I Stole the Alpha's Car (18+)|✔️

Chapter 52

I woke in the grey light of early morning curled up against the comforting warmth of my mate.

Raising my head, I glanced around, confused.

I'd gone to sleep between both of them.

Carefully disentangling myself from Evan, I climbed out of bed and tiptoed toward the living room.

The aroma of brewing coffee greeted my nose, and I found Dwayne staring into space, his back to the counter of the guest house's modest kitchen.

Smiling sleepily, I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my face in the curve of his neck.

"Hey."

His hand came up to stroke my hair. "Good morning. Did I wake you up?"

I shook my head. "No. Have you called the airline?"

"Yep. I also called Oscar and let him know we'll be staying for the week. He lost his shit when I told him why."

"Good 'lost his shit'?"

"He started rambling about how we'll have to plan our mating ceremony during the resort's off season so we'll have enough rooms to host your guests and Evan's."

Looking up, I raised my eyebrows. "You don't suppose he'd be willing to help with the prep for it, do you?"

Dwayne chuckled. "Don't encourage him. I need my second-in-command focused on our pack, not event planning."

"Hmm." Resting my cheek on his chest, I asked, "Why don't you come back to bed?"

Dwayne sighed. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just keep thinking about all of the things I have to get done."

"They can wait."

"Lauren, we need to find and hire a moving company to help us pack and ship Evan's stuff. Then we need to figure out where he's going to college next semester or if he's going to college next semester – he might have to wait to join mid-year. We're also-"

"Babe, you're overthinking it."

"I'm not-"

"Dwayne, it's Sunday. Most of that can wait until tomorrow."

He shook his head. "It's not just that..."

"What?"

"We're going to have to put an addition on the garage."

"A what?" I laughed.

"An addition. When I had it built, I was only planning on having one mate – we're going to need an extra stall."

"I don't think that's a terribly pressing concern, but okay."

He paused. "Do you think we'll need a bigger bed?"

"Oh my god-"

"Seriously; are three adults going to be able to sleep comfortably in our bed? Do we need to upgrade?"

"How about we go back to the king size in the other room and test it out?"

He was silent, and I relaxed into his warmth, listening as the birds began to sing their first melodies of the day.

Then, I felt him smile.

"What?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

His fingers traced circles on my back. "About what my life would be like if I hadn't seen you that night."

I shrugged. "We would have found each other eventually – mates always do."

"I just wonder how much longer I would have been waiting if you hadn't taken that detour past your alpha's house."

As I envisioned it, I felt guilt begin to creep in.

"I'm sorry it took so long to find us."

Dwayne hugged me tighter. "You were worth the wait."

Looking up, I pressed my lips to his softly before parting.

With a contented sigh, I gazed into his eyes. "Your breath stinks."

He grinned. "So does yours."

Tucking my head under his chin, I whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Come back to bed." I felt him tense against me.

"Lauren-"

Meeting his gaze, I cut him off, "I don't want Evan to wake up alone."

The stubborn resistance in his eyes faded. "Okay."

Taking his hand, I led him back to the bedroom to rest and enjoy the golden light of a new day.

The first day of the rest of our lives.