Her Imposter, Her Imprinter

Chapter 13

Exhilarated. Happy. Free. It had been a while since Carine had felt this way. But Forrest had no problem coaxing it out of her. And she couldn't have been more grateful. They they were, a couple of goofball adults, running and ducking and jumping through the complex brush of the woods and having the times of their lives. At first their run might've been a friendly and relaxing jog, but it didn't take long for their playfulness to ignite that had them racing through the forest like bats out of Hell.

Carine knew that Forrest could've easily outrun her despite her speed and stamina ( she didn't expect anything less of an Alpha) but he chose to stay close to her, nudging her and shoving her just enough so that she would stumble. In retaliation she would stick her foot out just enough to trip him but her success was short lived since he was quick to regain his balance.

By the time both were ready to head back, they were both dusty and sweaty. They both knew what their appearance could insinuate to outsiders but neither brought attention to it. Neither were ready to reveal that level of attraction yet despite it blatantly being there.

Their thoughts had left them hyper aware of each other and the urge to touch each other began to consume them. But they remained a respectable distance from each other and managed to ignore their basic instinct. Forrest however, was beginning to curse these "baby steps" he'd promised to uphold. His patience was slipping, but luckily being in Eris's presence at the moment was numbing the effect of it.

To further "numb the effect" he made the bold move to grab her hand. To his pleasure, she reciprocated in kind by weaving their fingers together and leaned into him. Forrest was afraid to even twitch for fear that she might shift away from him. But they remained stuck together right until they arrived back where they started.

Karma and Gabriel were nowhere to be found but both could guess that they could be found within their new home. Joseph however remained elusive. Carine had to partially wonder if he went on home. She didn't blame him though if he did since she had pretty much ditched him, but she hoped he'd stick around so that they could hang out when she returned.

Just when she made the mental note to call him, Carine noticed the brooding man emerging from Gabriel and Karma's home.

"Oh! There you are!" Joseph's attention shifted over to the couple and offered Carine a smile.

"How was the run?" He asked once he met them halfway.

"It was great. I hadn't had that much fun while running in forever." She replied excitedly. Unbeknownst to her thought, she had grasped Forrest's hand as she said this, probably as un unconscious "thank you" to him for such a good time.

"I'm going to grab some water and see what Karma and Gabriel are up to. Did you want any Forrest?" She asked him sweetly.

"No I'm fine, thanks. Go and get some water." He had to speak to Joseph anyway. And the fact that Joseph didn't follow Eris inside told Forrest that he had a few things to say as well. He didn't waste any time in getting right to it once she disappeared inside.

"So... you're Carine's mate?" Joseph asked him. Forrest didn't hesitate in saying "yes". Despite his confident answer however, Joseph still raised a dark eyebrow in question.

"And...Henry Vegas is also Carine's mate?" He asked suspiciously. Forrest couldn't blame him for being confused though. Up until now, Joseph had only known for Henry to have been her mate. He wasn't aware of all the crap that had gone down ever since he met Eris.

"That's a hard no." Forrest responded. Joseph tilted his head to the side and crossed his arms.

"Now I'm confused. Would you mind walking me through just what the hell is going on?" Once again Forrest was put on the spot. Just how many people were supposed to know about this before the topic was no longer a delicate matter-i.e. When Henry was properly dealt with? Forrest knew that Joseph was demanding an answer. While this told Forrest that Eris had so many people who loved and cared for her, he wasn't very keen on having this particular male all up in their business. Because of that he was very much inclined to tell Joseph to shove it, despite the fact that earlier he had let them have some time together. Yet, he also knew that Eris valued her relationship with Joseph very much. That much was obvious considering she felt she needed to introduce him.