“You have one option. Tell him the truth.” He shrugged as if it was easy. “He's your mate. He's going to find out eventually.”
Not if I never told him and I let him return to his real life while I pined for him until I went to the goddess.
Antonia joined us.
“And how do you suggest I start that conversation? 'By the way, Indigo, I'm a wolf shifter, most of the lodge staff are part of my pack, and oh, you're my soulmate'?” He would run back to the city, witness protection be damned. “Physical attraction isn't the same as accepting that your partner turns furry.”
“So there is physical attraction on his part.” That was Antonia.
“That was what you got from my spiel?”
Taylor left, saying he had to work, and Antonia said, “You need to shift. Run with the pack tonight. That’s an order.”
She was joking because as the next-in-line Alpha, she couldn’t give me orders, though she was pretty good at bossing me around.
“He'll be fine for a few hours without you hovering. The cabins are secure, and the perimeter is patrolled.”
“I don't hover.”
“You do.” Her smile faded. “The council met last night.”
I tensed. “And?” I hadn’t been informed, but it was expected after Indigo’s arrival.
“They're… ummm, concerned. A human omega mate for the future Alpha isn't the norm.” She picked up a pinecone. “But they're not entirely opposed. Half the younger pack members have human friends. We can't stay isolated forever.”
“Uncle Lionel was very stiff and formal when he met Indigo.”
“He’s old-school.” Antonia tossed the pinecone into the snow. “But he’ll come around.”
I wish I was as positive.
She asked about my plans. It was still too soon to dump everything on Indigo, but I had a few weeks, though there was no rule book or step-by-step guide tointroducing a human to the paranormal world. First, we had to get to know one another better.
“Dinner tonight at the cabin where there are no curious pack members staring at him.”
She squeed. “So romantic. Need any help setting the mood? I could loan you some candles or maybe some rose petals for the bed.”
I rolled my eyes. “I'm trying to have a conversation with him, not seduce him.”
“Why not both? You can't tell me you haven't thought about it.”
Of course I'd thought about it. I'd thought about little else since the moment Indigo's scent had first hit me. But acting on that while keeping secrets from him was wrong and not how to start a relationship.
“Go.” I shooed her away and returned to the cabin where I found Indigo in one of the armchairs reading and sipping coffee.
“Another run.” He closed the book.
I shrugged out of my jacket. “Jogging gives me time to think. Besides, the sunrise is worth it. You could come with me tomorrow.”
“I'll take your word for it.” He gulped more coffee. “I'm more of a ‘see the sunset but sleep through the sunrise’ kinda guy.”
“The mountains are different in the early morning. Quieter. More honest, somehow.”
Indigo cocked his head. “How?”
Now he’d put me on the spot and I had to dig deep. “First thing in the morning, they’re cloaked in shadows, whereas in the middle of the day with the sun shining on them, they’re bold and brash, and at twilight, they’re drama queens, with the orange and pink light on them.”
“Wow. I’ll never look at mountains in the same way.”
