Page 18 of The Guardian's True-Mate

“Alpha,” I broke down and said.

“Huh?” he muttered without opening his eyes.

“I need to pee,” I whispered.

He nodded but didn’t budge up.

“Alpha,” I whispered again.

“Mine. Shhhhh….” he murmured.

“Cardian,” I tried.

“Mine,” he hugged me closer and kissed the top of my head. “Light out. Sleep.”

“Cardian,” I laughed, despite how much it shook up my bladder.

“Mine.”

“Yes, I’m yours, but I have to pee. Cardian. Alpha.”

“Huh?” he blinked his eyes opened and smiled as his gaze focused on me.

“I need to get up for a second,” I told him.

“Oh,” he looked sad for a second and glanced over at the window. “It’s time to get up already?”

“Morning comes early when you stay up all night watching me sleep,” I said and stole a quick good morning kiss before wiggling out from under his arm before he fell back to sleep.

Chapter Twelve

Cardian

I frowned at the sunlight coming through the blinds. How the hell did morning get here so soon? I yawned and considered sitting up. The switch from night to day living wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. My eyes drifted shut as the water turned on at the sink and I imagined Dakota washing his hands and brushing his teeth. Later, I’d run my hands all over his body again. Later today, I’d claim him as mine now and forever. The longer my mate took in the bathroom, the heavier my eyelids grew.

When I opened them again the scent of ground beef frying wafted into the bedroom. Who the hell had burgers from breakfast? I knew wolves loved their protein, but this was overkill. I rolled over patting around for Dakota, but he wasn’t in the bed. The sun had changed position outside the blinds. Noon? Noon-ish? Not morning or evening at least. I yawned and pushed myself upright.

I glanced around for my bag. I wasn’t about to walk out naked and give Scott a shock and Terrick something to joke about. My duffle bag lay empty across the dresser. Had someone come in and taken my clothes? I yawned again and sniffed the air. It didn’t smell like coffee anymore as it had when I passed out for the last time.

Midafternoon sun or not, I didn’t actually want to get out of bed. I took a breath, ready to call Dakota back to bed, but stopped myself. I had to make the switch if I was going to live in Heartville. Were we going to live in Heartville? Would Dakota come back with me once the pups were old enough? Did I want to take him back there? Did he want to take me back to Mage Street with him? I shook my head and forced myself to sit up. My mate and I had plenty to talk about, but first I had to find out where my pants were.

None of the clothes we discarded the night before lingered on the floor. Of course, Dakota had taken it upon himself to clean up. Then it only made sense that he’d put our clothes away too. The closet door was ajar. So, I started there. He’d color coded my shirts alongside his. A quick glance said he owned more colors than I did and I favored blacks, dark reds, and greys. Shrugging, I grabbed a pair of slacks and one of the black t-shirts. I tossed them on the bed and turned my attention to the dresser.

The first drawer was full of underwear. Not socks and underwear, just underwear. Dakota had a collection ranging from boxer briefs to thongs and G-strings. I ran my fingers over the material, imagining how he might look in each pair. My dick was more awake than my brain and rose to the thoughts that crossed my mind. I brought a black G-string up to sniff. The fabric was soft and smelled like lavender laundry detergent. Whatever Dakota used to do laundry didn’t leave a trace of his scent behind.

The door opened and I dropped the underwear as I turned to see Dakota. Well, this was going to be awkward.

“Morning,” he blinked at me, holding a tray with two plates of burgers and fries.

A bloodshake and a can of some soda I didn’t recognize sat between the plates.

“I don’t think those will fit you, Alpha,” he smirked. “You can try them on, though.”

“Sorry, I was looking for my clothes,” I said and somehow managed not to stammer over the words flooding out of my mouth.

“It’s okay. Yours are in there. The left corner. You didn’t bring much with you, did you?” Dakota asked, setting the food down on the nightstand.

“I’m not a collector like you,” I grinned, ignoring his underwear and grabbing a pair of my own black boxer shorts.

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