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“It’s time for dinner, sir.”
“I’ll be right there, Greg.”
He nods, then turns on his heel and gives me a few moments to collect myself. I take a deep breath, rolling my shoulders to ease the tension there. I need to get my wolf under control before I see Malia. She doesn’t know anything about shifters or fated mates. Shit, which also means she has no idea about the mating moon. If she’s not my mate it won’t affect her. But if she is… fuck. We’ll both be ravenous for each other, which might confuse my innocent little mate.
Dammit, I can’t think of her as my mate. Not yet. Even though everything in me wants it to be Malia. I’m way past trying to tamp down my hope.
All I can picture is finally finding my fated mate. Tomorrow, I can announce that I’ve found my Queen, and Malia and I can get started on creating a family and living our happily ever after.
My wolf howls inside of me, fully on board with that plan.
I smile as I walk out of the room and head toward the dinner hall. I run into Ren in one of the corridors, and she smiles at me.
“I was hoping to run into you two,” I say. She nods and tips her head to the side, signaling toward the spiral staircase leading to the floor with their rooms.
“Malia should be right behind me.”
“I’ll just go check on her,” I say far too quickly to be casual.
Ren gives me a knowing smile, and I wonder if I was too obvious this afternoon when we were out shopping. I could barely take my eyes off of Malia.
Ren skips into the dining room, and I head up to the second floor, reminding myself not to sprint down the hall to Malia’s bedroom. The door is open and I knock lightly as I peek around the corner.
The potted succulents and flowers that I bought her this afternoon are arranged across the dresser and bedside tables, and I smile when I see them. I bought her at least half a dozen plants along with the stack of books from earlier today. I would have bought her the whole greenhouse and bookstore, but she insisted that this was more than enough.
She was still worried about taking the plants and everything else on their trip, and I didn’t know how to tell her that she didn’t need to worry about money or moving around ever again.
My eye catches movement in the corner of the room in front of the vanity. Malia is there, putting some mascara on. She blinks a few times, then startles when she sees my reflection in the mirror.
“Am I late?” she asks, pulling a laugh out of me. Just like that, the pent-up tension in my neck and shoulders eases. The sound of her voice, her bright, genuine smile, and those piercing green eyes, accented with light makeup that makes them pop even more… everything about her soothes my soul.
“Can you be late for your own birthday dinner?” I ask, dragging my eyes down her body despite my best efforts. Malia smiles, that adorable blush staining her cheeks.
“I suppose not.”
I allow myself a few more stolen moments to appreciate the lacy, dark green A-line dress Malia picked out on our shopping trip the other day. The sweetheart neckline frames her chest, the fabric clinging to her perfect breasts before cinching in at the waist and flaring out at the hips. The hem hits just above her knees, giving me an unobstructed view of her shapely legs.
“You’re gorgeous,” I murmur, more to myself than to Malia. I couldn’t think that, let alone say it out loud if she weren’t my mate, right?
I glance over at the clock as she heads into the bathroom to wash her hands. My spine straightens when I realize it’s a few minutes after six. My wolf tenses inside of me, waiting for Malia to come back out to the bedroom.
As soon as she moves into the room, we smell her.
Fuck yes.
I’m hit square in the chest with her sugary citrus scent, and I breathe it all in, letting her aroma overwhelm every one of my senses.Mine, mine, fucking mine,I chant over and over in my head.
My wolf lunges for my throat, agreeing that she’s ours and we need to mark her right this goddamn second. I grit my teeth, flexing and straining to hold him back. The need to claim this woman, to love her, fuck her, marry her, and breed my pups into her is more intense than I ever could have imagined.
The seeds of our conversations and light touches over the last few days have taken root, and now they’re springing to life as I continue to take all of her in. Our connection was always there, the lust simmering just beneath the surface, but now? Now it’s impossible to ignore.
Again, my wolf growls, scratching at my chest to get out and mark her.
We can’t scare her away, remember?I warn him. The beast snarls inside of me. All he can think about is marking and claiming our mate.
“Ryker? Are you alright?” Malia asks, stepping toward me in concern.
“I’m fine,” I choke out. She doesn’t look convinced. “Let’s head downstairs.”
