I say nothing.
"That's what I thought. You want to help me? Do me a favor and just go. Leave this clan, leave our territory, fuck off to whatever hole you crawled out of. Better yet, find a new one, deep enough to bury yourself—" She snaps her jaw shut like she's forcing herself to swallow her words.
After one last glare, she spins on her heel and storms off. My heart is racing, hammering in my chest like a war drum. Heat burns behind my eyes, tears threatening to spill. Not because she hurt my feelings or wounded my pride. But from that raw ache radiating from her—it's so dense, it felt like my own.
When I finally glance up, I find a half-dozen wolves nearby giving me sympathetic looks. Some look like they're two seconds from cornering me into a hug, arms already opening, and I think I've had enough of the hugging for a day. I brush past them, giving a tight smile, pushing toward the exit.
Outside, Kellen falls into step beside me. Voice low, he asks, "You good?"
I nod, though there's a tightness in my chest. My eyes are still burning, but I swallow it down. He doesn't believe me, but doesn't press. We circle the building and find Cynthia waiting at the opposite entrance, then walk back toward the cabin in silence.
It's still somewhat early when we get home, and all my worries are forgotten when I find both my mates are already there. I wasn't expecting them for hours still, and after the morning I just had…
"We left early so we could spend the rest of the day with you, since we have to leave tomorrow," Orion placates, catching me after I jumped into his arms for the hug I really wanted.
"I'm so happy," I practically cry.
He groans, swinging me around. "Don't be, yet. Since we have a few extra hours to kill, Gray's decided he's going to make you run drills and practice shifting."
I laugh, and while those are the last things I want to do, I know it'll make Grayson happy, so reluctantly, I make my way inside, with Orion on my heels, and find my other mate.
Chapter 36: Orion
"Hand me a towel, please," Mona says primly, with a clipped edge in her tone, after turning the water off.
I chuckle, then reach for the curtain, but she tears it open before I can. Water droplets cascade down her naked curves, and I can't help but drink her in. The towel dangles from my fingertips. She snatches it away, wraps it around her body and marches into her bedroom.
"Firefly," I call out, following at a careful distance. "You okay?"
She narrows her eyes as she hops into a pair of sweatpants. It makes her tits bounce, and my mouth waters. She takes a deep breath, then lets it all out. "I cannotbelieveyou let him do that to me!" she shrieks. "Suicidesprints! The word suicide is in them! I could havedied!"
I try really hard not to laugh. I've never met anyone who hates exercise so much. "Also known as shuttle sprints. I mean, it's meant to strengthen your endurance, Mona. I think you're being a little dramatic."
She ignores me and keeps yelling. "But he wouldn't let me use Beep's strength and speed! And then that little wench agreed with him and she wouldn't share her power, makingmedo all the work!" Mona throws her arms in the air, absolutely incensed by the workout Grayson just put her through. I sat on the sidelines grinning, cheering her on while she glared at me the whole time. Grayson didn't go easy on her, either.
But she has shifter healing, and I bet her muscles already feel back to normal. She's not panting anymore, at least.
It's hard to take her anger seriously while she's topless. I can't look away. She really has a magnificent body, and it's drowning all rational thought.
"Orion!"
"Yes, firefly?" I clear my throat and hand over her shirt. As I pass it, my fingers graze her wrist, connecting for a heartbeat longer than necessary before I release the material.
The air changes. Her chest is heaving, nipples straining against nothing, and her scent—that goddamn honey-sweet perfume—blooms between us, thick enough to taste. Her fingers tremble as she slides on her shirt, the material catching on her curves.
Mona turns—slowly, cautiously—and walks out of the room. I don't know where she's going, but I follow her down the hall, to the stairs, up to the third floor, keeping exactly two steps behind, watching her ass move with the precision of a surgeon. Each cheek lifting and rotating as she steps. The unhurried, hypnotic movement, the sway of her hips, captivates me. She walks into one of the empty rooms, and I follow her like a man possessed.
She turns to face me in the center of the room. It feels like the space shrinks. The air thickens, becomes dense and electric. My skin feels too tight for my body. A bed sits in the corner, and I imagine her sprawled across it, hair fanned out, legs open. But I don't need the bed. I'd take her against the wall, on the floor,bent over anything. I'd make her scream my name until her voice gives out.
Our eyes lock, and for a moment, I forget why we were even arguing. All I can think about is how many steps it would take to close this unacceptable distance between us. We were working out. Then Grayson said he had to run to the kitchens. He wanted to make something special for dinner tonight. I followed Mona upstairs to her bedroom. She huffed grievances under her breath as I watched her get undressed, then climb into the shower. She swung the shower curtain shut in my face, but didn't ask me to leave. I asked if she wanted me to wash her hair for her, and she snuck her hand out of the small opening of the shower curtain and gave me the finger.
Her immaturity made me laugh.
Mona flips through emotions like she's browsing a playlist. Picking and choosing what she's in the mood for. My beautiful, darling, antagonistic little omega has gone from angry to annoyed to turned on in a matter of minutes.
Mona takes one step backward. Her eyes glitter, lips pulling into a half-smirk. "Hey Orion?"
"Hmm?" My brain is liquid. All functionality is in my dick. My alpha pulses inside my chest, every breath drawing her scent deeper. Every cell in my body, the primal part of my brain, vibrates with the need to claim her. I want to feel her soft curves yield in my hands. I want to lick the salt off her skin, swallow down her screams.
