Page 50 of The Wolf's Mate

“Let me tell her. Just go back in, and I’ll be there in a minute,” Tallie finally says to Thorne.

“Are you taking her to him?”

“If she wants to, but that’s her choice. We will not make it for her.”

My anxiety only continues to mount. I hate that they’re talking about me like I’m not there. Where the fuck is Rip?

Thorne hesitates, but only for a moment. “Very well. Take Layla with you, so you aren’t walking back alone.” He then leans down and presses a kiss to her lips, soft but loving. I can’t help but feel like I shouldn’t be witnessing such an intimate moment.

When they finally break apart, Tallie loops her arm through mine. “I’m not sure how much you know about wolf shifter biology, so this might not make sense to you. Rip is away because he didn’t want you to feel obligated to…uhm, join in.”

“Join in? On what?” She isn’t making any sense, and frankly, I’m tired of beating around the bush. “Tallie, I need you just to tell me. I can’t make a decision until I know what is going on.”

“I know,” she sighs. “And I encouraged him to tell you himself, but Rip can be an idiot, as most men are.”

I nod in agreement because she’s not wrong there.

“Rip is going through his rut right now.” She looks over my face, waiting for a reaction.

My face must turn four shades of red because Tallie giggles. “I take it you know what that is?”

“I mean, I’ve read about it in books…but I don’t know if it’s the same thing.” She doesn’t speak, expecting me to go on. “It’s where…it involves sex?” I squeak out, feeling like a damn virgin who just saw her first penis.

Pathetic.

“That is the simplistic nature of it, yes.” She nods. “A rut is the male equivalent of a female’s heat. The carnal desire and need to mate is at an all-time high. Sex and claiming go hand in hand. Most males will fill that need by mating with their partner, but some use Rut Escorts.”

“What’s a Rut Escort?” I could guess, but I want to hear it confirmed.

“Wolves who will help the males get through their rut. We also have Heat Escorts. But Rip isn’t with a Rut Escort,” she says quickly before my mind can think of my mate fucking someone else. Jealousy flares to life, so potent, I almost choke on it.

No one touches Rip.

No one.

He’s mine.

“He’s alone,” Tallie continues. “I told him he needed to tell you, but he didn’t want you to feel obligated to…”

“Let him fuck me?” I ask.

“Well, to put it bluntly, yeah.” Tallie shrugs. “But it’s more than just sex if it’s your mate. The connection you share with that person is intense. Your mind is consumed with the other, and only the feel of flesh against flesh will satisfy you.”

Part of me understands why Rip wouldn’t want to tell me. I appreciate his decision to not make me feel obligated, but by not telling me, he took away my choice.

Something about taking this step with Rip seems final. Like there’s no turning back after this. Do I want that? Does he? I could remain by his side as his Luna, but never his lover. Never his true mate.

But…

I could also have him. All of him. In ways no one else has.

My mind has been made up for some time now, but I’ve been too nervous to admit it to myself. I want Rip. Truly want him. And I think he wants me too.

Honestly, there’s only one way to figure that out.

“Take me to him, Tallie.”

A slow, knowing smile spreads across her red lips. “As you wish, Luna.”

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