Page 23 of Oracle
He echoed my own thoughts perfectly.
My brows raised in acknowledgement. “It has been a lot in such a short time. One minute we’re having a regular good ole time at the Summit and then we all scent our mate, who ends up being the same woman. And then our entire world flipped on its head when we learned the truth about Jace and the Daimona and headed into a battle.”
Fuck, it really had been a whirlwind.
“And then we thought we fucking lost our mate in the end after just precious hours together,” he growled, clearly still pissed as hell at himself for her near-death experience.
My wolf whined in our shared mind, feeling the pain all over again at the mention of that time in our life when we thought she could be gone.
He somehow placed all the blame on himself but I wasn't surprised. Besides Tian, Luca absolutely was the stereotypical alpha of our group. He was honorable, loyal, and had a huge heart for those around him. But it always ended with him blaming himself anytime something went wrong.
“But she’s alive,” I countered while clapping him on the shoulder. “She’s here with us, breathing and as sassy as ever.”
That pulled a chuckle from the usually stoic man and his eyes glittered, flashing a bright silver as his wolf pushed to the surface. This time he groaned as his eyes fluttered closed. “Fuck, she drives me fucking crazy with that mouth of hers. I want to fuck it every time she opposes me.” His eyes opened and he admitted, “I feel so restless without having solidified the bond yet.”
My cock twitched at the visual of fucking her mouth and I sighed deeply. “Yeah, I’m going fucking crazy over here, as I’m sure Tian and Wes are too.” A thought entered my mind, “Do you think we’ll feel more secure in the place we hold in her life once we do? Maybe all of our unease is stemming from that?”
Desire from my wolf and I slammed together, coursing through me and clouding my mind.
He pondered my words and nodded lightly. “That’s a strong possibility. But Tian and Wes seem oddly content outwardly. So maybe not?”
From our chats, it was clear Wes felt extremely close to Kira, given that she had agonized over a vision she saw his death in.
Tian was just a damn likable guy. He had this presence that instantly made you feel at ease and like no situation was too big to tackle. I saw the way Kira melted in his embrace and I knew they had a bit more time together before running into us at the Summit.
Jameson, Milo, and Seth had grown up with her and had the most history and connection to her. Much to my displeasure about Jameson. While he had managed to not be a total dickwad the past week, it was hard to forget the arrogant prick he’d always been at the Summit by his father’s side, and now knowing everything he did to our mate…Well, let’s just say a lot of us struggled to know why he was chosen to be one of her mates. He didn’t deserve her.
"There’s a running theme through all of the guys who feel at ease with her, and that is time,” I admitted. “Which doesn’t seem to be a luxury we’re afforded now.”
“So, how are we going to fix it? I know neither of us are going to just roll over and accept feeling like we’re on the outskirts,” Luca surmised.
He was right, we wouldn’t.
Racking my brain for ideas, I mulled his question over. How could we get alone time with her while being stuck with everyone else in these tunnels, and preparing to move out tomorrow to form an army with all of the packs? Then we’d really have no personal space.
It needed to feel intimate and romantic, whatever it was. But how could we accomplish that with what we currently had? A small thread of an idea began to tug on my brain and I nodded to myself.
This could work. I’d need Morgan’s and Luca’s help to get it set up and to be a surprise, though.
“Tonight,” I stated, drawing a confused look from him. The idea began to form fully in my head as I explained, “We need to get her alone tonight before it becomes even harder in the coming weeks. Do we have any meetings tonight? I think I have the perfect plan.”
“No, we decided to just take tonight to relax and get some much-needed sleep now that we have Kira back and have to move out tomorrow morning.” His eyes searched my face once more, looking for answers. I knew it would drive him crazy to not know all the details and I smirked at him. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and asked, “What do you need me to do?” I smiled wickedly, pleased with this idea, and filled him in.
I couldn’t wait to see Kira’s face when she walked into the room tonight.
CHAPTERTEN
KIRA
After the whirlwind of a day that included multiple orgasms and too many panic attacks about everything I had on my plate, I found myself in the room I was sharing with Morgan. Despite being knocked unconscious for a week, I found my energy reserves exhausted and sleep was calling my name.
Snuggling into the blanket and pillow on the bed, I smiled softly at the coziness until I got thumped in the back of my head and Morgan shrieked, “You aren’t allowed to go to sleep!”
My lips thinned and my eyes narrowed as I rolled over to face my assailant. “Oh, why is that?” I challenged, “As I recall, I got stabbed and my body healed itself and today was a long day. So why can’t I sleep, exactly?”
My body hadn’t technically healed itself–—that was due to Selene’s help, but she didn’t need to know that.
Her soft lavender eyes darted around uncomfortably, landing on anywhere other than my face, due to my inquisition to her claims, and she muttered to herself softly, “It has to be ready now. But I haven’t heard the signal. Fuck it.”
