“Can we talk?” I choked out as the boulder in my throat grew by the second.
“Of course.” He moved to the side and let me in. His scent filled the room, intoxicating me in a way no amount of tequila ever could. “Sit down. Please.”
I wasn’t the only one disappointed. His scent was blanketed with guilt and sadness and though I had no idea if we could work this out, I never wanted him to have those feelings again. Impossible for me to wish for, but my wolf didn’t like him being sad one damned bit.
I took a seat near the window. There was a small round table and two chairs that were clean but had seen many a guest in this room. “I need to apologize for last night, Edris.”
He nodded and took the seat across from me. “You first, then it’s my turn.”
“I’m so sorry about the screaming. I don’t remember all of it, but I’m pretty sure I spewed some awful things that a person should never say to their mate. I have never gotten so drunk and could offer up a thousand excuses, but there are none that make up for the way I behaved.”
He blew out a breath and his chin quivered. “You didn’t say anything I didn’t deserve, omega.”
“No. You didn’t deserve it. There are ways to discuss things that don’t involve name-calling and yelling and beating down your door. I’ve never done that before, either, for the record.”
He huffed out a breath. “You didn’t seem like theget drunk to solve your issueskind of omega, but yesterday I got all kinds of things wrong. Are you ready for my apology now?”
“Go on.”
Edris reached across the table and asked me to give him my hands. I didn’t realize until that moment how much I ached for his touch. The honeymoon period of finding a fated mate was powerful and overwhelming in the best way, and our first day together had been spent mostly apart. Angry and hurt and heartbroken. I couldn’t resist him. My hands slid into his and instantly all my nerves calmed, and that headache that tried to wreck me, fizzled into a manageable dull throb.
The power of a fated mate bond was incredible.
“Zac, I made a big mistake yesterday. I could blame it on being an alpha, but it was me and I was wrong. I came here and found you, after what seemed like decades of looking for my omega, and I wanted to scoop you up and take you back to my den and never let you go.”
He looked at the table, shaking his head. He was sincerely sorry as I was. That was different than some alphas I’d seen. They were only sorry enough to get laid again.
“That actually doesn’t sound bad,” I said, laughing. “But I have a life here. A career. Purpose.”
His gaze softened. This was how mates were supposed to deal with an issue. We had been so wrong. “You and I are equals in this mating and I didn’t treat you as such, omega. I’m so sorry.”
We let our words hang between us. “I have a proposal, mate.” It felt good to call him that. It was right.
“Tell me,” he said. “Please.”
“I propose we start over. We forget about yesterday and last night and we begin today.”
For the first time that morning, my alpha smiled at me. Beamed with joy. Goddess, it was a good look on him. “I think that’s the best idea I’ve ever heard in my life.”
He stood up and straightened his T-shirt and smoothed the thighs of his pajama pants. “Hi, I’m Edris. I’m a bear shifter and your mate. Your alpha. It’s very, very nice to meet you.”
Snorting, I stood up and played along. We needed this new beginning. I needed it. “Hi, I’m Zac. I’m a wolf shifter and your mate. Fate brought us together, and I’m so happy you’re mine.”
Before I could mutter another word, Edris’ lips were on mine. He pulled me into his warm arms and, once my brain caught up, I kissed him right back. Every ounce of tension in my body relaxed and my wolf howled inside me, finally getting what he wanted from his alpha. Well, some of it.
The kiss was brief, but we had to start somewhere. He pulled back and ran his hand through my hair. “You’re so beautiful. When you shifted back to human, I thought I was dreaming. I could imagine myself with an omega, but my fantasies could never come up with you.”
Thank the goddess Edris wasn’t an emotionally constipated alpha. And he could communicate.
Two green flags, for sure.
I wound my arms around his neck, trying to go for another kiss, when my watch flashed the time. “Oh! I’m almost late for work.”
He chuckled. “I don’t even know the simplest things about you.”
“There’s so much we don’t know about each other. We’re virtual strangers.
“We’ll learn.” His hands roamed to my hips. “We have time. All the time. What time do you get off?”
