AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The fact you’d reject a mate for me is exactly why you shouldn’t. That compassion, he deserves it, too. And I won’t be responsible for ruining something that could be amazing for you two because I’m struggling to make sense of it.”
“Either way, I’m taking things slow,” he promised. “I’m not sure I trust him at his word.”
“That’s how I feel,” I agreed. “I’m not ready to kick his ass out of Lockwood. But I’m also unsure why he didn’t speak up sooner. Now that he’s left them, I want to believe it…” I trailed off, unsure what else to add.
“We’ll give it time. But no matter what happens, we won’t change. This between us is strong and even if Bear and I grow a bond, it won’t take ours away.” His words were backed up by the feeling of pure possessive love coming through our bond. It felt unshakable and that alone had me relaxing.
“I know it won’t,” I promised.
Sure, there was uncertainty there. We could promise to not let things change but with the storm brewing on the horizon and the shaky bonds forming between them, it was inevitable.
But not all change would be bad. I had to believe that at the end of the day, we’d come out stronger.
Doors slamming downstairs had us moving apart and pulling clothes on.
We walked into the kitchen to join them and despite a few knowing looks, no one called us on what we did. They knew it was necessary after the mess this morning.
“You okay?” Ezra asked as he pulled me into a bear hug, his arms crushing me. I breathed in his scent and let it ground me. Cinnamon and coffee mixed with alpha musk surrounded me and I savored it. I didn’t miss the way his cheek rubbed against me, marking me with his scent.
Alphas were so territorial.
“We’re alright,” I promised him.
Collin took over for me since I offered no explanation, sitting down and facing the group. “He’s my mate. So is she. I told her I’d reject him in a second but she thinks I shouldn’t make a hasty decision. However, I don’t trust him yet.”
“Oh he definitely has a lot to prove,” Atlas agreed. “Like, I get hesayshe was against it and I'm sure the network spins things as they wish, but why didn’t he say something to you on set?”
“Good fucking question, brother,” Dean agreed, sitting down and passing out a round of beers they’d, apparently, stopped for. I didn’t protest as he snapped the lid off of one and slid it to me. The bitter, icy liquid was almost too much, but I let the jolt of it center me even further.
“I refuse to let them ruin what we’ve built here. I’ve worked my ass off to move on and find what makes me happy. All of you. Walter and the shop. My friends. This town. It’s all what I need and I refuse to let them take that away.”
“They won’t. Not only will we kick their asses, but this entire town will run them out,” Dean said. “You’ve won everyone here over. Lockwood is protective of its own.”
“That it is,” Atlas agreed, holding his beer up. We clinked ours together and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Bring it on,” I said. “Let them come so we can make a fool of them.”
“We’ll have to keep an eye on Bear. They’re going to realize that he came first, that he ruined this for them,” Ezra said almost reluctantly. “He’s possibly shady but the idea of them hurting him doesn’t settle well with me.”
“Aw, my softy,” I teased before letting out a sigh. “I’m grateful, though. I don’t trust the others at all.”
“I’m over talking about them,” Atlas said with a sigh. “I’m pretty sure we had plans for food.”
“You mean we can’t all just hide out here and avoid the world?” I deadpanned, wishing that we could.
“Unfortunately no. I think Serenity would hunt us down,” Ezra said. “Speaking of, you better check your phone, she’s blowing mine up because you didn’t answer.” He flipped his screen around to show me forty messages from her.
“Whoops,” I said, getting up from the table and hunting down my purse. I’d dropped it on the way in. Digging it out, I snorted out a laugh at the group chat. They were now making guesses who it was we had a confrontation with.
Serenity: My vote is Batman.
Katya: He’s too small. Batman is buff as hell. Maybe he’s Robin.
Serenity: Good point. Robin was kind of cute, though. You getting another mate, bestie?
The commentary had gone on for close to an hour to this point. I didn’t bother to scroll up, no one had time to read the hundreds of missed messages.
Ellie: It’s my past coming back to haunt me.
