I'm second-in-command, I should be out there. But Grayson has it under control. And wild horses couldn't drag me away from Mona after she had an encounter with witches.
I'm glad to see she's recovering from the event. She makes herself at home in the kitchen, pulling wrapped meats and cheese from the fridge while she talks with her hands. She sets everything down on the counter and pulls off the napkin draped over a basket of biscuits, then reaches up on her tiptoes for plates from the cabinet.
I should help.
But as she reaches, the t-shirt rides up her ass, and the image of me dropping my pants and bending her over the counter, sliding inside her slick heat, clouds fucking everything. It literally slams into me so forcefully I need to reach out and grip the back of a nearby chair.
Sometimes I don't think she even notices her omega pheromones. Or what they do to me. I don't know how I'll ever recover from her first heat. Is that what's happening?
Why the sight of a little skin sends my alpha into a fucking frenzy?
She's still talking with her hands, gesturing with one, a knife in the other. She waves it around, making her point. I should pay attention.
"She thinks we're too focused on being in sync while not trusting each other. So much that we're clashing. She says the shift should be like taking a breath. Inhale her magic, exhale her shift. When I stop trying to help, I'm actually doing more. It was a lot faster when I let go."
I shake my head. "Your shift out back was less than five minutes. Definite improvement."
"I think it'll take us a little while, but we shaved off a lot of time today. And honestly, the shift felt different. It's weird, I didn't concentrate on shifting, and it happened. Whereas before, I'd put all this effort into meditating and trying to merge with her, and it was useless. Though when we got back here, I was a little stressed and so was she, so it was choppy."
She holds out a sandwich made of biscuits. I take it and thank her, swallowing it down in three bites before responding. "Gray will be back soon, he'll want to check on you. I'll call Doc in the meantime."
She protests, but I'm already shooting him a text. He gets back right away, having been on the alert after hearing the howls, and says he's headed over. I text Grayson and tell himwhere we're at. I'm sure he'll want to get eyes on his mate as soon as possible.
"I'm really not hurt. I healed pretty quickly after he bit me."
"I'm actually more concerned about the magic."
"But you said there's no way the witches could have spelled me that fast!" She spins to face me, knife still in hand.
I sigh, nudging her aside so I can help her make a pile of sandwiches. We'll likely have a room full of hungry wolves shortly.
Which reminds me. "Why don't you go get dressed? I'll take care of this."
Mona relinquishes the knife, setting it down, but doesn't walk away.
"Mona." I tug her shoulder so she turns to face me. "Is everything all right?"
She nods, but her eyes dim. Her pretty bee-stung lips, now bright and rosy from all the activity, twitch as she pieces her words together. "It's just… is this what it's like? Life as a shifter?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. When I was human, aside from the fact that I was sick all the time, the biggest thing I had to worry about was where I wanted takeout from. Waiting for the newest season of my favorite show. Now, it's all rogue wolves and witches and shifting practice and magic. Power-hungry enforcers. Is this normal? Or will I have to get used to it?"
On instinct, I reach out and wrap a hand around her waist, relishing the curve of her hip. She smiles softly as I pull her close and look down into her eyes. My other hand threads through her thick, wild red hair until I gather it into my fist and tug, forcing her head to tilt up and face me.
I don't pull hard, but the action sends a burst of her perfume flooding out of her. I pull her body even closer, my thick cock pressing against her belly. We both try to ignore it.
"I don't have all the answers, firefly. It's normal and not normal. Other things will come and go. We'll have quiet moments of peace and anxious moments of chaos. But one thing I can promise you—I'm here for you through all of it. While you navigate your new life, I'm here. To lean on, to ask questions. I want to say don't worry, but that's not fair. So instead, I'll say, let me share the burden of your worries. That's what I'm here for."
A sheen of tears fills her eyes, but she blinks it away. Then Mona crashes into me, wrapping her arms tight around me. I hold her close, fingers digging into her flesh through the thin fabric as I bury my face in her hair, drowning in her jasmine and dogwood flower scent until my lungs burn with it.
Too soon, she steps away. "Okay, I'll go change. Thank you, Orion."
She turns to leave the kitchen, but before she's gone, she gives me a teasing look, eyes darkening. The corner of her lip lifts, and I swear I see her teeth sharpen. It's a brief look—a briefmoment—but the air crackles with hunger. A burst of her honey perfume pulses at me.
And I don't know what comes over me.
Maybe it's my heavy, stiff cock. Maybe it's her perfume. Maybe it's the years of abstinence, and now, being around my mate, testing my ability to think straight, reminds me how long it's been since I've slipped inside someone warm.
