“Move in? With you…? Before being mates? While you are still seeing other girls?” I ask, my eyes wide with shock.
“Yes,” he starts and then stops and sucks in a deep breath. “As you know, I’m rather busy, traveling all the time. So when I have downtime, I like to decompress, relax at home in my pack, in my pack house.”
“I guess that’s fair.” I tilt my head, seeing his point.
I can imagine traveling all the time leaves little left to be enjoyed except what is missing: home. Not that I know anything about that. Aside from moving from my family home to my apartment in mid city, I’ve traveled to the edge of the pack and back again a few times. I’d like to be sick of traveling.
“I am asking a few of you, potential mates, ladies I can see myself wanting to take a relationship further with, to stay with me for a while. To minimize travel and allow you all to get to know me in my natural environment. I’m more than an alpha, and I want you all to see me behind my title.” He clarifies, and my heart pinches.
It’s kind of cute, him wanting to be sure he gets someone who wants him, truly, and not just what he offers. Yes, we are werewolves, yes we have fated mates. But they didn’t want us. They rejected us, and being rejected is not a confidence builder. So his request, though very out there weirdly, makes sense and feels just as romantic as he seems to be.
I should think about it, talk it over with River and get her input, but for the past two weeks, I’ve been living on impulse. Something out of the ordinary for me and it’s been so liberating. So I reach out and take his hand in mine.
“Okay.” I say as my chest tightens and a shy smile breaks across my lips. “I accept.”
“Yeah?” He asks looking shocked, but the look is replaced with a luminous smile and he chuckles.
“Yeah.” I nod, emphatically.
“I thought I had scared you off when you saw me in your kitchen.” He jokes and I snort a laugh.
“You came with caffeine and pastries, Artemis. Keep bringing your A game and who knows where this will end?”
He shrugs, bringing my hand to his lips. “Happily ever after, hopefully.”
We both grow silent for a moment, the reality of what I just agreed to trying to creep in and ruin the excitement of it all. He clears his throat and nods toward a small boutique on the corner of the street. The one where the upper ranking wolves go, you know, the Alpha and his wolves and the visiting upper echelon.
This boutique is not for the likes of me. Not that they don’t have beautiful items. My gosh they do, but beautiful items mean I have to take extra care. And I’m not all that adept at not dropping ice cream on my shirt or spilling some coffee down my blouse.
“Come. Let me buy you a few outfits. My time is tight here today, but I want to see what you choose.” He says casually, glancing at his watch before smiling up at me.
I nibble on my lip, unease ebbing up my spine, but I push it back and step into the boutique. The first thing that hits me is the delicate smell of silk and satin dancing with the fragrance of lilac and light lavender. It’s calming and homey. A female pack mate I’ve seen many times in passing rushes over and greets us with a genuine smile.
“Alpha Artemis, it’s so wonderful that you could convince her to come along.” She smiles wide, her eyes squinting with genuine delight.
“I agree. Tatum here is very agreeable.” He gives her a gentle nod of approval and she rushes us over to a quaint antique French couch.
Within minutes, there is an array of stunning outfits before me. None of which I would actually wear. Not that they aren’t amazing, they are. But they are too amazing for the likes of my clumsy self. The beautiful display of beige and off white tops are just begging for some fruit jam or coffee droplets to litter the fine fabric.
So instead of bee-lining directly for the insanely comfy looking oversized white cashmere sweater, I change course. Instead, I reach for the black, basic button up tunic that feels like they spun it from the very clouds in the heavens. Artemis smirks to himself as he watches me with calculating eyes. He takes in everything as if I were some documentary he is watching, intending to be quizzed after it’s done.
Tatum Rhodes in the wild: from cotton to silk with the wave of a hand. I chuckle to myself, thinking of what my fake documentary title would be before shaking my head. This all feels absurd and unreal, it’s not even 7am. Yet here I am in fine silks and fabrics with the man who literally rules the land.
I suppose absurd would be me still pining for my fated mate, who broke me when I have this specimen trying to woo me. Not that I’m not over him, I totally am. It’s been five years. I’d have to be utterly obsessed to have not eventually moved on, right? And moved on I have.
“You can get more than one.” Artemis’ voice makes me jump when I realize he is standing next to me.
“You don’t have to buy my favor.” I tease him with a gentle nudge of my elbow and he bites back a dopey grin. “I like you just as well in my regular cotton or poly span.”
“Yes, you keep saying that, but I’m not convinced that once I have you in fine garbs, you will forever want to remain in them.” He holds a midnight blue dress up for me and I reach out, my fingers running across the smooth pleats. Everything is SO soft. So damn soft.
“You may be on to something.” I joke as his phone dings and he frowns, looking down at it.
