Page 26 of Becoming His

When we stop a few feet away, Masen steps behind me, holding my hip with one hand and pulling my body tight to his. He gestures to the man standing closest to us. “This is Gavin. He and his friends have come to us looking to join our pack. He also has information on a group of rogues I’ve been keeping tabs on.”

I nod my head and say, “Hello,” looking at each of them.

When the man he introduced as Gavin lifts his hand, Masen snarls, “DON’T.” My body is pulled even tighter while his body seems to curve over mine. Gavin drops his hand slowly, taking a step back. “Introduce yourselves, but do not touch her,” Masen grates.

“I’m Scott, and this is my sister, Renee. Mase stayed with us a few times when he visited our pack.” So that’s why the skanky redhead has a knowing smirk.

“My name’s David,” the last man says quietly.

“Why are y’all looking to stay here?” I ask curiously.

Gavin, who must be considered their leader, answers, “I’ve known Mase for years. We always talked about me finding my way here. It just didn’t happen until now. I have to say though he’s usually a little more welcoming,” he tries to joke. I laugh a little lightening the tension.

“You don’t say. You mean he’s not always so growly?” This time I really laugh. Michael joins me.

I turn to face Masen. He places his palm on my cheek, stroking my bottom lip. Instinctively, I lick my lips, catching the pad of his thumb. He stills. His eyes dilate, he sucks in deeply. “Sorry,” I whisper. Louder, I say, “Unless you need me here, I’m gonna head back.”

His voice is low when he promises, “I’ll be there soon, Little One. Michael will see you home.” Then kisses my temple. “Michael, take my Luna home,” Masen orders.

I’m just about to open my mouth to tell him to be nice when Michael acknowledges him with a simple, “Alpha,” effectively reminding me not to be sassy.

Rolling my eyes so only he can see, I walk over to Michael, “Thank you, Michael. Will you tell Nicole what a wonderful time I had today? I can’t wait to visit her again.”

As we leave, he says, “I know she had a good time too, Luna.”

Before the door closes, I hear, “Luna? You got married? What about—” The voice cuts off as the door closes.

“The big guy is kinda grumpy today, huh?” I ask.

“He told me he had a rough morning. He was just mad at himself and jealous. Never thought I’d see the day that cocky bastard would be jealous. It’s pretty funny,” he chuckles. We walk in comfortable silence for a little while, but right before we reach Masen’s house, he says, “Luna?” His voice is serious. “I know he messed up today, but don’t let him off the hook too easy. He needs to learn he can’t treat you like that.” Hearing Michael say that makes my heart hurt, shouldn’t that be natural.

“Michael, should it be this hard? Did you experience anything like this with Nicole?”

He doesn’t answer right away, seeming to think about his answer. “No.”

I am surprised by his short response. “No to what, Michael?”

“I’m sorry Luna but no to both. No, it shouldn’t be hard, and no, Nicole and I didn’t have any similar issues. Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone struggle the way Mase is. I don’t know if it’s because you guys haven’t marked each other yet or if maybe the years you’ve spent apart are causing a problem.”

That’s not what I wanted to hear. “Yeah, I kinda suspected that. The only Mates I’ve known were my parents, and that’s not the way they acted. Thank you for your honesty, Michael. I’ll see you later,” I say before walking into the house.

My brain is on overload so I decide to make lunch. I need something to keep me busy. I make a veggie cheese soup. It’s an hour and a half before it’s ready. Masen comes in just as I’m about to eat. I give him my bowl and make another. “You didn’t need to do that. I can get my own, but thank you,” he says. Masen waits for me to return to the table before eating. “This is really good. Everything you make is delicious. When did you start cooking?”

I wipe my lips with a napkin. “My mom loved to cook, and my dad loved to eat.” I laugh. “I was always in the kitchen with her. She let me help even if I was just making a mess. As soon as I got my own place, I started cooking again. It reminds me of my parents. My dad was smitten with my mom. If he wasn’t at work, he’d follow her around the house just to be close to her. So, he was in the kitchen with us a lot,” I say a little sadly. I miss them. “I also love to eat,” I tease to lighten the mood.

“What are your parents like?” I haven’t heard him or Sniffer mention them.

“My dad’s the Alpha of a smaller pack in the Upper Peninsula. He’s a hard man but fair. My mother” —his smile lights up his eyes— “is the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet. She rounds out all my dad’s edges. I had a great childhood. Where we lived is still really isolated, not a lot of people, or things to do way up there. So, we made our own fun. I left home a little after I turned eighteen. I’ve only gone back to visit a few times. Cass tries to go home for a weekend every couple months.” He looks thoughtful. “I guess you’ll meet them at our ceremony. We can always go visit them too. I know my dad is gonna love you for your cookies alone,” he chuckles.

Hearing him talk about a ceremony makes butterflies in my belly, but I’m a little nervous to. “Masen,” I say seriously, “I think we have a few things to talk about.” I’m embarrassed. I’d rather not have a repeat of this morning.

He looks at me, all traces of humor gone. “You’re right. We do.” He pushes his empty bowl away and grabs my hand. “Will you sit with me, please?” he asks quietly. I think he wants me close which makes me kinda nervous. Is he going to tell me something bad? I nod my head. He stands and leads me through the kitchen. “I built this house about a year after we met. I knew we’d need a bigger place, so I started planning right away. I didn’t want to start building too soon because I didn’t want people to question why I was in a hurry to move. When I did start to build, I just said I needed a little space.”

My hand is tucked into his bent elbow. I look up at him as we walk, and he talks. “To tell you the truth, I planned everything around us. It took almost a year to finish, but when it was done, I had the hardest time moving in.” We are standing in front of the door to the atrium. “I built almost every room with you in mind. Some rooms, I made entirely for you.” He points to the door.

My heart is pounding. “Wait, you made this room for me? This specific room, for me?”

His head tilts, and his brow wrinkles in curiosity. “Yes, this is one of the rooms. You’ve been in here?”

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