Page 22 of The Brooding Alpha's Mate
Alex
I’d seen how happy my cousin was being mated, and the other guys too, for that matter. They walked around like their life was filled with glitter and sunshine. Looking back, I’d never really understood how different their life was from mine. It was so much more than just sharing a life together.
Though they repeatedly saw the darkness of this world in a way I hadn’t. Because while I witnessed my mate’s situation personally, I’d been removed from all the others. Whereas they had, time and again, seen the horrors of this world and were still managing to enjoy the good.
I wasn’t foolish enough to think that some of the cases they’d dealt with didn’t weigh on them, or that they didn’t have nightmares from time to time. But their days were filled with such love…a love that made everything worth it.
But now? Now that I was mated to Colson, I got it. Just being around him had me feeling like I was home for the first time, like I was no longer alone.
Which wasn’t fair to my cousin and the guys, because they worked hard to make me part of their pseudo pack. I hadn’t been alone while at the same time being completely alone. And I still had them and I always would. Only now, I had Cole too, and he was the center of my universe.
Marking him, connecting our beasts in that way, formed a connection so deep that I expected to wake up and discover it was all a dream. Could something this wonderful be real? And yet it was.
I could sense him rooms away, and there were times when his emotions reached me before he said a word or came into my view.
It was amazing and perfect and fabulous, but also terrifying. Because no matter how we sugarcoated it, the two of us were here hiding—hiding from real danger. And until Dean and his crew were dead, we couldn’t begin our life together, not our real life.
“Morning, mate.” Colson walked into the kitchen, his eyes still sleepy. “Why are you up so early? I wanted to snuggle you and you were gone.”
“That’s because I had really important things to do.” I picked up the bowl of batter I’d made. “This is my father’s pancake recipe, and it needs to sit for at least two hours to get the right texture.”
At least my dad had always told me that. I’d never had it any other way, so it could be a myth.
My mate chuckled. “How long has it been here?”
I glanced at the clock on the stove. “About five more minutes and it’s go time.”
“Excellent.” He stepped on his tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “I’m gonna go clean up, and when I come back, I’m expecting pancake goodness.”
I preheated the griddles and put the butter on it, loving the way it smelled as it sizzled.
My phone went off, only it wasn’t really my phone. It was one that my cousin had stashed in with all of our supplies. Even if I hadn’t lost my phone, this was better being far less traceable.
All that was on it was the encrypted messaging app and phone service. There wasn’t internet beyond that. They weren’t taking any chances, and I was glad for it. Taking chances with my mate was unacceptable.
The text told me that the guys were leaving for here in a couple hours, that they had some information.
Them coming over and not saying “come back” wasn’t the best news I could be getting. But given that they were waiting a couple hours to leave, it couldn’t be that bad.
I worked on the pancakes, putting the ones that actually were circular in nature on one plate, and the ones that were more of a jumbled mess because I flipped them poorly on the other.
When Colson came out, I put the good pile in front of him and took the other.
He eyed each of them and then reached for my plate, holding up his other hand. “Don’t even think of stopping me.”
“I would never.” And it was the truth. Denying him was all but impossible. “But can you tell me why?”
He smooshed his lips, wiggling from left to right.
“I could say it’s because I don’t want you sacrificing yourself for me all the time, and that would be true. I don’t. But that’s not why.”
I leaned back, very curious about what was coming next.
“It’s because growing up, when my grandmother made pancakes, they always looked like this.” He said it as one word.
Adorable.
“Well, you’re in luck. They’re my specialty.”
