Page 45 of Thor's Unexpected Mate

“That sounds like a lot to carry on your shoulders alone.”

I nodded. “They’re depending on me. With my father gone so early, there’s no one else to lead. I’m the only one that has had any training and I’m the eldest. It’s my duty.” I turned my gaze away, unable to look at him as I said, “That’s why I have to sacrifice my wants. The pack is more important than my yearnings.”

“Who says you can’t have both?” Flynn grabbed my cheek, forcing me to look at him. “They expect you to have a mate and produce an heir anyway, don’t they? So why can’t you be happy too?”

“You and I could not produce an heir,” I replied. “No matter how many times I bred you, men cannot get pregnant.”

“Honestly, I’m happy for that,” Flynn grinned. “But you could always take a surrogate or something, right?”

“It’s possible. Wolves aren’t prejudiced against same-sex couples. But they are unwilling to accept a human into the pack. In fact, it’s probably the most forbidden rule we have besides killing another wolf. Even the Skoll pack agrees with us on that.”

“But you don’t agree,” Flynn said, lifting an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“I… I did. Until I met you.”

“You trust I won’t go blab your secret to everyone in the world to make a quick buck?”

I shook my head. “You wouldn’t do that to me. We may not be bonded yet, but I can tell you’re being truthful.”

“So why can’t the others learn to accept that too?”

What he was saying made sense. It really did. But he was asking a lot more than he thought. Just because I trusted him didn’t mean anyone else would give him the time of day.

“You’re asking me to convince a pack of wolves that thousands of years of tradition is wrong,” I said. “Asking them to do that is like asking them to change our culture on a dime. It… It’s nearly impossible.”

“But you already live with humans all the time…”

“We run a business so we can fit into the modern world,” I corrected. “And humans have the money we need. The Skoll pack won’t even interact with humans. They’ve holed themselves up on the eastern mountain, cut off from everyone where they live off the land.” I let out another sigh. “Most packs are more inclined to be like them than like us.”

Flynn searched for a moment, looking between my eyes as the gears in his head turned. But, after a long moment, he just sighed and gave me a quick kiss.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m not trying to force your hand… it’s just… well, I don’t want to leave you behind. Every moment we spend talking makes me feel closer to you. Last night I thought you were just some fling that dumped me. But now… well now I’m growing pretty fond of you, and I don’t want to go.”

I wrapped my arm around him, pulling him tight against my chest so that his face rested against my neck. “I really like you too. Probably more than I should after so little time together. But the mate bond does that. Wolves aren’t supposed to resist it and it seems neither is anybody else. It’s trying to keep us together, forever.”

“Doesn’t that sound amazing?” Flynn dreamed. “A lifetime of mornings like this, together in each other’s arms?” He squeezed me tight, kissing my neck. “What a wonderful life that would be.”

“Yeah,” I grinned, a tinge of sadness in my voice. “It really would be.”

I leaned down to kiss him once more when I heard the sudden whir of the electric lock on the door to the suite. Neither Flynn nor I had ordered any room service, and it was far too early for the cleaning crew to be going through the rooms. I sat up at once, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as I stared through the open bedroom door to the room door on the other end of the suite.

As soon as the lock stopped moving, the door handle turned, and the door was thrown wide, crashing into the wall behind it. And there, standing in the threshold was both Loki and Baldr.

Loki’s jaw dropped as he saw me lying naked next to Flynn. Baldr, on the other hand, didn’t feign surprise. Instead, his eyebrows were knit together in an expression that said I’m sorry. The moment they laid eyes on me, I knew all hell was going to break loose. So instead of trying to deny it, I got up from the bed and walked to the bedroom door.

“You will sit down, and you will wait,” I commanded, my eyes glowing gold as the wolf took over for a moment.

“What the fuck–”

“LOKI!” I roared. “Sit the fuck down!”

With a small nudge from Baldr, Loki was pushed into the room. The front door closed behind them and while Baldr took a seat, Loki began to pace, his eyes full of rage and panic.

“Give me just one minute,” I said and closed the bedroom door.

My macho Alpha facade faded the moment I turned around and looked at Flynn.

“Oh my god…” he muttered. “What… What do we do now?”

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