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They made up a schedule and shared it with Reece. All three packs were going to band together and make sure that if a single vamp crossed through city lines, they would know.
They were ready.
* * *
Once again,Nero reached the line of trees that led back toward the forest. He stopped, looked back at the cabin, and walked toward it with purpose.
For the millionth time in the last fifteen minutes, he stopped just short of the steps. He shook his head before rushing back to the woods.
And the whole sorry display would start all over again.
He was wearing a hole in the ground, but he didn’t know how to approach Valentine. She was mad at him.
Because they slept together.
In the forest.
Mate.
Valentine didn’t believe him, or if she did, she didn’t want to be his mate. Or … maybe he’d pushed too hard, and he should apologize.
He was adamant that Val give Lilliane time to adjust, and like an asshole, he hadn’t given Valentine the same courtesy. He was too eager. Too into her. It was fucking inconvenient. There was a battle hanging over their heads, and all he could think about was losing Valentine for good.
He couldn’t have that.
He was a wolf, for fuck’s sake. He could have a conversation with Val. She was his mate, and he could do things … fun, good, sexy things … to convince her that he was in it for the long haul. He could wait … even if one of them could die at the hands of the vampire council.
This time, when Nero got to the cabin’s steps, he made it to the door, poised to knock. The door flew open, and there Valentine stood in a pair of skin-tight leggings and an oversized tee. “You know we have windows, right?” she said. “I’ve been watching you pace out there like a caged animal.”
He chuckled and rubbed a hand against his neck. “Couldn’t put a guy out of his misery, could you?”
She popped her hip as she clicked her tongue. “Nope. I figured unless you had the balls to knock, you wouldn’t be able to tell me whatever has got you so … antsy.”
“We need to talk.”
“I get that. About?” Val closed the door behind her and sat on her rocking chair. She tapped the one beside her.
He was a bit shocked. Sure, she’d mellowed her anger in front of the others, but that didn’t mean he was forgiven for keeping the mate thing to himself. “We need to clear the air about the whole mate thing.”
She stiffened. “I thought we agreed we weren’t going to talk about that.”
“We did?”
“Sure. When you fed me a spaghetti bowl and made a plan to help my family and me.”
“Jesus, Val,” he hissed. “You were livid. All it took was a bowl of pasta? Dating you is gonna be simple.”
She glared at him. Sure, driving through a few states to rescue her sister hadn’t exactly been simple. “I thought about it,” she said.
His back snapped to attention. “And? Whatdidyou think about it?”
“I still think you should have told me. Especially after the whole hotel thing that happened.” She waved her hand, trying to erase the memory from her mind. He smiled at her scrunched-up nose. “We kissed. There was nudity. At any point where were we alone in the truck, you could’ve told me.”
“While we were on our way to rescue your sister or coming back to town with an angry Lilliane?”
She pursed her lips. “Yeah. Not ideal.”
“I didn’t want you to hate me. I didn’t want you to take it the wrong way, which you did.”
