Promise Me This [Werewolf BoyxBoy]

Chapter Twenty-Three - The Council - Part One

Danny

We didn't linger in Florida.

As we crossed the bridges over the wide bodies of water that lead out of the state, I silently decided that we'd have to come back someday. It was beautiful here, and it was a shame that the panic over my mate had marred the experience for me. I wanted to come back and be happier.

Kieran snuffled sleepily against my shoulder. He was still quiet, content to be near his mate. A great deal of the red haze that was usually over his mind had receded. Now he had his hands under the arms of my sleeves, mindlessly running his fingers over the unmarred skin of my arms. He couldn't seem to believe that the wounds were gone. Shifters healed fast, but I wasn't a shifter. I was still completely and utterly human. I should have been in pain and bleeding--and yet.

I wasn't complaining, but at the same time it was just another thing for the council to question us about.

Kieran's mother was driving. She seemed a lot more cheerful now that we'd snagged her oldest from the belly of the beast. When we'd been leaving she had some sort of silent conversation with the pack leader, Dara. At the end of it she'd carefully drawn the taller woman into a hug.

"Yeah, yeah," Dara said gruffly, patting her on the back. "Whatever. Just remember, your pack owes me one hell of a favor."

"Anything," Katherine said, drawing back. She sounded like she truly meant anything.

It made Danny think of his own mother. When he thought of her, it was like someone had dimmed something in him. So he shoved the thought away, shaking his head at Kieran's concerned expression, and got in the car.

This time we couldn't drive straight through the night. I woke, bleary, to Katherine opening the door. Kieran started to growl deep in his throat, eyes slitted and red. I only had the barest time to feel any fear before he came back to himself.

"Wha's going on?" he asked, sounding sleepy and confused.

"We're stopping to rest, because your mom hasn't slept in about twenty-four hours," Resa said. Her voice did this odd thing where it wasn't accusing at all--just matter-of-fact. "We'll continue in the morning."

Kieran rubbed his eyes like a five year old, the midnight blue glowing faintly in the lights of the hotel. I nearly melted. Then, I ignored the smug flash of pleasure that came from my mate. "Kay."

They agreed to two doubles. The carpet was clean and beige, the sheets on the beds a blue in a generic ocean pattern. There was a painting of a seashell on the wall. When I peeked in the bathroom, it looked relatively clean. Kieran, who refused to be parted from me for more than a few seconds, followed me in. "Can we take the towels when we leave?" he asked hopefully. "I've always wanted to do that."

My unimpressed stare said more than enough. My mate looked a little cowed. "Right, didn't think so."

When we walked back into the main room, Katherine was standing in the middle of it. Her hands rested on her hips as she pinned both of us with her stare. "I don't have to tell you that if I hear anything--let's say, unsavory--I will come in the middle of the night and break it up. With cold water."

"In other words," Resa said with a grin, "no hanky panky."

I felt like I was gonna spontaneously combust, but Kieran only huffed. I could feel Kieran's own embarrassment. Between the two of us, it reached near-atmospheric heights. "Gu-uys."

"What?" she asked. "You don't think I was a teenager once?"

"It's not like either of them can get pregnant, Kat," Resa said with a wicked grin.

Kieran's mom gave her a dull stare. "At this point, with that bond of theirs, who knows what could happen?" And with that brain searing throught she flounced toward us and pressed kisses to our cheeks. We held still, shell shocked.

Did she just say that?

She did! She just said that!

Holy--

"Goodnight, loves." She left.

Resa had a grin so bright it could rival the stars'. "Just use protection," she said in a whisper.

"I heard that!"

Ignoring her sister-in-law, she gave us a little wave and left. The door clicked shut behind her.

Kieran and I stood in silence, still blinking. "I--"

"Let's just go to bed."

"Agreed."

Despite what Katherine had implied, after we pushed the beds together, we were too tired to give each other more than a sleepy peck before we fell right to sleep. Kieran draped himself on top of me, a warm, soothing weight. I fell asleep with the feeling that everything was going to be all right.

Then I woke to Resa standing over us the next morning, a grim look on her face.

"Something's happened," she said. "We need to get home now."