I rolled to my back, feeling truly grateful to be stretched out on a soft bed instead of balled up on the hard floor. I pulled her to me so that she lay beside me and her head rested on my chest. I held her hand with my free one rubbing circles into her palm and enjoying just being close to her.
“Have you thought about this yet?” I finally asked her.
“Yet? It’s all I think about. I’ve barely slept in days just tossing and turning thinking about this.”
“We can probably break the bond with minimal pain still, but if this progresses any further it’s gonna be hard, like really hard. If I’m being honest, that’s probably already bullshit because I’m struggling to see a future without you in it.”
“Even after these last few days?” she asked me, sounding a little surprised by my admission.
“I slept on the damn floor just to feel closer to you. I’m pretty sure I’m already a goner. So if you want to break this bond, I’ll try my best to respect that, but losing you will hurt like a sonofabitch even now. But if we take this much further, and you change your mind, it’ll kill me.”
It was the absolute truth. I was all in.
“But we don’t even really know each other yet. How can you be so sure that I’m what you want?
I smiled and kissed the top of her head.
“If I stop to think about it, it makes no sense. We don’t make sense at all to me if I’m being logical about it. But there’s more to it than that. For some reason we are fated to be together, Zoey. I’ve never been a big believer in true mates, but I can’t deny its existence, I never wanted a mate this young. I wanted to live my life before settling down. But apparently the universe has other plans, and I can live with that.”
“So that’s it? Fate’s decided our wolves should unite so therefore we must?”
“Just because I am willing to accept fate’s call, does not mean you have to. That’s a decision only you can make, Zoey.”
“It’s all happening so fast.”
“I know. But if this might not be what you want, if I’m not what you want, then I don’t think we should be any more physical than we’ve already been.”
Her mouth dropped in surprise.
“Trust me. I’m as shocked as you are, but I guess I’ll just call it self-preservation. I’ve already showed you my cards. Therest is up to you. But also, if it’s okay with you, I’d still like to stay close.”
“Your wolf’s on edge?”
“Guess you haven’t noticed the bare path I’ve left in the carpet, huh?” I smirked, trying to lighten the mood.
I wanted her in a way that scared me. I needed her in a way that damn near undid me. So we had to slow this down—because if she wasn’t just as certain, she would break me beyond repair.
It would be so easy to just let nature take its course and see what happens, but if she rejected me now, I knew I wouldn’t survive it. She had to be certain.
“Okay, so what now?”
I shrugged. “I guess we get to know each other. Decide what’s best for us, and see from there?”
She actually looked disappointed but then smiled. “I like that. Why don’t we just completely start over.” She held out her hand, and I took it in mine. She gave it a little shake. “Hi. I’m Zoey Rey. I’m from a small pack in Montana. I love the color blue. I’m a business major at Archibald Reynolds College and also pursuing a minor in social media. I run a decently successful social media platform already. And I’m not overly fond of heights, but rock climbing wasn’t as bad as I expected. I think I have my trainer to thank for that.”
Zoey
Chapter 16
Spending another two days stuck in the lodge with Monte was a lot of fun. It surprised me just how much I enjoyed talking to him. We still kissed and made out a little. He held my hand as we sat by the fire talking to pass much of the time. And he held me as we slept each night.
But he refused to pressure me for any more than that. And honestly, he shut me down every time I’d tried. My body was one giant ball of needy nerves, but I understood where he was coming from. He was so sure about us, and I was terrified just thinking of forever. Because that’s what we were tiptoeing around about—forever.
It was a lot to think about and logically I knew that adding sex in the mix would only cloud my judgement further. But despite our hands-off policy at the moment, I could still feel the bond between us growing and that worried me too.
At what point do we cross that point of no return?
Mine,my wolf growled at my thoughts.
