Page 73 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“You want my suggestion?”

“As if you wouldn’t give it to me even if I said no?”

He chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. “You do know me well. My suggestion is do it quick. Stephanie knows, I know, Eren knows, the council knows. You were seen with Kirsten in town. It’s gonna spread if it hasn’t already. I’m fucking shocked Eren hasn’t leaked the info yet as it is. Know the old saying, ‘Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead?’ It’s the whole damn truth. It’s not gonna be a good look if everyone finds out from someone other than you.”

“Well, shit,” I muttered. He was right. I needed to do something. My wolf was sure, I was sure, so what was I waiting for? Kirsten cared for me, I knew that, but would she be ready for something this big and permanent so soon? She came from the human world where, for the most part, people didn’t make big binding romantic decisions after a week.

Well, there was only one way to know for sure.

“I’m gonna go talk to Kirsten,” I said, standing up. “She’ll either say yes or no. No other option, really.”

“Let me know how it goes,” Waylan called after me as I left.

Kirsten was out in her new herb garden when I ran up the driveway. Hearing my paws on the gravel, she turned and smiled as she recognized my wolf.

“Hey there,” she said, leaning down to pet me.

Nuzzling into her hand, I allowed a few extra pets before shifting to my human form.

“To what do I owe this visit?”

“I have something pretty important to ask you,” I said.

Her smile faltered. “Something bad?”

“I don’t think so, but I guess we’ll see.”

“Oof, sounds heavy,” she said, taking her gardening gloves off. “Let’s have it, then, but please don’t tell me you came here to break the news that Bigfoot is real or something.”

Despite my nerves, a hearty laugh escaped me. “Not to my knowledge. I wanted to ask you how you were feeling about us. This,” I added, gesturing to the space between us.

“It’s great. I’m enjoying it. Getting to know you and everything. Why?” She narrowed her eyes, too smart not to see I had something bigger up my sleeve.

We walked to her porch and sat on the steps before I continued. “So, I know how I feel about you. My wolf is sure as well. I, uh, well, I wanted to see if you wanted to be my mate. Officially.”

Kirsten’s blinked rapidly at me. She was silent for so long that I started to get worried. Panicked wouldn’t have been too strong a word, actually.

Then she finally broke the terrible silence. “Jace, this is all going kinda fast, isn’t it? I mean, yeah, I really like you. Really,” she added, placing a hand on my arm. “But shouldn’t we, I don’t know, wait a bit? Get to know each other even better?”

The analytical part of my mind knew that made sense, but the emotional core, the deep part of me where the truest and most intense emotions resided, bristled at that. Did that mean she wasn’t sure? Could she be second-guessing this relationship? No, I had to remember everything she’d been through. She still had walls up and was only just now learning about herself. I couldn’t force her into something. That wasn’t who I was.

I couldn’t expect her to follow me blindly into the future. Kirsten had to make her own way, and my wolf did not like that one bit. He’d have to get over it and wait a bit longer to claim Kirsten as ours forever.

“I understand,” I said. “I totally respect that. I only asked because I’m so sure about you, but I would never push you to do something you aren’t ready for.”

The relief on her face hit me two-fold. One, it meant she wasn’t upset or angry, and that made me happy. Two, it was a little like getting kicked in the nuts, knowing she wasn’t fully ready to dive into something that, for all intents and purposes, appeared so perfect.

“I do need to let you know,” I added hesitantly. “I’m going to be telling the pack about us. About how I’ve chosen you as my mate. That doesn’t mean the claiming will happen anytime soon, don’t worry. It’s just that they need to know before Eren or someone lets the cat out of the bag first.”

“This is a big part of your customs or something?”

“It is. And it should come from me. No one else. Is that okay?”

She thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. It wasn’t an enthusiastic nod, which worried me.

“Sure. That should be fine, I guess. I’m not going to step all over your traditions.”

Before I could stop myself, I was kissing her, a gentle, chaste kiss that frustrated my wolf. He was desperate to ravage her right here on the front porch. Taking her hands in mine, I pulled away and studied her face. She looked unsure, a tad worried.

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