He chuckled, recapturing my fingers with his. “I think you like someone else being in charge every once in a while.” He led me down the hall by our joined fingers into a dark, cozy bedroom. He flicked on a lamp, revealing a very masculine room. A low bed with a simple wooden headboard, dark gray covers, and a simple patterned rug on the floor. It smelled like him, cozy campfire and sweet brown sugar, and my mouth watered as I turned around, taking in his space.
“The bathroom’s through that door if you want to shower.”
Ididwant to shower and usually always did before climbing into bed, but I was so, so tired. My limbs were heavy as I sat on the edge of his bed, groaning at the soft give and smooth sheets.
He twined his fingers into my hair, tipping my head back for a gentle whisper of a kiss, leaving my lips wanting more. “Sleep. I’ll take care of everything.”
Chapter 29
Elodie
Islept deeply, without dreams, and woke in the circle of Valens’s arms. It was strangely wonderful. Strange because it should have been awkward, but wonderful because it felt as natural as breathing. Easy and right.
Valens seemed to make everything that way without even trying.
The awkwardness finally set in when he handed me a still-plastic-wrapped spare toothbrush.
“Have a lot of one-night guests needing toothbrushes?” I asked, then wanted to kick myself. We were strangers until a few weeks ago; I had no claims on his time or affections before I came along. It made no sense to be jealous at the thought of him buying atoothbrushfor some unnamed other woman.
Since when did a mate bond make sense, though?
But he wasn’t offended—he just laughed and kissed me on the forehead. “Not quite. I do have a sister with a bulk-buying problem, though.”
I grinned and snatched the toothbrush from his hand, my wolf oddly pleased, though I’d never admit it.
By the time I’d arrived on the doorstep of my own cottage to get a fresh uniform for the day, Galyna was already up and gone.Part of me was glad, but still, a flash of guilt twanged through me. It was wrong, being at odds with my partner. None of this was her fault or her doing. So why was I taking it out on her as if she were my own personal punching bag? It wasn’t what we did. She was my first true friend, not just my partner.
I guess what they said about messengers was true. They tended to take friendly fire.
Freshly dressed, I vowed to apologize for losing it on her as soon as I saw her.
I was just rummaging through the nearly bare fridge when someone knocked softly on the door.
Not Galyna.
I pulled it open and smiled to find Fiona on the other side.
“Fi! What’s up? Want a cup of coffee?” I opened the door wide and gestured for her to come inside. “I’d offer you breakfast too, but Lyna and I aren’t great about stocking the fridge, so I don’t have any. We never run out of caffeine, though. That we’ve got.”
Fiona snorted, shooting me a quick sideways glance. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? If anyone can run off caffeine and pure confidence, it’s you two.”
I grinned at her accurate description as I poured her a cup of joe. “So, what are you up to today? Not that I don’t love a visit, but I figured you’d be busy helping Lucien wrangle every wolf in the world.”
She went to take a swig of coffee but froze, gaze lingering on her misshapen purple mug. “We are, but I wanted to check on you, make sure you were all right. Oli gave me a rundown of what happened yesterday, and… I thought you might need to talk. Girl talk is good for the soul.” She winked at me, then finally took a small sip.
My smile was weak, and I knew it. But Fiona was too sharp for me to simply hide behind platitudes and pretend I was hunky-dory.
“I don’t know what I am right now. Mixed up, mostly?”
She nodded. “A new mate bond will do that to a girl, I think all of us would agree.” She drummed her fingers on the cracked linoleum counter, thinking. “Is there anything you want to talk about? Vent about? Rage at the heavens? I can’t howl, but I can whip up a good storm if you need something to ragewith.”
Her eyes, one blue, one brown, flashed suddenly amber, and condensation formed on the outside of both our cups as she pulled moisture from the air around us, probably by accident.
“I’m lucky to have a friend like you, you know that? Not many people can offer to throw a literal damn hurricane at my enemies.”
She grinned, flexing her fingertips. “Your wish is my command.”
I couldn’t help but grin at the genie reference. “Yeah, unfortunately, I don’t think even your talents can help me. All I wish is that I didn’t have to choose between my calling and my mate.”
