I'd spent the entire afternoon trying to decide what exactly to tell my mother, but nothing really came to me. Neal had said he was falling for me, but what did that really mean for us in the long run. If I was going to tell her that the son of the man who killed my father was my mate, then I wanted to be certain that he and I were going to make an effort in this.
Even then I wasn't sure how she would take the news. No, I couldn't tell her. Instead, I had stayed in my room reading the book to learn different tips and tricks to help me work out all the abilities I had, and the best way to grow them. It was a direct how to on attack and defense. The Everhart family had held positions similar to Pack Protector for generations. If not to this pack, then another, but we had been with this pack at least five generations including me.
Darkness closed in on the day, and I heard the first wolf howl of the night from the perimeter guards. I closed the book and grabbed a new outfit from my closet. I decided to channel my inner Abbi and pulled out a blue top that was just barely see through with a black bra underneath and a black pair of skinny jeans. I fluffed out my hair and applied very light makeup. If I was going to go to the Alpha's house to meet his son, I was going to look my best, even if the Alpha wasn't there.
Who was I kidding, I wasn't dressing up because of that, I was dressing up for Neal.
I rubbed gloss between my lips and ran out quickly before my mom was able to give me the third degree on what I was doing. She would likely assume I was going to Abbi's.
I made my way quickly through the pack village, making sure to avoid being seen and knocked on the back door of the Alpha's house. My heart hammered in my chest. What if Neal had been lying and only told me his parents would be gone? My mother and I had avoided this place as much as possible, and any events that weren't mandatory so as to keep ourselves off the Alpha's radar after what happened with my father.
Neal was the one to open the door though, and the brush of his off golden hair in the light made my heart flutter in my chest. I cursed the feeling and crossed through the threshold as Neal stepped aside.
"I'm glad you were able to make it," he said.
I just smiled and dipped my head into a quick nod. I wasn't really sure what to say, that I was glad I made it too, that he was welcome I decided to show? Nothing really felt right.
Neal grabbed my hand after he closed the door and spun me around to face him, pulling me close and kissing me hard on the lips. It was like he was willing to pick right up where we were at earlier and carry on. With my heart thrumming in my ears and the heat building in my body, it seemed that it was willing to pick right up as well.
He pressed my back up against the wall, and the hard press of him against me caused my mouth to open in a gasp. he took advantage and our tongues met.
My body was on fire.
Neal lifted me off the ground and my legs wrapped around him. That magical pull kept us connected, ensured that neither of us wanted to break the pull to each other. He began to move through the house as my fingers moved through his hair and we kissed until he was laying me onto a bed.
I broke the kiss with a shaky breath. "I thought we were going to talk," I said.
"What is there to talk about?" Neal asked, the hunger clear in his voice.
"About us."
Neal pulled back, but I could still feel the skin of his hands touching the small of my back under me. It made concentrating incredibly difficult.
"What about us?" Neal asked.
"Are we really going to do this? You and me? For real?" My breath was a shaky whisper. My body wanted it, and my mind hoped that he did too.
"Cynthia," he laced his fingers between mine, the feeling between us growing as our palms touched. "How can you ask something like that? Of course I want to do this, and I thought you coming here meant that you did as well. I told you, I'm falling for you."
Those words reassured me, but part of me still wasn't sure. That part was definitely not the part that was touching him. His body was pressed against mine like a weighted blanket.
He pushed back and took in the sheer fabric of my top before ripping open the buttons. I was glad they stayed attached to the fabric as the holes gave way to expose my chest and stomach.
Neal planted soft kisses on my jaw all the way down to my belly button and back up, his teeth biting on the fabric of my bra, causing the skin there to tighten.
One swift movement took his shirt off and it softly landed on the floor. Heat against heat as he made his way back up to lock his lips with mine again. I couldn't think through the haze of contact between us.
