Rising to my feet, I stride into the kitchen, rummaging around in the cabinets. “Even better then, it’s free game.”
Withdrawing a couple bottles of rum, wine, and whiskey, I tuck them under one arm while snagging the orange juice from the fridge as a mixer and carefully balance three glasses. Balancing it all precariously, I return to the recessed pit the couch is situated in, letting the two of them lessen the load by grabbing things before I drop it all.
Going for the rum and juice first, I pour three glasses. “So! Let’s get to know each other better. I’ll go first.” Tapping my finger on my chin, I think of something easy so that I don’t come on too strong this time. “Scarlett; favorite hobby besides gaming.”
She thinks it over, taking a sip. “I’d say painting, but as Kasen so gently pointed out, I suck at it.”
The man in question snorts. “I’d apologize, but I’m not about to lie to your face. You’re fantastic and amazing, but an artist, you are not.”
She uses the back of her hand to smack his chest, but grins as he chuckles unrepentantly. “So I guess I’d say movies, as boring as that sounds. Everything I enjoy is sitting around and staring at screens, apparently.”
“Nothing wrong with that, and conveniently, same for me on both counts.”
We don’t turn it into a drinking game so much as taking turns asking questions and drinking throughout the afternoon. Scarlett decided ‘fuck it’ and used her credit card to get several more bottles sent up, and despite how much we’ve been drinking, I’ve committed every new fact that I’ve discovered about not only my mate, but my new packmate, to memory. By the time it’s closing in on three, we’re pretty damn tipsy... which is a testament to how much we’ve torn through since shifter tolerances run high.
Scarlett interrupts Kasen. “Hey wait a minute, you let me change in front of you!”
Kasen rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact you thought any sane person wouldn't have an interest in you and assumed I wasgay. What was I supposed to do when you were naked and alone with a guy that you barely knew? Declare right then that you were my mate?” He raises an eyebrow. “Because that went over so well when you were fully clothedwithyour bonded mate in the room.”
Her lips pull back with her cringe. “Fair enough.”
“Now, now, children, no fighting.” They both level me with an annoyed look, but I stick to my guns. “It’s all in the past either way, so no point stressing over it. Now we can focus on the future. Namely, tackling the issue that you’re well aware you get in your own way, Scarlett, yet keep doing it. Allow me to give your subconscious a wake up call.”
She gives me a confused tilt of her head, so I slam back the rest of my drink for courage. “A pack link isn’t putting thoughts in your head like you're thinking. It's no different than if I were to say something aloud that got you contemplating my statement, and we absolutely cannot take over or force you to do a single thing.”
She scoffs. “Let me guess. Next, you’re going to feed me a line about how if I join your pack link, I’ll be able to learn the art of carpentry via brain osmosis or something?”
I roll my eyes. “It's like-” I snap my fingers as I search for the best analogy “- wearing a headset during a raid. It can get chaotic if everyone's talking over each other, but it's the same thing as hearing the people in the voice channel when they aren't physically in the room.”
She’s silent in the face of my claim, and Kasen picks up on my desperation to make her understand, pulling out all of the stops in a bid to get through to her before she shuts down on us. “It's the assurance that you never have to face things alone because you always have someone in your corner. And we can teach you how to put up a mental block the same way you do with Malcolm to keep things separate when necessary. It isn’t taking over or manipulating, it’s a support system. And honestly, having an emergency panic button isn't a bad thing in our current situation when there are so many unknowns. But ultimately, it doesn’t need to turn into a huge all in or out debate and build up into more than it is. If you’re dead set against the concept...”
Meeting his leery gaze, I finish with conviction. “Then we won’t ever mark you. We can figure things out and still be together without it, so no pressure.”
“You make it sound so fucking easy for the guy that told me to just mark her and everyone would adapt,”he snaps in my head, more frustrated at the situation than with me.“I’m going to go mad before the year’s over.”
“What happened to the sad, pushover teddy bear that was content being her and Malcolm’s driver so long as you could see her? Suck it up, buttercup.”
Hesitantly, she nods. “Makes sense that if I’m going to have three amazing guys in my life, there’d be some strings attached. Though I can’t be held responsible if someone whispers in my head when I’m not expecting it and I end up punching them in the junk.”
I share a quick look with Kasen as she downs the rest of her drink.“See? She’s coming around.”
“Don’t jinx it,”he instantly replies, scared to hope.
She rubs the heel of her palm over her heart for the third time in as many minutes and I crack. “Everything okay, love?”
She gets a faraway look as she pours herself a new glass. “Yeah, Malcolm’s just on edge; I don’t think his meeting’s going well.”
Kasen tosses back another shot. “Or he’s reacting to you; we’ve hit some heavier topics over the last few hours. Shoot him a text so he knows you’re good and I’m sure he’ll settle down.”
“Good idea.” Withdrawing her new phone, she sends a text to check in. Not even three seconds go by before her phone vibrates and she rolls her eyes, snapping a pic of her smiling face before sending it off. Chuckling at whatever his response is, the next several minutes are spent with her taking increasingly ridiculous pictures before pulling us into her antics.
The three of us squish our cheeks together to cram into the next picture and right before she clicks the button, Kasen turns and kisses her straight on the mouth. She drops her phone in surprise, and me, being the altruistic man that I am, send it off to the mage while the two of them are caught up playing tonsil hockey.
When they finally break apart, Scarlett’s cheeks are flushed, clearly debating whether or not to throw caution to the wind and risk taking things further. Kasen’s either regretting his lack of impulse control, making holding onto his already rapidly fraying restraint ten times harder, or scrambling for an excuse to justify letting go of it completely. The tension continues to build as I wait for one of them to break it, the two of them locked in a battle of wills they both desperately want to lose. Unable to take it anymore, I decide they need a push; something that makes it neither of their fault if it blows up in their faces.
Sliding closer, my palm skims her hip as I lean in to whisper in her ear. “You have a text.”
It snaps her out of it and she fumbles for her phone, the two of us shamelessly reading over her shoulder.
