“Let me guess. You need me to solve a problem that has nothing to do with security, enforcers, or actual pack safety.”
Thomas blinked. “Uh. Yeah, actually. Mrs. Henderson says I parked in her spot again, but there aren’t assigned spots in the lot, and I don’t know if I should…”
“There aren’t assigned spots. Park wherever you want.” Connor pointed at the door. “Anything else?”
“No, that’s it. Thanks.”
Thomas left.
Connor pulled up his email and started typing.
To: All Pack Members
Subject: Alpha Mate Office Hours and Appropriate Issues
Effective immediately, my office hours are limited to security matters, enforcer coordination, and legitimate pack concerns. This includes suspicious activity, safety threats, enforcer scheduling conflicts, and territory patrol issues.
This does NOT include neighbor disputes, cleaning schedule complaints, parking disagreements, or personal conflicts that don’t threaten pack safety.
For non-security issues, contact Josie (the pack administrator) or bring them to the monthly pack meeting.
-Connor, Alpha Mate
He hit send before he could second-guess himself.
His wolf settled slightly, satisfied they’d established boundaries.
Connor returned to the armory inventory, determined to accomplish at least one useful thing before dinner.
Chapter Fifteen
Connor’s hands slid up Leyden’s chest, nails dragging across sensitive skin. His mate’s gray eyes darkened with hunger as he leaned in, breath hot against Leyden’s ear.
“Want you,” Connor whispered, voice rough with desire. “Need you inside me…”
Leyden jolted awake, his cock painfully hard and his heart hammering.
“Fuck.” He threw an arm over his face, willing his body to calm down.
Just a dream. Another goddamn dream.
Connor slept peacefully beside him, curled on his side with one hand tucked under the pillow. Ruggedly beautiful and completely unaware of what his proximity did to Leyden every single night.
Two weeks. Fourteen days since they’d exchanged claiming bites, since Leyden had felt the bone-deep satisfaction of his mate’s teeth in his throat. Fourteen days of sleeping next to the most attractive man Leyden had ever met while his body screamed for release that wasn’t going to happen.
It was the longest he’d gone without penetrative sex since puberty.
Not that he’d been counting or anything.
Leyden slipped out of bed carefully, padding to the bathroom and turning the shower to cold. The icy spray hit his overheated skin like a slap, shocking away the remnants of arousal but doing nothing for the frustration coiling in his gut.
I knew what I’d been signing up for. I told Connor I would wait, and that I understood. Sex isn’t the only thing that matters in a mating. Look at every other thing he already does for me.
All true.
But it didn’t make things any easier when his wolf whined every time Connor stretched, showing off the muscles in his back. It didn’t help when Connor smiled at him over breakfast, open and genuine in a way he never was with anyone else, sending Leyden’s thoughts in the bed direction.
Leyden shut off the water and dried himself roughly, avoiding his reflection in the mirror.
