“Why would you ask me that?” He can’t see what I’m trying to do. That I’m trying to help.
I open my mouth to explain myself, but he pulls himself away from me, rising off the bed. He paces back and forth, his hands yanking the roots of his hair much more roughly than he’s ever gripped mine.
Reaching for him as I scoot myself awkwardly across the bed, I try to explain. “I thought with everything going on . . . maybe now is a good time. The right time?”
He stops pacing and looks at me with so much emotion swirling in his black eyes.
“I thought with us together we could both start over. You with your family and me . . . I was thinking maybe you could be my shot at having my first real Christmas.” I offer him a sad smile and lift my shoulders. “Who knows, I might even find I can love the holiday.”
At my words, all the muscles in his body visibly relax as though he’s melting where he stands.
My arm is still outstretched toward him, patiently waiting for him to take it. When he finally does, he runs his thumb over my hand before pulling me off the bed and onto my feet, wrapping me in his arms.
He once again buries his face in my hair, this time in the crook of my neck. “Can I think about it?” he mumbles against me.
Running my fingers through his hair and away from his face, I pour as much love and understanding as I can through our bond. “Of course.”
25
Kodi
After convincing Anya I was okay, we snuggled back into bed and she fell asleep after a bit of stimulated encouragement.
Now I’m watching her sleep, in a non-creepy way, and considering her proposal.
What would it be like to take her home?
To take my mate to the place I was born.
The place I belong.
The place I left and can’t stop thinking of.
I don’t think I’m actually afraid of going back, or that I won’t. I think at the end of the day it comes down to the fact that my parents haven’t made any contact with me since I left.
What if they don’t want me there?
What if we arrive and are asked to leave?
But.
What if we’re welcomed with happy-teared hugs? My parents wrapping their arms around me. Introducing them tomy mate.Showing Anya around my hometown. Letting my bear run free for miles. Playing in the snow. Doing all of it withher.
The positives slowly outweigh the negatives and begin to tear down my defenses. The idea of having my mate in my home, with my people, is everything. It lights up something inside of me that I worried had long since burned out, unable to be replaced.
With my worries at bay, I follow my mate into a fitful sleep, dreaming of my homeland and what could be.
The day before Christmas break.
26
Anya
Iwade through the sea of people rushing through the campus halls as they bounce from one room to another, trying to get their last-minute assignments turned in before the end of the semester.
I shake my head at them as I bob and weave, barely missing elbows and wide-swinging shoulder bags full of books. If everyone would just complete their work as it’s assigned, they wouldn’t have this problem.
But I can’t be bothered by any of it because I got a text from Kodi a little while ago telling me he had a surprise for me. I have no idea what it could be, but I trust him completely and he knows me better than anyone ever has.
