“Maybe,” she says with a bit of a sigh, like my answer wasn’t satisfying enough.
“You should get some rest,” Thane says, combing his fingers through my hair.
“I’ll stay with her tonight—”
“No!” Thane cuts Kole off with a snarl. “I’ll stay with her.”
“Fine,” Kole agrees, though judging by the disdain seeping from his tone, he’s not too happy about Thane’s not-so-subtle order.
“Make sure she drinks some water,” Sophia tells Thane, as he scoops me into his arms.
I want to tell him I’m fine and that I can take care of myself, but I don’t. Not because I need this, but because he does. Just like when he needed to wipe the blood from my forehead afterTroy bashed my head into the desk. Or how he needed to wash me after the incident with the dunk tank.
Before, I hadn’t let him act on the mark’s impulse, but things are different now. Even if it’s only because of the growing strength of the bond, I can see that he doesn’t want to hurt me anymore. Maybe it’s time that I learn to accept the two of us are forever linked. Slaves to this bond that we both have to feed.
“Here.” Thane hands me a nightgown from my dresser. “Sophia had to remove your other one so that we could warm you.”
“Oh, thanks.” Thane turns around to offer me some privacy as I slip it on and climb into bed.
“I’ll be in my wolf form,” he says, turning around to face me. “If you need anything at all, you tell me.” It’s more of an order than a suggestion, and I nod my agreement.
“Thank you,” I whisper, before rolling over so that he can strip down to shift.
“I’ll always be there for you.”
His words hang in the air. The truth of them lingering like a silent promise. Just as I’m about to close my eyes, Thane jumps onto the bed. He spins around in a circle a few times before eventually curling up next to me.
His enormous wolf body takes up two-thirds of the king-sized bed, and yet there’s still too much space between us. I might regret it in the morning, but I scoot over until I feel the curve of his body pressed up against mine. The similar sound of a purr emanates from him as if to tell me he needed to feel me too, and I pull my left hand from beneath the covers to stroke his soft fur. Everything about this interaction should feel weird, but it doesn’t. Instead, it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
In this moment, it doesn’t matter that he’s a hybrid and I’m a human. It doesn’t matter that his people killed mine. It doesn’t matter that he hurt me or that there’s a bond forcing us together.
In this moment, all that matters is that we’re together.
When I wake, Thane is already gone. I wouldn’t expect him to still be here, but there’s a pang of longing as I run my hand over the space he had taken up. Last night was like a fever dream. Up until now, we had been toeing this line between hating one another and tolerating one another. But last night, when he held me in his arms and curled up next to me, something changed between us. I had thought that waking up would bring clarity. That everything I felt last night would be washed away by the morning light. But as I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, I can’t shake the feeling that last night marked the start of a new beginning with us. What that beginning is, I’m not sure, but I’m guessing I’ll find out soon enough.
“Come in!” I shout when I hear a knock at the door.
Kole comes waltzing in with a tray full of giant cinnamon rolls and other pastries.
“After last night, I thought you could use some breakfast in bed.” He sets the tray down in the middle of the bed before stretching out next to me with his arm behind his head. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel okay,” I tell him, picking up one of the thick cinnamon rolls. I begin unraveling it and take a bite, unable to hold back the moan as the delicious taste of cream cheese frostingkisses my taste buds. “I can’t even remember the last time I had one of these.”
“Have you ever tried the ones with orange icing?” Kole asks, swiping his finger over the top of one. I watch as he runs his tongue along his finger, licking up the sweet icing. “Those are my favorite.”
“Can’t say I have.”
“Well, I’ll have to make them for you some time, because you’re missing out.”
“Deal.”
He sits up, turning to me with a serious expression. “I know you said you feel okay, but I still think you should take it easy today.” I laugh, and his face tenses. “What’s so funny?”
“I mean, what did you think I’d be doing today? It’s not like I have to go out hunting and gathering anymore.”
He drops back onto the pillow with a huff of laughter. “I suppose you have a point.”
“There’s a book in Thane’s library I kind of want to check out. I saw it the night of the garden party when I snuck in there, and I’ve been dying to get my hands on it.” I slump back down into the bed and turn on my side to face Kole. “Maybe he’ll take pity on me and let me go into the forbidden east wing.”
