding back and that’s a problem I’m unwilling to allow to go on much longer.
She pulls my shirt down her thighs, covering herself from me, and glances around the large kitchen. I could tell she was shocked by how modern her new home is. She probably expected to live in some shack in the woods. I reach for the cheese and butter in the fridge. After spending a year watching her, I know she makes grilled cheese whenever she’s stressed. I made sure to stock up on groceries before we went to the offering. I want her to indulge in anything that will offer her comfort. Once she’s settled, she’ll have all the comfort she’s always wanted.
I set the ingredients by the stove and glance back at her as I reach for a pan. She avoids my gaze and bites her lip, nervously looking around the room again. Her eyes linger on the doorway to the hall. Doubt filters into my mind each time her attention focuses on an escape route. I swear to God if she runs from me again, I’ll lose my shit. As long as I’m touching her, she seems fine but the moment I step away, it’s like our bond doesn’t exist. That’s an indescribable pain. Doesn’t she feel that as well? There’s so much I don’t know … all because she’s human. This is the first instance in nearly a century for our kind to mate with humans from what I’ve heard in the whispers from other packs. It’s not common, but it’s not completely unheard of either.
“What are you looking for, sweetheart?” I keep my voice even. As if I don’t know she’s thinking about bolting even though it’s written all over her face. She peeks up at me through her lashes and meets my gaze head-on. Well that’s a good sign at least. I see her noticeably swallow.
“I was keeping an eye out for the … others.” The jealousy is unexpected. My nostrils flare and my breathing picks up in anger. I can’t school my expression fast enough. Her gaze drops to the floor and she hunches her shoulders. She doesn’t realize it, but she’s trying to shield her neck from me. Yet another thing I don’t like. It takes far too much effort to compose myself. This isn’t what we’re told to expect. Especially for an Alpha’s mate. Again, doubt lingers.
“Why are you waiting on … others?” I can’t say anything else without giving away how pissed off I am and this level of aggression is not for her. Imagining someone else walking in on her like this, and her attention being given to them … a pack member and not her mate … dressed as she is … The fact that Dom and Caleb are sharing their mate has gone to my head. I turn my back to her and put the pan for her goddamn grilled cheese on the stove to heat. I have to work hard not to slam the drawer shut after I grab a butter knife.
“I … I …” Her stammering isn’t helping to calm me down. “I don’t want to see them.” My shoulders relax at her admission.
“That’s a hell of a lot better than what I was thinking.”
