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“Stop. Putting. Yourself. Down,” he demands, his eyes taking on that of his wolf. “First of all, if anyone else talked about my mate the way you talk about yourself, I’d slay and maim them. Since I’m not going to harm a hair on my mate’s head, instead, I’ll have to come up with something else until you grasp the concept that you’re beautiful and you’re mine. I don’t give the first fuck if you think you’re too heavy, you’ll always be perfect in my eyes, do you understand?” He takes a calming breath before he continues berating me. “Not only that, but I was so hard the whole time I bathed you, that if you had been alert, willing, and not in a healing stasis, you’d have been shown how I feel. I’ve never been into extremely skinny women, Nicole. That’s unattractive to me. As a big man, I need someone who can handle what I dish out, if you know what I mean?”
At this point, I’m speechless, so all I can do is nod at him. I’m a bit in shock, too, because what he’s said multiple times, in different ways, is finally sinking into my stubborn head. “You… okay, I don’t want you to get angry at me, alright? But… you’re being serious when you say you’re attracted to me in that way. Is it the mate bond or what? I need to know, Stealth, for my own peace of mind.”
“Doesn’t matter to me, sweetheart. I was attracted when I caught the first glimpse of you, but when I recognized that you were my mate, that was the end of that. You’re mine, I’m yours, and it’ll be that way until we draw our last breaths.”
“Wow. So, what happens now?”
He starts chuckling, so I lightly smack his arm, then I end up stroking it instead. “Is that why I smell peppermint when you’re near?” I ask.
“Since when?” he questions.
“Ever since I woke up this morning. It’s one of my favorite things in the world to smell.”
“That’s how it works, I guess. Nonna would know for sure, and if you really want to know, we can ask her, but right now, I need to feed you because I’m sure you’re starved.”
“Yeah, I could eat,” I tease, giggling. “Wait, I can’t go downstairs just wearing a shirt, Stealth!”
“Don’t worry, we sent the prospects back with the box truck and they got all of y’all’s stuff, including the suitcases you packed. They dropped them off a few hours ago, so you’ve got your wardrobe available, sweetheart.”
“Sweet! I… I know we have more to talk about and stuff, but I’m pretty sure Tressa is beyond freaked out. Can I see her really quick?” I ask.
Part of me wants to stay in bed, wrapped in his arms forever, but if I don’t check on my best friend, she won’t allow me to rest, or do anything else… like finalizing our mating. It’s kind of a self-preservation thing.
“Yeah, we’ve got a lot of things to do, sweetheart,” he replies, his dark gaze making me squirm in place. “But first, you’ll need your strength for those things, so let’s get dressed and head downstairs to eat. I’ll let Chaos know if Tressa wants to see you or talk to you, she should come on down because after that, you’re all mine.”
“Okay.”
* * *
When we walkinto the kitchen, Tressa jumps up and rushes toward me, throwing her arms around me and nearly knocking me flat on my ass. If Stealth hadn’t been behind me with his hand on my low back, I’d have fallen over. “Oh, my God, Nini! I was so worried when I saw you yesterday, but look at you! You look like nothing happened. In fact, you seem like you’re even better than you’ve ever been!”
I stop and think about her words and realize that I have an energy level I’ve never experienced in my life. I feel like I could climb Mt. Everest, or swim the English Channel without losing steam. I wonder how much has to do with Stealth claiming me yesterday while I was dying, or if it was the healing, blood transfusion that Fox gave me. Maybe it’s a combination of the two, who knows? I’m still learning about everything wolf-ish.
“I feel pretty good,” I admit. “In fact, I’m starving.” I notice she’s staring at my claiming bite, her eyes knowing, which makes me blush like a virgin, something I’m most definitely not.
“Come on, Nonna put on a spread this morning. You should get some food before the rest of the brothers get in here, because otherwise, you might not end up with much.”
“She’ll have what she needs,” Stealth advises, glaring around the room.
Grinning, I allow Tressa to take my hand and pull me away from Stealth over to where there’s a buffet set up with every imaginable breakfast food. “I see there’s a lot of meat,” I muse, picking up a plate.
“You’ll figure it out for yourself, but your wolf’s metabolism is high, so you want to make sure you get plenty of protein. Otherwise, you’ll feel it,” she warns, taking another plate and filling it up.
Once we’ve got what we want, we sit down at the table where various conversations swirl around us. I’m focusing on eating, since I never got the chance to eat yesterday, until I hear Jeremy’s name mentioned, which sours my appetite.
“Nini, you need to eat,” Stealth says when he notices I’m just pushing my food around and not actually eating any longer.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” I reply.
“Well, eat up, darlin’, because you get to tell that piece of shit how you really feel,” Fox states, shocking the hell out of me. I honestly presumed, even though I haven’t heard it directly, that anything to do with him would fall under the heading of ‘club business’, something Tressa has groused about a few times.
“Really?” I ask.
“Yes, really. You won’t be exposed to him for very long, but we think you deserve the right to speak your mind,” Stealth tells me. Leaning in close, he whispers, “Then, after I’ve said my piece to him, it’s just you and me, mate.”
Delicious shivers course through me at his words, which has him chuckling as he picks his fork up and continues eating. Now that I know I’ll be able to scream out my rage and frustration over what Jeremy did to me, I find myself wanting to finish my breakfast.
“I’ll be ready when y’all are,” I say.