He wiggled his hips between my legs and I wrapped mine around him. His lower body pressed against mine and I could feel the throbbing of my desire for him in my core. Neal worked the clasp of the bra and slid it up, stopping at my wrists and wrapping the straps around until my arms were confined above my head with one of his holding the fabric. He slid another hand down and unbuttoned my pants and sliding a hand between the silky fabric of my panties and my skin, cupping me firmly.
he slid one finger between the lips and circled my nub, each brush sent and electric shock through my body, causing a spasm through my body, pressing my hips up into him.
A moan escaped my lips. All that consumed my brain was how much I needed him right then. I didn't care about anything else. I tried to pull my hands down, but he pulled the bra up further, tightening the grip on my wrists. His mouth was hungry on mine.
Everywhere his skin touched mine I felt that intoxicating pull. Just like when my magic coursed through me encouraging me to use it, this was encouraging me to give in to the desire. I felt his teeth pull at my bottom lip and I moaned into his mouth.
Neal brought his hand up, massaging my chest as his other held my hands tight above my head and his hips pressed hard against me, his desire very clear. He moved his hand from my chest, replacing it with his mouth and he let my hands go. Neal's hands moved to my waist and he gripped my jeans and panties and quickly pulled them down to my knees. He moved down my body, leaving small bites on my stomach and then my inner thigh and he gripped the pants to pull again.
A door opened and slammed closed somewhere in the house.
We both froze.
"Neal, we have news!" It was his father.
"Shit," Neal hissed.
"I thought they were gone," I said. My heart was pounding.
"They were. They were supposed to be gone until morning." He stood up and buttoned his pants.
I quickly tugged mine up and got off the bed. I grabbed my bra and blouse, holding them to my chest.
"Just wait here. I'll go see what they want and I'll be back."
Just stay here? Was he serious?
I didn't get a chance to ask him because he disappeared through the door and down the hall. I could hear hear their voices carry down the way.
"You're mother and I think we've reached a decision. We would like you to meet Alpha Silas Leon and his daughter Ophelia from the Red Pine pack," his father said.
I quickly dressed while they talked, listening in on what I could.
"Pleasure to meet you both," Neal said.
I wasn't able to hear the response from the visitors.
"We've been discussing this for some time now, but we believe that both packs would greatly benefit from your union," Neal's father said.
Union?
"Union?" Neal's question echoed my own.
"Indeed. Under the next new moon."
The next new moon? The last new moon had been the week before, which meant that Neal's parents intended for him to go through a binding marriage ceremony in three weeks.
My heart stopped.
"That's incredibly soon," Neal said.
It hadn't been a rejection to the idea, and my stomach sank. How could he possibly think about agreeing to a binding ceremony with someone else when just moments before he'd had eyes only for me?
I couldn't stay and listen to any more. I wasn't sure my heart could take hearing him agree to bind himself to another. Not when I'd nearly given myself to him. I tiptoed through the house, careful to avoid the front where they were gathered, and slipped out the back that I had come through earlier.
I closed the door quietly behind me and ran through the dark until I was in the thick of trees. My heart pounded loud in my ears, my pulse racing from the run. Each beat felt like it was coming closer and closer to shattering.
This was why I hadn't wanted to believe in the bond. Something like this was what I was afraid of.
I couldn't get my breathing under control. Each ragged breath dragged through, my body heaving with the effort.
Creaks from the trees moaned around me, but I could barely hear it over the pounding in my ears and the sound of my breathing. I ran hands through my hair, trying to free my face so I could gulp down the cool air.
The creaking grew louder until loud snaps filled the otherwise still night. Large branches snapped off and fell around me. A weight felt like it had lifted as the hunks of wood hit the ground.
Shit. My magic. I ran again knowing that something like that likely would have set off the wards like before. The last thing I needed was for Neal or someone he knew coming out here to see me fall apart.
I ran again and didn't stop until I was home. All the lights were off and I sent up a silent prayer to the goddess that I wouldn't have to face my mother tonight, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do that.
I needed to be alone.
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Here we are, back with another chapter! Let me know what you think!