Page 27 of Untamed

“No, I’m fine with my mate doing whatever makes her happy, so you could do your flower shit. If you want.”

“Flower shit....” I chew on that one for a while. At least it’s something.

“I’m trying to open up to you, Kinsey. Christ. You make everything so damn difficult.”

My mouth moves, but no words come out. “I’m not trying to. This is the longest conversation I’ve ever had with anyone from Lunar, so—”

“Alright, alright.” He holds up his hands to stop me before we dissolve into an argument again. Gritting his teeth, he says, “There’s a lot of shit between us, but we have to try. I’m here. I’m willing to see where this goes. I know you have a whole bunch of opinions about me, and I have my own about you, but I’m here because I want to know if I’m right. Fate wouldn’t have paired us together just to ruin both of our fucking lives. So, can we tone down the fighting? We’ll never get anything accomplished if we can’t.”

I nearly fall off my feet. We’ve basically come to the same conclusion. No, it doesn’t erase anything that happened to me before, but he’s right. Fighting isn’t going to solve anything. In fact, it’s going to take me further away from what I want. Maybe there’s another way to deal with my hurt, and I shouldn’t place it solely on him anyway.

My lip curls.Ugh. That was so adult sounding.

“Is that a no?” Jonah asks, placing his hands on his hips.

“No, that’s a yes. I was thinking about something…stupid. Forget it.”

“Okay....” He rubs the back of his neck. “Also, I just want to say one thing before we start. I shouldn’t have made that comment about your—our—first kiss. I was out of line, and I apologize. I should’ve realized it was your first, and I don’t know, I just said what was on my mind, and I shouldn’t have. I understand why you ran away from me.”

My lips tingle at the mention of that kiss. My wolf, who’s been happily brimming at the surface this whole time Jonah and I have been close to one another, is practically coming out of her skin in excitement. I’m trying not to wrangle her under control, and as long as this nice Jonah sticks around, maybe I won’t have to. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

I nod, feeling a little lighter. An apology is something.

He releases a breath and then launches into his family’s history on protecting the alpha. Some of it I know from our own pack history, but it’s cool to hear it from his first-person point of view and stories handed down from his ancestors. If I had waited, I wouldn’t have had to ask him if he enjoys what his life’s work will be. It’s clear he does. He takes it very seriously, and it’s good to see this passionate side of him. Plus, his family is making a difference in our pack. I’m not going to tell him right now but it’s kind of exciting.

“My aim in these classes isn’t to show you how to protect the alpha’s family yourself, but obviously it’s something I believe strongly in. I want my mate to be able to protect herself if the need arises.”

The use ofmy mateis doing funny things to my heart. “I like the idea, too,” I tell him, and he pauses at my words. “Didn’t expect that?” I ask.

“If I say not really will I have to apologize again?”

I chuckle. “No, you’re safe with that answer.”

“Good.” He keeps giving me looks as he moves closer. He takes one step and then stops. Then another, stopping again before moving even closer. I wonder if he’s aware he’s doing it. It’s as if he keeps stopping then realizing he wants to be that much closer to me so he automatically steps forward again. “So, I thought we could start with basic human defenses, then work our way into wolf defenses. Because of our nature, we’ll often shift first when we’re in danger, but there are some helpful things we can learn in our human form as well.”

We take the next hour to go through really basic self-defense moves. I don’t complain. Through this time together, I get to know him better. Not as the Jonah from school but as the real Jonah. The more he opens up, the more I find I like him. Plus, all this close contact is making my body short circuit. Since I’m determined to try instinct over mind, Ireallylike when he touches me; molding my fists into the proper punching form; placing his hands on my hips when he’s showing me where my power should come from. Every time he does it, azingpasses between us like an electrical shock. If he feels it too, he doesn’t let on. He’s all business as we move through the different techniques, and I’m actually really happy with how much I’ve learned when the class winds down.

He brings out his phone to check the time. Frowning, he relays, “I should go. Um, I was thinking, maybe we could exchange numbers? That way if one of us has to cancel or, you know, talk to the other, we won’t have to go through Ms. Ebon.”

“You...want my number?” My mouth parts. He’s my mate and this shouldn’t be surprising, but it also feels as if he’s kind of hitting on me. Out of everything that happened today, this might be the most shocking.

“Yes,” he replies softly, looking up to meet my own gaze. There’s vulnerability in his brown eyes. We haven’t shied away from touching each other, even if platonically, and I wonder if he feels the same pull I am. I dig my phone out of my bag, ignore the text from my parents, and bring up a new contact. He plucks it from my fingers. “I’ll put it in.”

His fingers dance around the screen, and when he hands it back to me, I find he’s put his name as Mate. My heart races, and I can’t gather words to speak, so instead, I shove my phone in my bag and stare at him dumbly.

He steps closer. “If you need anything, call me.”

The possessive rumble emanating from his chest hardens my nipples, and it’s damn good this academy uniform hides it. I’m already trying to come up with reasons why I might need to call him as a pool of heat settles between my legs. My wolf wants me to throw myself at him; to stake my claim. Luckily, the human part of my brain speaks up. “What’s it like at Brixton?”

He shrugs. “A lot like Lunar, I guess. I’m not there all the time. I don’t live on campus or anything. I just go to visit friends and attend a few classes.”

“So, you’re mostly in Lunar?”

He nods, and I don’t know why I’m suddenly so consumed by what he does on a daily basis. Maybe his possessiveness is sparking my own. Our bonds are forging whether we like it or not. The more time we spend together, the harder it will be to control—in theory.

His expression morphs. “What is it?”

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