Not every night. But when they didn't want to deal with all of the emotional baggage that came from apparently trying to change the world, they went to a hotel.
Nico hadn't told her, but he was looking at some of the cottages that were on the edge of pack-land. He couldn't realistically move outside the territory, but he could find them somewhere more private. And even though he was sure that he wanted her forever, he figured she might need a little bit more time before she was willing to move in with him.
They were on the roof of the hotel, which was open to guests. Right now, no one was there with them, which made it even more romantic and perfect.
"It's not always going to be like this." As if Elise hadn't been the first one to suggest they find a hotel.
She finished her bite of taco and then shrugged. "Yeah, probably not until everyone in the coven starts finding their own werewolf boyfriends."
He burst out laughing. "Do you really think that's going to happen?"
"I don't know," she mused, tilting her head. "I saw the way Delainey was looking at Reece."
"There is no force in the universe that would get Reece to date a witch." He shuddered at the thought. Then again, two months ago, the same thing could have been said about him.
"I don't think I'm talking about dating with those two. Honestly, they might kill each other after they …" She cleared her throat. "Well, I don't really want to think about what Delainey is doing with guys."
"She was the one who liked the rope, right?" Nico couldn't help but tease.
Elise flicked her finger at him, and a spark of magic bounced off his chest. She'd gotten more comfortable in the past weeks using her magic around him. At first, it had been a little disorienting. But the more it happened, the more glad he was. She was being her full self around him. He couldn't ask for anything more from his mate.
"Have you applied for that EMT program yet?" he asked.
Elise bit her lip. "I don't know," she said, clenching both hands around her beer bottle. "What if I'm not good at it?"
"You're literally a healer," he had to point out. "I don't know how many times you've saved someone's life. You saved Cole's life, and he is a different freaking species than you."
"I don't think we're different species, technically," she said.
Nico rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"Yes, I know what you mean. But that's magic. I know magic. Magic's easy. They're gonna want me to know, like, how to do medical stuff."
"And plenty of humans figure that out every day. You're smart. But if you don't want to do it, you don't have to do it."
"No, I do want to do it," she said.
"Then apply for the damn program! What are you waiting for?"
Elise just groaned.
He was finding out that his mate sometimes needed a bit of encouragement to do things she actually wanted to do. He wasn't going to force her, especially since he figured the EMT program would take more of her precious time. They wouldn't have as much time to be together. But that was one of the sacrifices he would be willing to make as long as his mate was happy.
He let it drop. Elise finished her tacos and then sat back in her chair, sipped her beer, and looked out over the lights of the city.
They sat in silence for a while. Nico soaked it in. He loved these quiet moments where they could just be together. There was no werewolf bullshit, no coven crap. Just Nico and Elise, existing.
"You never told me what it means," Elise said quietly, setting her beer down on the small table between them.
"What what means?" He racked his brain trying to think back over their conversation, but he had no idea what she was talking about.
"When Austin had us," she said. "I asked you …" She trailed off and cleared her throat. "I asked you what it means to be mates. And then we got so rudely interrupted by our rescuers that we never had a chance to finish that conversation. So I wanted to know—what does it mean?"
Nico drew a pattern with his foot on the ground and tried to figure out how to put it into words. This was something he would never have to explain if he was with a werewolf woman.She would just understand; it was part of existence. How did you explain a fundamental truth that you couldn't put into words?
Under his skin, his wolf grumbled.
"You're my mate," he said. "I don't know if I can explain it anymore. It was my wolf—he recognized you."
