I tapped my finger on my knee. “I think maybe it’s because she’s been around us so much.”
“Huh?” Sebastian looked confused.
“Dude, wolves are pack creatures. There’s a reason shifters live in communes and neighborhoods like ours. We thrive onbeing around others of our kind. She’s been living with us for almost a month. That, plus the fact that we’re fated mates, could mean the wolf is trying to break free.”
“So does that mean she might actually become a shifter if you guys complete the mating bond?”
My mind drifted back to the night before. I’d never had sex like that before. We’d both been so free and aggressive. Open. Wanting. We could have done anything to each other and we would have loved it. I remembered her riding me, her back against my chest. I’d been in the midst of losing my mind in lust, and I’d contemplated giving her my bite right then and there. I’d even picked out the spot. An area right between her shoulder blades. Her skin had been sweaty and the muscles flexing. I could almost taste her. I’d tamped down that instinct.
I wanted to claim her, but we couldn’t jump to that stage yet. It was something that needed to be discussed. A decision that big couldn’t be made at the drop of a hat. Plus, even though I didn’t think Javi was right, I didn’t want to put Maddy or others into even more danger. As hellbent as Javi and his crew were to kill her, if her dormant wolf actually did wake up…I didn’t want to think what they’d do to go after her.
I shook my head and shrugged. “I don’t know, honestly. All I know is that anything might happen. Maybe nothing will, maybe she does become a shifter. I’m not ready to cross that bridge yet.”
The conversation shifted to more banal things. Sports, cars, food, all the stuff we usually talked about when we were together. With nothing important left to talk about, I said my goodbyes and headed back home.
I walked and breathed in the humid Florida air. It was a beautiful day, and even after everything that had happened with Javi, I couldn’t help but think things would work out okay. I waved to Mateo as I walked up the path. He wiped sweat from his forehead and waved back. “Hey, brother.”
“Hey. Is Maddy all good?”
Mateo nodded and grinned. “She’s fine. I checked on her once. Have fun in there.”
I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shook his head and started loading the mower back into my garage. “Not what you think.”
Without another word, I unlocked the door and went inside. As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, I understood what he’d meant. It wasn’t some dirty joke, it was a cryptic warning. It was just like one of my brothers to leave me hanging, then stand back and watch the fun. Instead of finding Maddy, my mother was waiting for me in the kitchen.
“Uh…hey.”
“Hello, Nico,” Mom said as she thumbed through a magazine.
“Where’s Maddy?” I glanced around and didn’t see her.
Mom nodded toward the stairs. “Said she had a headache. Went for a nap.”
Turning on my heel, I headed straight toward the stairs to go check on her. I only made it three steps before Mom called to me. “Nico, I need to speak with you.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before turning around. “About what, Mother?”
“Don’t ‘mother’me. Come sit down.”
This was not going to be good. I knew how these talks went. I’d had them my entire life. When I was a kid, it was about school, rules, and picking on my brothers. Now that I was older, it was always general life things. My shop, the pack, when I was going to settle down with a mate. It was never fun, and I had the feeling this might be the least fun talk yet.
Not wanting to fight, I walked over and sat on the stool across from her.
Mom closed her magazine and folded her hands on the table. “I don’t want to sound rude, but something seems to be off about Maddy.”
I gritted my teeth but stayed calm. “What do you mean? Off how?”
She lifted her hands an inch and flopped them back down. “I’m not totally sure. It seems like she’s struggling with something internally. Not her injuries or things like that, something up here,” she said, and tapped her temple. “She was whispering to herself. She seemed frustrated and exhausted. Finally, she excused herself with that excuse of having a headache.” Mom twisted a ring on her finger, a tic she’d had as long as I’d been alive. It meant she was worried. “Nico.” She glanced around, as though someone might hear. “Have you ever smelled Maddy?”
I stiffened at the mention of it. It was something that was so slight, even the other guys hadn’t really noticed it until I pointed it out to them. Mom had always had an incredible sense of smell, though. Stronger than almost anyone else I’d ever known. I should have realized she would have noticed it. I stayed silent, letting her go on.
“Something just seems…off. That’s the only thing I can say about it.”
It made me feel bad that out of our entire family and all my friends, my mother was one of the only ones out of the loop. That being the case, I still didn’t need her pressuring me or Maddy, or trying to pry into our lives.
“Mom, everything is fine.”