His eyes find mine, a soft apology as he holds up a finger and steps away, leaving me to search on my own again. I grab a few items, finding my way to the dressing room. I tug on a few outfits, waiting for Artemis to come back, and I realize he may be totally right — I am a sucker for comfy clothes. But comfy stylish clothes? Who knew they even existed?
After a while, I take my meager four items and exit to see the boutique worker waiting for me with a soft smile.
“He had to step outside, but I can bag those for you.”
“Oh, thanks,” I mutter shyly, as she makes quick work of the clothes and hands them back in a tight, neat little bag. After a few moments, I venture outside to find Artemis chatting on the phone, looking vexed until he finds me and offers me a gentle smile.
He motions me to walk alongside him as he chats politely to the person on the other end while rolling his eyes at me in annoyance. I can’t help but smirk as he takes my empty hand in his, entwining our fingers as he leads me back to my apartment.
It’s not until we make it to my door that I realize he won’t be coming in and that our short first date has ended. I’m genuinely disappointed to be going separate ways. Maybe moving into his mansion won’t be a bad idea if I’m already upset about not being able to spend more time with him.
“I have to run,” he sighs, hanging up his phone and stuffing it in his pocket. He leans in for a tentative hug and I close the distance between us, pressing my body against his hard plane and he sighs in contentment. “But I will be back at my place soon, so make yourself at home.” He pulls away, giving me a stern look. “I know this is all unorthodox but…”
“Love differs from the mate bond,” I say with the tilt of my head reciting what he told me when we first started talking via the app. “It’s opening yourself up to be more vulnerable to something that can hurt just as much as it can be great,”
“Exactly…and I think we can be great…” he mutters, a blush on his cheek and one growing on mine.
“I think we might be…Bye Artemis,” I grin and he gives me a heart-stopping smile.
“Oh!” He looks startled. “I have a warrior waiting for you inside. He will escort you to my manor.”
“Two men in my apartment in one day, lucky me,” I tease, and he shakes his head and chuckles as he walks away. I squeeze my eyes shut in embarrassment before I spin and unlock the door.
I push the door open to my apartment with a huge goofy grin on my face, only to find River standing in the kitchen, arms crossed and cheeks pink with anger.
“What?” I ask, alarmed, and she points to a looming figure leaning against my kitchen counter.
All of me tenses up, my eyes consuming the man before me. All handsome, six feet three inches of him. His skin is tanner than I remember, his eyes harder, with a glint of green mirth. I swallow hard, trying not to ogle the boy who once held me, captivated with a simple smirk.
The same one I want to hate, no. I do hate. My big brother’s best friend. The one who, until right now, was as good as dead. But here he is grinning his perfectly crooked smile, his manner at ease as he stares down at me.
“Hey Tater tot, it’s been a while.” He says coolly. Like he hasn’t just blazed into my world and set it on fire all over again.
“Don’t call me that” I frown and turn on my heels, leaving him behind me.“Why not?” He asks my back.“Only my friends call me that.”“We used to be friends,” he retorts, coming into my room behind me and I snort a dry laugh.“Yes, well, used to being the operative words there,”He says nothing as I search my closet. “What are you doing?” River asks, sauntering through the doorway as I grab out my suitcase and plop my new items inside it. I flick my eyes to meet hers, not stopping what I am doing.“I am packing.” I announce with a sigh before spinning away and grabbing a sweater. Then a shudder of excitement ripples through me and I bite my lip, stopping to face her with a smile barely suppressed on my face. Her eyes scan me, trying to decipher how she should react before she grins widely and squeals while jumping up and down. “He invited you?!” Her mouth hangs wide open as I nod my head and giggle. “Holy shit! Of course he did! He would have to be a moron not to.”“Stop it.” I fake
*Maverick*“Let’s get one thing straight.” I say, taking measured strides toward her while she stands firm. “I’m no ghost. I’m as alive as they come, even if I’ve wished not to be.”I reach out and tuck a strand of her silky smooth hair behind her ear, my fingers aching to stroke her cheek. I have no right to do it. It’s completely inappropriate, yet I can’t seem to stop myself. She meets my gaze, her eyes full of fury and confusion as a storm whips around within her. There’s no helping the graze of my thumb on her cheek as I drop my hand and my heart races at the simplest contact. I knew it would be a mistake to be this close to her. Mate bond or not, she has always had a hold over me. “Right.” She scoffs, wiping at her skin where I touched her as if cleaning the stain of me away. My jaw twitches in disappointment, though I understand her hatred for me all too well. She takes a step back from me, turning to face her suitcase. “Ghost or not, we both want the secret of our past kept
