The rest of the ladies feared for their lives when she drove. I’d just been through too much shit to fear a car accident.
Abby and Nico were planning a small, outdoor wedding on the pack’s land. It was only a few weeks away, because they didn’t want to wait any longer. Hence the bachelorette weekend.
Emmy and Finn’s wedding was still nine months out. Em had a lot more to plan, and considering the sheer amount of money that existed among her family and friends, the scale of it was going to be much grander.
Plus, that was just Emmy’s personality. Any of us would’ve guessed that she was going to go all out when she got married.
I slipped my mirrored sunglasses on even though it was crazy dark outside. “I have to tell him. I said I would if he talked to the guys about the wolf thing, and I’m pretty sure he did. He’s probably pissed about how I set it all up, though. He hasn’t texted me back all weekend.”
“Finn told me they cancelled their coaching sessions and were all spending the weekend in their wolf forms together,” Emmy explained. “I’ve only talked to him for a few minutes every day. It sounds like it’s been great for all of the guys. They’re talking about making it a monthly thing.”
“Maybe it will help him.”
“I hope so.” Emmy held up her crossed fingers.
Ethan’s front door opened, and Finn came jogging over to his mate’s window wearing a massive grin. He was absolutely covered in dirt, and wearing nothing but a pair of navy-blue joggers.
When she unrolled the window, he leaned in and kissed her in greeting.
Aaaand that was my cue to leave.
“Good night,” I called over my shoulder, on my way toward the house.
I stopped on the porch stairs when he stepped into the doorway in nothing but his basketball shorts. His shoulder met the wood as he leaned against it, his hands in his pockets.
I’d hoped he would look lighter, the way Finn did, but he didn’t. There were dark circles under his eyes, and the smile he tried to give me didn’t reach them.
Dammit.
“Hi, Muffin. I missed you.” His voice was light, but he wasn’t grinning the way I would’ve expected him to.
“Hey, Cupcake.”
Finn and Emmy pulled away. I looked over my shoulder, and Emmy waved at me from the driver’s seat. Like me, Finn also didn’t appear to fear for his life when she was behind the wheel. She was his mate, so maybe he was obligated to fake it. Or maybe he’d also been through too much shit to worry.
I looked back at Ethan. “How mad at me are you, on a scale of one to ten?”
“Is ten the best or the worst?” he asked.
“The best.”
“I’d say I’m sitting solidly at a ten, then.”
Relief made my shoulders sag.
“We need to talk.” He tipped his head toward the living room. “Mind if we do it here before I drive you to your apartment?”
“You say that like you’re not going home with me.” I made it up the stairs, and tried to slip past him into the house.
He caught my hip and turned me toward him, kissing me deeply as he pinned me gently between him and the door.
I buried my hands in his hair, pulling him closer and kissing him back just as passionately.
He pulled away after a few minutes, dragging his thumb slowly over my bottom lip.
“I don’t think my story about work is going to end things between us, if that’s what you’re worried about,” I said, eyeing him through my glasses.
“We’ve got a mate bond connecting us. Work doesn’t matter.”
