Regretting And Rejecting

Chapter 37

Micah

"Fuck, dude. You don't have to be so aggressive. It's called 'sparring' not 'take the other guys' head off'." I complain to Griffin as he tosses my ass to the ground again.

"You're future Alpha, Micah. You should be able to kick my ass no problem." He scoffs as I roll my eyes.

"You're a the size of a fucking refrigerator." I shoot back and he smirks back because he knows I'm right.

"A few more weeks in the gym, you'll be as big as me." He says haughtily and I shiver at the thought.

"Nah man you're barely gonna see me for a few weeks. See this fresh mark on my neck? It's the universal symbol for 'leave us alone we're boning.' That privilege only happens once in a lifetime and I'm taking advantage of it." I tell him, smiling widely as I throw my shirt back on and get ready to leave. Griffin rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Fine. Since I know how hard you worked to get Hannah to accept you I'll take it easy on you for a few weeks, but then you're hitting the gym hard. Deal?" He asks, holding his hand out to me. I shake it firmly and nod.

"Deal." I tell him and he nods in agreement. I quickly turn on my heel and start out of the gym, anxious to get back to my girl.

"Hey, Micah!" Griffin calls and I turn to look back at him. "Maybe lose the shirt. Show Hannah all the progress you've made." He says with a sly smirk. I beam back at him before slipping my shirt off and shoving it in my bag. I hear his barking laughter as I jog back home.

We haven't brought everything over from the packhouse yet, but enough that we can stay here. Neither one of us wanted to sleep there anyway. This place feels more like home than anywhere I've ever been. Even with my parents. My dad was thrilled today when he saw that Hannah had finally, really and truly accepted me. I've never experienced such pride from him. It made me want to work even harder. He made it sound like we could take over as Alpha and Luna in a few months but really, I wouldn't mind waiting awhile longer. Building a better relationship with both Hannah and our pack to make the transfer of power as seamless as possible. My dad was surprised when I told him that. I had always been anxious, wanting to take over as soon as I could. But being around Hannah, going through what we have has shown me how important patience is. That building something, planting a seed and allowing it to grow, even though it can be frustrating at first, the rewards are immeasureable. I'm grateful Hannah rejected me. At first it sucked, but getting to know her, letting our mate bond grow to the point where it clicked back in place for her, that's a more solid foundation for a relationship than a lot of wolves have. They rely so heavily on the mate bond. Even though you know your partner will never leave you, that doesn't mean you shouldn't take the time to learn about them, to treat them the way they need you to.

I walk into a quiet, dark house. Only a glimmer of light shining in the hallway upstairs. I smile knowing my girl is exactly where I thought she would be. I climb the stairs stealthily and walk down the hallway to the library. The door is already open, so I nudge it a little further and peek inside. Hannah is curled up on the plush couch I had ordered just for her, covered with a blanket, nose deep in a book just as I knew she would be. I smile again and step into the room. Her head snaps up to me and her shoulders relax at the sight. I feel joy through our bond. And peace at being reunited, even if we were only apart for a few hours. She looks out the window then looks back to me concerned.

"I can't believe it's so late. I meant to cook some dinner I just got distracted." She says apologetically, waving the book in the air. I chuckle and sink down next to her, pulling her onto my lap and sticking my face in her neck to get my daily fix of her scent.

I wish I could bottle it and take it with me.

"It's alright. We can eat at the packhouse tonight. If you want." I say as her fingers trail along my bare chest.