Not quite food, but wolves were simple creatures. It still counted in his book.
“This is awkward, and normally, I would never bring it up, but…” She hesitated, drumming her fingers on the side of her cup before she caught herself and stopped. “I’m just gonna rip off the Band-Aid, if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course.” Tension spiraled in my gut, but I did my best not to show it. Awkward could mean anything.
She’s leaving. She’s not leaving, but she doesn’t want me. She saw my sister naked. She?—
“I’m going into heat. Soon. Brielle can tell with her omega power, apparently.”
It took every ounce of willpower I possessed and a few I had to beg, borrow, and steal to keep my mouth from flopping open like a fish. The vision that filled my mind of Elodie, mindless with lust and begging me to knot her, was so fucking hot that I immediately popped a boner.Fuck.
Elodie watched me like a hawk, scoping out any reaction.
Or, perhaps, just waiting for me to respond like a normal person.
“Okay.”
She blinked a few times, setting her mug down on the counter and bracing her hands on the other side of the linoleum. “Okay? We’re on the brink of war, we’re basically strangers, I’mabout to go into heat at the worst possible time, and all you have to say is okay?”
I cleared my throat, the room suddenly feeling too close. Overheated. “Those things are all true. I’m not sure… I don’t know what to say in this situation.”
Her eyebrows shot up, as if she’d expected something from me and I’d completely missed the mark.
Missedsomething.
Oh.
Oh.
“Do you want to spend your heat with me?”
She bit her bottom lip between her teeth and looked away, a slight flush tinting her cheeks an intoxicating pink.
“I don’t know, but it would be better to have help than to suffer through it alone.”
Holy shit.
Ho. Ly. Shit.
She was seriously considering spending her heat with me.
“I definitely don’t want you to suffer, but you’re right. We don’t know each other well, and it might be uncomfortable to go from zero to a hundred that fast.” My mind spun, and I grasped for any way to make it easier on her. “What if we went on a date? Got to know each other?”
“Yeah, here’s the thing. The head priestess and Brielle both basically told me that the longer I’m with you, the worse it’s going to get. Not just the bond, but the heat. Because proximity triggersboth. So… I can’t say yes to a date with you unless you’re willing to help me. If you’re not, I need to know so I can get back to the enclave.”
I couldn’t quite put my finger on what she was feeling, but it looked like she was withdrawing. She’d said her piece, and now she was ready to run for the damn hills.
Almost as if she expected me to reject her.There was no chance in hell.
I shoved back from the counter, alpha instincts taking over as my wolf sensed her uncertainty, her fear.
As I closed the distance between us, she backed away until her lower back hit the immovable counter. But I didn’t stop coming until I’d hemmed her in, our bodies mere inches apart as I pressed my hands into the counter on either side of her hips so she couldn’t run away.
She shuddered as I stared into her eyes, and my wolf rumbled his approval of the closeness, her obvious physical pull to me, even if her mind hadn’t fully caught up to it.
Mate her.Now,he demanded in my head.
You shut up.I mentally flipped him off, focusing instead on her as I pushed my wolf back in the mental bond.
