Series: Star Moon Pack Series by J.L. Beck
Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 118781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
She’s mine.
But do I want her?
This isn’t like before, like all the other times. I’m in no hurry to kick her out of bed the way I normally do. The way I would if she were anyone else. This decision—if that’s what it is—comes from realism more than anything else. I can’t keep her here forever, and I don’t want to. I got what I wanted. I’m satisfied, and I know she is. Even if I couldn’t feel her wolf’s satisfaction, I’d only have to reflect on how she damn near burst my eardrums with all her screaming. I’m lucky she didn’t snap my dick off; she clenched so tight around it. My wolf stirs in pride at the memory.
Still, fun is fun, and the time for it is over. I suppose it’s time for her to go home.
And it’s for the best for everyone. I can’t pretend otherwise. We have too much going on for me to constantly fight against the distraction she poses. Now that I’ve had her, I’m only going to want her again. The farther away she is, the better. My wolf will get used to it. So will I. And this whole nasty, sticky situation can be put behind us.
Though that isn’t the same as breaking the bond. I know it. And I know it will be as simple as turning my back on her, saying the words that will separate us for good. That would be the fair thing to do.
I only have to do it. It would make her happy, wouldn’t it? She doesn’t want our bond. Maybe it’s the perverse bastard in me, but something inside recoils at the idea of giving her what she wants. Letting her go without insisting she accept me. It’s the same as admitting it’s all right for her to reject the gift of our connection, and how am I supposed to accept that?
It’s time to act like the future alpha I’m destined to be. That’s what gets me out of bed and dressed before I pack the few things Mom gave her in the leather bag she sent me down here with. I know she’ll insist on letting Lili have them.
My heart is heavy as I set the bag on the floor by the door. I turn and walk toward the bed again, studying the sleeping wolf. She’s smiling—what’s she dreaming about? How many happy dreams did she have before her first shift, when she was ostracized, beaten, and nearly killed? What did she have to dream about back then?
Why is she happy now? Because she has her wolf, I’m sure. That has to be it. I can’t help but smile to myself while my wolf rests contentedly inside me. There’s a peaceful warmth in my chest that grows the closer I get to her. The old urgency isn’t there anymore. That mindless, insatiable need. In its place is something close to pride. Mine, mine, she’s mine.
Or she was, at least.
My head snaps up when I sense another presence. By the time I reach the door and open it a crack, Forrest is waiting for me with his back to the wall. “He wants to see you. Now.”
Of all the times. “He can’t give me a few minutes?”
His head swings around so he can hit me with an eye roll. “What do you think? I told him you’d be busy down here.”
“I’m not busy. Not that way.”
“Oh, so you’re finished already?” He checks his watch, smirking. “That didn’t take too long.”
“Fuck off. Even a new wolf can only take so much.”
“Yeah. I’m sure she passed out from coming so hard.” He rolls his eyes again. “Listen. We have a situation. You know how much worse it’ll get if he has to come down here to get you himself.”
“What the hell is so important?”
Forrest eyes the door. “Her father is demanding her return.”
That’ll do it.
No matter how she still pulls at me, I have to leave her. I look over my shoulder—she’s still out cold, a million miles away from where I whisper with my twin. I can’t help but love knowing she’s lying there with my scent all over her, and there’s nothing she can do about it. There’s no pretending it didn’t happen. Mine, my wolf reminds me yet again. And in some ways, yes, she is. Until she’s not. And it doesn’t matter how much my wolf doesn’t want that to happen.
“As long as you don’t mind me smelling like pussy,” I mutter, stepping out into the hall.
“You know I never complain about the smell of pussy.” He sniffs the air, though, and his nose wrinkles. “For fuck’s sake, did you take a bath in her?”
“Now that you mention it, yeah. She was wet enough.” For me, you dumb son of a bitch. Not for you. Not that it was his fault the magic was off, and his wolf sensed it. Still, I can’t shake the sense of having gotten lucky, even if her presence in my life has been little more than a pain in the ass. Even the best fuck of my life doesn’t entirely make up for the shit she’s put me through.