Page 42 of Betrayed By the Wolf

“Thank you.” She spoke the words into his chest. “I’ll think about it, okay? I think I’ve always seen the world in black and white. I’m either this or that. Someone needs me, or they don’t. I’m good with kids, or I’ve got a career. It’s hard to let go of that, even when I know I don’t have a choice.”

She took a shaky inhale, and Rami rubbed his hands down her back. He didn’t want to interrupt. He just wanted her to know that he was there for her.

“My world really crumbled when you left, and I’m still trying to figure out where everything will fit now. Where I fit.”

“Well, I can help with that part at least. You fit here, Vera.” He tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “You fit right here with me. You fit in Jessa’s life. And I know you still fit in Moira’s, even if it doesn’t feel the same as it used to. Things are going to change.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispered.

“But this right here, what you and I have, it’ll only get better. Even when things are changing, I’ll be here to hold you through it all.” He’d hold her while the world fell down around them.

His mate was a marvel, and she didn’t seem to know it. Rami had to deal with his own guilt about that, having left her once. That she was willing to give him a second chance showed how strong she was.

“Promise?” She wiped her eyes against his shoulder and sat back to look at him, eyes puffy.

He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose, each of her cheeks, and finally, her lips. “I promise.”

Chapter 19 - Vera

“I can’t believe you made me do this on two legs when we could’ve made this trip in half the time on four. I’msweating, Rami. Sweating. I could be panting, but no, here we are, at the top of a mountain for the fun of it, and I had to do it as a human.” Vera bent over to catch her breath, hands on her knees.

To be fair, the view was spectacular. Spring had painted the landscape a brilliant wash of green, dotted with wildflowers in hues of lilac and yellow. Puffy white clouds strolled lazily by.

Rami poured her a steaming mug of dark, hot coffee from the thermos he was carrying and passed it over to her. “Maybe this will help make up for it. I brewed it triple strength to how I normally make it.”

“So it’s about half as strong as I normally make it,” she quipped, taking a sip from the tiny tin mug. It was so hot she had to pass the cup from hand to hand to keep it from burning her skin. “Wow, I guess you’re learning something. It’s nearly there. A few more scoops, and you’ll have coffee fit to drink.”

She drank it anyway, never one to snub a cup of coffee so long as it didn’t have cream or sugar in it. Plus, she deserved the reward after trekking up there on two legs. Her feet were sore, something she never had to deal with when running on four of them, and her hair was slipping out of the ponytail she’d pulled it into, too short to last long in the hair tie.

Rami, of course, looked ridiculously hot. He pulled off the mountain man look a little too well with this flannel shirt, long curly hair, and scruffy beard. With how hard he worked out, the hike up had done nothing more than put a healthy glow in his skin that made him look like something out of a Hiking Hunks calendar. It’d be infuriating if it wasn’t so, you know, attractive.

She settled for grabbing his shirt and tugging him forward for a kiss. He lingered there, teasing her with the tip of his tongue, until she started to consider dragging him behind the nearest tree. At least then, he could really make the trip up there worthwhile.

“What else have you got in there?” She pulled away from his kiss with some reluctance and nodded at the backpack he’d carried. “Is it more coffee?”

He chuckled and slipped the bag off his shoulder, zipping it open. Inside, she saw a rolled-up blanket and a cardboard box, which she recognized immediately as one of Moira’s to-go boxes. She perked up, hoping it was cinnamon buns. Rami laid the blanket out at the cliff’s edge, kicking a few rocks out from underneath.

“You didn’t think I’d drag you up here without planning a reward at the end, did you? I know you’re motivated by results.” Rami sat down on the blanket and patted the spot beside him.

“And the results had better be cinnamon buns.” She knelt down next to him and pulled the box from his hands, tearing it open. “It is! I’m only slightly upset that you made me do this in human form now, but I do expect you to finish making it up to me later.”

She bit into a cinnamon bun and offered the second one to Rami. He shook his head side to side, sipping his own coffee with a grimace that did not go unnoticed by Vera. He hadn’t yet worked up to taking his at Vera strength, but they’d made some progress in that direction.

“Please tell me you brought napkins.” Her fingers were sticky from the cinnamon sugar and the tangy glaze.

He dug around in the bottom of his backpack and pulled out a handkerchief. “Here you go.”

She stared at it. “Rami, you are an actual grandfather. This is next level. You’ve skipped past the dad level and moved on to the next.”

“Well, if you don’t want it,” he teased, pulling the handkerchief out of her reach.

She grabbed for it, leaning far over until she was practically in his lap. “Give it here, gramps, or I’ll push your walker over.”

He relented but kept her close, moving his legs apart to make room for her in his lap. She nestled back against his chest and wiped the cinnamon bun residue from her fingers.

“Remind me to set up a nursing home before I’m too old to fight back,” he deadpanned.

She snickered and tilted her head back to kiss him.

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