“Wasn’t this supposed to be a vacation?” Mateo asked, looking exhausted.
“No, you do not prepare for war,” Cat said firmly. She had to put an end to this.
Mateo turned to her in surprise.
She put every bit of conviction into her being as she met his gaze. “You don’t.”
“The witch speaks for you?”
“Leave us,” Mateo said.
Cat felt a spurt of hurt, but Mateo pointed to the wolf.
“But—” the large man said and stopped as Mateo’s eyes flew to him. He was gone in a puff of snow in moments.
“No, you don’t,” Cat said firmly. “I never should have come here. You’re not going to kill anybody. You’re going to go home like Nonna says. You’re not going to start a war, not with my coven, and not with the local pack. You’re going to go home.”
“We can try New York...” he said, sounding doubtful.
She shook her head. She’d been living in a fantasy land full of orgasms, but they could not do that forever. If he wasn’t strong enough, she would have to be. “I’m not going.”
“What are you saying?” he asked.
“This wasn’t ever going anywhere. We both know that.”
“We’ve barely tried. There is so much more to try. I make software for a living; believe me, there is no end to the things that you can try to solve a problem.”
“The person you love shouldn’t be a problem to solve!” Love. Her brain stopped. “I didn’t say that.”
He smiled. It was deep and sweet and hurt her heart. “You did, though.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He stepped closer to her. “This? This is not a problem. This is perfection. You smell so good. You are so beautiful.”
“You can’t build a life on that!”
He held up his hands. “Okay, fine, there’s a magical cosmic connection between us. Every time you hold my hand, my wolf gets more powerful, which I didn’t even think was possible.”
“I know.”
“How is that not perfect? How is that not everything that both of us have wanted our entire lives? The rest is details.”
“Mateo, only CEOs and alpha werewolves can ignore the details and get what they want in life. For the rest of us, it’s all details all the way down.”
“Well, not if you give up before we’ve even started!”
“This isn’t like a dream you work hard for and one day achieve.” How could she make him understand? “I wish I could fly. But it’s never going to happen, and sometimes dreaming is about learning what’s possible and living with it.”
“You think I don’t have obligations? You think I can fly? I’ve got twenty wolves looking to me to keep them safe, keep their wolves under control, and keep the pack going. I’ve got an order of magnitude more employees whose livelihoods depend on me. I am the least free person you could ever meet.”
She shook her head slowly and sadly. “You’ve proved my point. Your grandmother will never accept us. I’m never moving to New York City. You’re never moving here. I don’t speak Japanese.”
“Well, neither do I.”
“I heard you at the house.”
He winced. “That was Chinese, but point taken! It’s a good thing we both speak different languages. Now you don’t have to learn Chinese.”
