Page 66 of Those That Are Lost
I have to bite my lip to curb the smirk on my lips. And I may have to shift in my seat a little from the tightness in my jeans. My mate really is a stunning creature when she’s angry.
“I’m sorry,” Henry says sincerely. The rest of them follow suit.
Red nods in acceptance before turning on her heels and coming back to my lap.
She looks down at me, her gaze searching mine like she is double checking that I’m really here. That last night really happened.
‘That was fantastic to watch,’I purr at her down our bond. I feel her relax at the reassurance of our connection.
‘It could’ve gone so differently. I can’t believe them.’She huffs.
‘But it didn’t, and we’re here. Mated. You’ll never come close to losing me again.’I nuzzle into her neck, kissing the healed bite mark. The skin is a shade lighter where my teeth sank into her veins. A permanent mark to prove our mating to anyone that gets close to her.
‘Never again,’she repeats.
“You think you’d have learnt after last time,” Theodora tuts.
“Exactly,” Colton adds.
I extract myself from Red as she turns to give Colton a questioning look.
“This isn’t this lot’s first rodeo at meddling. Although, they’ve dragged Millie and Henry into it this time.”
“Indeed. But it did make you finally realise your feelings for me,” Luna aims at Colton with a smile. He shrugs, emitting a non-committal noise.
“I apologise on behalf of my family, Rory,” Theodora adds. “They’re a bunch of romantics that get carried away.”
“Like you didn’t want them together as well, love.” Eetu gently caresses her knee.
“Be that as it may, it seems things went too far. I merely suggested we leave them alone when they were together.”
“They’re leaving tomorrow, we were on a deadline,” Ash argues.
“And? Everyone’s timeline is different. I’ll remind you of this when you’re one being meddled with.”
“I’ll welcome it, bring me a mate anytime.” He sits back and crosses his arms.
“Challenge accepted brother,” Joey claps him on the shoulder. Eetu and Theodora shake their heads.
Before any more drama can unfold, I stand, lifting Red inmy arms bridal style. She lets out a little shriek and her hands shoot around my neck.
“Thanks for an insightful breakfast, everyone. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take my mate and go find a shower.”
I carry Red from the room and do just that.
One long shower later,Red and I slowly dressed before heading to my temporary office. I spent several hours going through all the documents with her, the various pack politics, and the tentative alliances I’m trying to tie up. A couple of new emails in my inbox give me further confidence that I can do this; one of them is the Carnio pack inviting me to visit. I can’t make that kind of trip yet, of course, but hopefully after we’ve secured Froan.
Red sits at the desk, her legs crossed and folded so tightly she fits on the chair. She’s unbound her hair and it catches in the overhead lights, dancing like fire with every move of her head, as she jots things into a notebook I gave her. Her tattoo is still on show, not bothering to put her glamour back in place. None of the wolves mentioned it but they wouldn’t be bothered by it anyway.
The black ink swirls as she writes, mirroring the shadows currently playing under her chair. They’ve refused to leave her alone since last night. Whilst she’ll never be able to control them, I hope they might protect her should the need arise now that we’re bonded.
Seeing her now, she looks so different from when we studied together during those first few months. Physically, she’s nearly the same—bar the tattoo and nose stud—but as I study her, she has a confidence again that wasn’t there before. She’s always had a fiery attitude when needed but the anxietythat clung to her has eased somewhat, at least right now. And from the first texts I showed her today, she’s dived head-first into taking up the role of a leader.
I’m not so naive to think that she won’t suffer from panic attacks anymore, that there won’t be days where she struggles. Hell, she had a massive attack a few weeks ago. But I can see how the time here with the wolfpack has helped her overall. There have been days, or hours, where I’ve noticed her be more reserved, not wishing to join in. From our connection I can tell those are the days she’s battling her own mind, but I see her also being completely open and free. Her walls are being let down completely for periods of time and I see her gaining strength and confidence once more.
And even through the tougher days, she doesn’t shut me out anymore. Instead, we go off together and get her some space. I love her so unconditionally I will always be a pillar if she needs support, and a safety net when she soars, just in case.
There’s a knock at the door, pulling both our attention.