We drive in silence for the rest of the trip, Tatum growing more anxious by the minute as she checks her phone, and looks out the window regularly. I find myself looking at her more than I should, my eyes lingering, and I try to convince myself it’s because it’s been so long. Seeing her has brought back many emotions I never dealt with. Memories I buried without so much as thinking I would ever have to face them again. Yeah, that’s all it is. The memories, not the curve of her lips when she smiles anxiously to herself. It’s not the way the light bounces off her perfectly smooth skin or gleams in her hair. No. It’s the memories and once we get there, I won’t have to be troubled to be near her enough to worry about those.“We are here,” I tell her, my eyes connecting with hers as she looks up from her phone and then she glances out the window, perking up. The excitement on her face as we turn into the Fallen Star Pack is contagious, as I struggle to hide my grin and watch the road ahe
*Tatum* “Shit, shit, shit,” I mutter in annoyance as I pace my new bedroom floor carpet. “Oh, come on, it’s not that bad,” Maverick says from the door frame he is leaning on. The one that now connects our rooms because I don’t just have a bodyguard now, I have zero privacy. I shoot him an icy glare and he fights back a smile. The blood still caked to the side of his head where his injury heals. “You are supposed to keep your distance,” I remind him. “You promised.”“Being around me isn’t that awful. The mate bond is gone, and we used to get along.”“I had the biggest crush on you!” I squeal “we got along because I liked you and hung on your every word, stupid or not.”“And?”“A lot has changed since then.” I scoff.“Like what?” he says. He is trying to annoy me now, and it’s of course working like a charm as my face heats and all I want to do is stomp and growl.“I don’t like you anymore! Not even as a person.” I remind him and he stares at me. There is a lingering smile on his lip
“Shit,” Artemis mutters, rushing forward, as he crouches down and turns Maverick’s head to the side, inspecting the injury. “He should have seen a healer, the stubborn idiot.” “I tried to get him to see them…” I whisper, trying not to show my internal panic. Maverick was in a rather intimate position with me now that I think about it. On his knees, hands on my body…I swallow roughly. What the hell was I thinking? “Oh, I believe you. I'm quite surprised he let you even help,” He says, standing and placing a hand on his hip before he exhales loudly. “Maverick never sees the healer unless he has to. And by has to, I mean when I order him to.” My eyes widen a little in surprise. “Why? Does he just not like healers?” I ask Artemis, who shrugs. “He has never really given anyone an answer, and it’s not really our place to ask,” He says, walking around Maverick before motioning for me to come over. “Here, help me get him up. We can’t leave him on the bathroom floor.” I want to tell him
*Maverick*I struggle to control the fall into the world of dreams. The inevitable spiral to the only place in the world, dream or real, that I fear. The darkest part of my mind, the reason for my self loathing and why I look for forgiveness in everything I do, why I started hunting rogues to begin with. I try to breathe through it all, the rushing of my mind. The twisting of my insides telling me that in a moment, no matter how hard I try, I will open my eyes and I will be back in that field. The same field that started the events of the hell I had to live through. But when I open my eyes, I’m living it all again. The rogues jump out of the woods, and panic digs its claws deep within me. My first thought should be to use the mind link to warn the pack, but I’ve grown cocky. Years of training have led to this one moment. My first fight, it’s finally my time to put all that hard work and sweat to good use. The first one lunges for my throat and, without so much as a sidestep, I avoi
*Tatum*“What are you doing?” Maverick asks, walking into my side of the room. I tilt my head to the side in feign shock as I tie the laces on my running shoes.“Oh, he speaks now?” I ask, and he shoots me a scowl. Three damn days of him being pouty and near silent. Strange how days ago I wanted him to shut up and leave me alone, but somehow, with him being my shadow, his silence annoys me more.I have spent the last three days trying to pretend the grump ass isn’t affecting me or the girls wanting to hang out with me. At lunch Clem teased maybe he suffered brain damage. I have to admit, until right now; I thought he might have. “I have spoken to you all along.” He says with an unamused frown. “I’m going for a run.” I tell him, standing and placing my hands on my hips, just daring him to tell me no. That’s the other thing he has been doing a lot of. Telling me no with a scowl and a headshake. And I’ve had more than enough of it.“You hate running,” he reminds me and I scoff, preten
*Maverick*“You did?” I ask her again. I feel numb, my arms and legs heavy as I hang on her every word for confirmation of something that can only live in the past. But I have to know. Tatum rolls her eyes and walks away from me. “Yes, did. In the past tense. Now what does Beta Milo want?” She asks again.“He just asked me to escort you to his office.” And that’s the truth.I am friends with both the alpha and his beta, but that doesn’t mean I am privy to all the information. I don’t make important decisions, I just protect. It’s honestly easier that way. I don’t have much of a life, but I enjoy the simplicity of it.She fidgets with her running jacket, tugging at the hem before she reaches up and tries to smooth her hair. You wouldn’t think someone so naturally beautiful could be this self conscious. Tatum looks at me, catching me red-handed as I stare and she frowns. “Do I look okay?”“You look like you went for a run…” I offer her honestly.I can’t really tell her how her flushed