“It was a team effort,” she admits shyly, and I’m compelled to hug her tightly again.
“Wanna go for a run, just you and me?” I suggested in a whisper on the top of her head.
She nods. “That sounds lovely…I wanna use my powers in wolf form again.”
I take Rissa’s hand, and together, we walk toward the entrance of the woods for a fun run to celebrate our victory. Itfeels nice to have Rissa running beside me, keeping up with my speed with her magic abilities in wolf form.
For an omega, she sure is fast and agile on her paws, posing a challenge to an alpha wolf who has to fight to keep up. As she runs ahead of me, her chestnut wolf a blur of flashing emerald light that surrounds her furry body, I have a profound realization that threatens to slow me down.
The realization slows my heart down enough to let the thought sink in, along with the feeling that washes over me.
I’m in love with Omega Rissa Rudolph. It’s the most natural thing in the world for me to feel when I allow myself to feel in the first place.
It’s just that I don’t think she’s ready to hear it yet.
Chapter 21 - Rissa
“Are you sure you wanna continue charging the traps?” Yvonne asks with a skeptical frown. “We’ve been at it all day.”
I nod eagerly, a genuine smile of reassurance on my lips. For days, we’ve been working hard to charge up more traps since the one we used was successful. Determined to do everything in my power to help take out the threat for good, I’ve been working overtime to ensure that all the traps are ready for use.
“I’m sure,” I assure Yvonne, the memory in the back of my mind fueling my determination.
How could I forget Brooks’s joy and pride when they killed the demon with the help of the trap the other night? Somehow, we’d gotten even closer, and there’s this innate need to keep proving myself to him if it yields the reward of the freedom and liberation I tasted when we sprinted through the woods, only to come back home and have him make love to me as if he worshipped my body and even the ground I walked on.
Riding that high seems to be firing up my powers, and I’m able to give my all to harnessing those powers and charging up the traps.
Yvonne giggles, shaking her head as if the untold secret is no secret at all. “This is because of Brooks, isn’t it?”
Blushing profusely, I sigh and admit, “I can’t hide it anymore, can I?”
“Of course not. I’ve never seen that man happier than he is with you. Actually, I’ve never seen him smile at all before you entered his life.”
“Yeah…he was pretty grumpy,” I concede with a nervous giggle. “But so was I, when it came to him.”
Yvonne places a hand on my shoulder. “That’s the beauty of finding your fated mate. It changes everything. I would know.”
“So you knew he was my fated mate?” I ask with a skeptically raised brow. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Yvonne sighs. “It would have taken away the experience of feeling it and discovering it for yourself. I’d been through it with Dawson, so I know that I wouldn’t have believed it if anyone told me, unless I felt it for myself. And that’s how I realized I was in love with him. Always was, always will be.”
“Love…?” I mull over the word with a frown as my mind wanders into consideration of her statement. “Hm…”
“That’s what you feel for him, isn’t it? That’s why you’re working so hard to do all of this.”
“No,” I dismiss with a nervous chuckle. “I’m only doing this for the pack’s safety.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Yvonne snorts. “Don’t work too hard, though. Gio’s been asking for you.”
“I’ll come visit soon,” I say, thankful for the change of subject.
But when Yvonne leaves the meadow, I’m left with my thoughts again, wondering if it is love I feel for Brooks.
Just a few weeks ago, it was hatred I felt for the alpha.
Now that the hatred has gone, has love replaced the emotion? Is it even possible to love the man who once abused me simply because of my rank in the pack?
He already apologized for it, and we’ve since forged a friendship that’s slowly growing into an unnamed bond that allows our mate bond to thrive.
