"Thank you."
We skated in silence for another few minutes.
Then my phone buzzed in my jacket pocket on the bench.
I skated over, grabbed it.
A text from Reina.
My heart stopped.
Can you both come over? I've made my decision.
I showed the screen to Jaxon. His expression went carefully neutral.
"Well," he said. "I guess this is it."
"Yeah."
"You scared?"
"Terrified."
"Me too."
We got off the ice, changed quickly. I tried not to think about all the ways this could go wrong. Tried not to imagine the look on her face when she told us she couldn't do this.
Jaxon and I drove separately to Reina's apartment. Met in the parking lot.
"Ready?" he asked.
"No. You?"
"Not even a little."
We walked up to her door together. Jaxon knocked.
She opened it immediately. Like she'd been waiting.
She looked different. It took me a moment to figure out why.
No suppressant patch on her hip trying to disguise her scent. I could see the spot where it should have been through her thin t-shirt.
And her scent.
Oh God,her scent.
Lilies and cinnamon and something that was pure Reina. Not hidden anymore. Not suppressed.
Full strength.
My Alpha instincts roared to life. Every cell in my body screamed at me to grab her, claim her, mark her as mine.
I forced myself to stay still. To breathe through it.
Jaxon was having the same reaction. I could see it in the tension of his shoulders, the way his hands clenched into fists.
"Come in," Reina said, her voice steadier than I expected.
