“I’ll meet you there,” Hudson stated.
I opened my mouth to tell him not to bother but the call cut off. So that’s how we were going to play this? Deliver instructions and then duck out before a meaningful conversation could take place? Hudson needed a reminder of who his chosen mate was. Big clue, I was not some submissive kitty waiting for the attention of her big muscly mate. Ugh. Boundaries needed to be set.
Dave side-eyed me. “You are grumbling incoherently.”
“Your boss is a dick. Was that clear enough?” Sebastian chuckled, and I glanced over my shoulder at him.
“Calm down, he simply missed you,” Dave replied, trying to smooth things over.
“Unlikely, he’s a domineering, arrogant asshole.”
“That too. A word of advice, if I may?” Dave said.
Now I was getting relationship advice from Mr. Stoic? Oh boy—how the mighty have fallen. This should be fun.
“Hit me.”
“Hudson is an alpha—thealpha.”
“This isn’t news.”
“He’s also a cat.”
“Again, not news.”
“Stop trying to deal with him on human terms, or even elemental ones.”
“I’m not following.”
Dave sighed like he was explaining the core concepts of addition to an adult who couldn’t grasp simple arithmetic. “He’s not yet secure in his mating. You have kept him at arm’s length for weeks. Out of your business and out of your bed.”
“Because he ditched her,” Sebastian added. It wasn’t necessary, everyone knew he ditched me.
“He made a mistake,” Dave said.
“That’s not the issue here. We aren’t debating who made a mistake and when,” I said. “I need to know how to tame a tiger with a god complex without losing myself in the process. I’m not going to roll over and show him my belly.”
“That would be a surefire way to lose him,” Dave said as he tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel. “Hudson needs someone who challenges him, who holds him accountable. Someone who doesn’t take his bullshit.”
“I believe I am already that woman.”
“Agreed, but you are pushing him too far away. He also needs to know that no matter how much you disagree or argue, you will be his partner. That you will back him and let him back you.”
“So he needs to be the cat that got the cream?”
“That’s a visual analogy I could have done without,” Sebastian muttered.
Dave ignored Sebastian and carried on. “The reason he is being overbearing right now is because he’s unsure where he stands. Perhaps it is time to cement your future.”
“I agreed to be his mate in front of the pack’s heavyweights—what more does he need?”
“Have you told your family this?” Dave’s eyes flickered to Sebastian in the rearview mirror. ”Your friends?”
I swallowed the knot in my throat as Sebastian stayed silent and hung me out to dry. “No.”
“Can you see it from his perspective?” Dave pushed.
“Yes,” I gritted out. Nobody liked their shortcomings in a relationship pointed out to them, but he was right; I was keeping Hudson at a distance. I’d already made that commitment on his turf, with his people, but now it was time to go all in. It was time to take that leap. “How does one meet on cat terms?”
