Hi guys!
Here is the first of two, for today's special double release! This one is also a bit longer than usual.
Let me know what you guys think :)
- Molly x
Feeling like a new wolf after my glorious orgasm and hot shower, I walked back to my room with mixed feelings.
I wanted Jack to understand that my forgiveness definitely isn't cheap – if it is attainable at all.
The thing is... I really wasn't mad about his past. Sex is good for the soul and his had been taking a battering. In his position, I would likely have done the same thing.
What hurt more, was the lies.
Yet another man in my life hiding big truths from me. Hiding a full fucking relationship that he'd had with another woman. One he had ended only a week before he kissed me for the first time after Quals.
My thoughts on Rebecca were mixed. But mostly I felt sympathy for her. Losing a mate and then being lied to by your next serious love interest has got to take a toll.
I wandered along the river, in no hurry to get back to the man that had better still be tied to my bed.
I watched the water move lazily over the river rocks, trying to sort through my muddled thoughts.
If I was honest with myself, I knew I wanted Jack. Not because he was my mate – or that he gave me mind blowing orgasms – but because he was my friend.
I couldn't help but think of our camaraderie over the years. Our playful conversations and laughs. He had been such a pillar of strength and home to me.
I remembered all the times he had looked out for me, took care of me and put me first.
It was easy to ignore all those years together in the light of our newfound distrust. I didn't like it. It wasn't us.
I just didn't know what to do about the gaping hole in my heart, where my complete faith in him used to live.
I finally arrived back at my room, no closer to a resolution than I had been before.
Sighing I let myself in, eyes falling on the man still waiting in my bed.
"Finally..." Jack grimaced. "I know I deserved that, but can I get up now? I really need to pee."
His damp, rumpled clothes were wrinkled and his hair was a mess, face pinched with his need to use the bathroom.
And yet he was still the most handsome man I'd even seen.
I nodded, moving to sit at the small dresser as I watched him easily snap his ties.
He shot to the door, hand on the handle before pausing to look back at me. "Will you allow me to come back in?"
I chewed my lip but ultimately nodded again, we still had things to talk about.
As the door was closing, a large hand landed on the faded wood. A growl announcing it's owner.
"Say the word, Charlie, and I'll gut him for you." My father pushed the door open, eyes landing on me with a hard anger he seemed to have held onto all night.
"I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself." I sniffed. "Besides, I wouldn't do it just yet, unless you want pee on your shoes."
My father released the hold he had on Jack's arm, with a disgusted look. The younger man, rubbed the blood back into his forearm and sighed, clearly very affected by Julian's sudden change to him.
My father waved him away like a stray dog, turning his worried eyes on me. He entered the room, closing the door behind him on Jack's sad expression. "How are you doing?"
Smoothing my palms across my jeans, I blinked back tears before looking up to the large man, stooped under the low ceiling.
He looked like a grownup in a playhouse and I chuckled. "I'm working through it. Or I'm trying to, anyway."
Julian sat heavily on my bed, frowning and then jerking back upright. "Why are your sheets wet?" He looked horrified and I couldn't help laughing.
"Wet clothes from the storm." I didn't elaborate and I could see that Julian was trying his best not to unpick the possibilities any more than that.
He grunted. "I'll have a runner bring some fresh sheets." There was a moment of hesitation before he walked towards me. Standing uncomfortably for a moment before he finally asked. "Can I hug you?"
The pink blush that rose to his cheeks was mirrored instantly by my own. I stammered out an acceptance and he wrapped his large arms around me, pulling me into his big chest.
His scent was of wood-smoke and whiskey. Somehow comforting, even in its unfamiliarity. I let myself lean into him, allowing a little of my tension to seep away into the warmth and safety of his arms.
I could feel the relief wash through him as he relaxed into the hug, dropping his chin to rest on top of my head. His soft words tickled my hair as he spoke. "Thank you."
We stayed like that for another moment before I finally withdrew, a shy smile on my lips. "No... thank you. I needed that." I noted him smother a look of happiness, before his steely Alpha expression settled back in.
"Hazel is worried about you. She didn't want to bother you, but I couldn't stay away. Would you visit her later? She would like to see you." My father was moving slowly to the door as he spoke, clearly satisfied that I wasn't a broken doll, in the need of some serious help.
I smiled and nodded. "Of course."
After he left, I barely had five minutes to myself before the runner arrived with sheets. It was the girl from the first day, Chloe.
I tried to take them from her to put on myself, but she wouldn't have it.
She grinned at me as I picked up a pillowcase to help anyway. "I knew I liked you." She chuckled. "You could have mentioned you were the daughter of the Alpha I was drooling over that day, though."
I couldn't help the snort that escaped me. "Honestly, I was hoping I was wrong about that." I shuddered but smiled at her. "You really don't have to help me change my sheets."
Chloe fluffed the pillow she held and winked at me. "Are you kidding? I'd lay down as your area rug for that man."
I could tell by the twinkle in her eye that she enjoyed watching me squirm in disgust. "Gross."
She laughed, the musical sound doing a great deal to lift my spirits. "So, you should know... the rumour mill is going crazy around here." She tucked a corner of the new white sheet into place. The door creaked open as she finished speaking. "I'd say lay low for a bit while it cools off. Want me to bring you dinner?"
"No need." The smooth voice of my mate drew our eyes to his large form filling the doorway. He had clearly showered, looking much more like his usual sexy self. His dark blue jeans and soft cream jumper made him look deliciously cosy.
In his hand he held a large wicker basket, the scent of food pouring from it to fill the small room. He lifted it to me in askance. "That is... If this is ok with you?"
Chloe openly gawked at him before turning to me, nudging me with her elbow and whispering. "Are all the guys in your life smoking hot or..?"
Her words were definitely loud enough to be heard by any wolf in a room this small, but unusually, Jack didn't react.
He waited patiently for my agreement and then seemed to let out a relieved breath before setting the food onto the dresser. He smiled at Chloe, moving to take the last of the pillowcases lightly from her grasp. "Thank you for your help, but I'll take it from here."
She nodded. Smiling brightly at me again and balling up the old bedding to take with her. "If you need anything at all, just let me know." Before skipping off to her next task.
After she left, I watched Jack finish fixing the sheets. The domestic task performed deftly with an unmistakably practiced ease.
The chore was completed swiftly, with the care and precision to smooth wrinkles, rather than the mess I'd half expected.
He was definitely a man of many talents.
Be steady my beating heart...