Page 23 of Simon's Runaway Mate

Simon laughed then.

“Yuck it up now, mate, because once my father fully accepts you, he’ll take pleasure in embarrassing you, too,” I warned.

My dad grinned at Simon, and I watched my mate look unsure for the first time. It dawned on me that Simon hadn’t once mentioned a father. Just the human woman who’d raised him. Thinking of him with no father figure broke my heart. I reached out and tugged him flush against me, dropping a kiss on his lips.

“What was that for?” he whispered.

“Because I wanted to,” I murmured. And I had. I always wanted to. Simon was a man who made it very hard to keep my hands off him. I always wanted to touch him. Anywhere and everywhere.

Simon brushed a finger over my bottom lip then turned to Leslie. “Cecilia is asking about your relationship with Cain because she wants to know if the speed of our relationship is normal by wolf standards.” He turned his gaze back to me. “The answer is yes…and no.”

“That’s not an answer,” I argued.

“Wolves mate quickly when they meet the right person,” Leslie informed me. “It’s instinctive. I met your father and knew from the beginning that he was meant to be with me. Had he been a wolf, we never would have made it to dinner.”

“Damn my genetics,” my father murmured.

Leslie laughed this time. “After dinner, we… Well… After, I bit him without even realizing what I was doing. Instinct kicked in. I was horrified when my actions hit me. I hadn’t said a word to him about what I was.”

“It was the same for me,” Simon shared. “Something sparked in me when I heard her voice over the phone, demanding I get my ass in gear and get my alpha where she wanted me to.”

“Hannibal needed back up,” I offered with a shrug.

Simon’s face hardened. “Which you are not. I swear I lost ten years of my life when I walked in that door and saw you tossed to the floor.”

“What?” my dad demanded, coming to his feet. “I’ll kill whoever hurt my baby girl.”

“Too late. Simon already ripped his throat out.”

My man’s chest expanded with whatever emotion was filling him. Anger? Fear? Pride in his ability to avenge me? I wasn’t sure. Still, I found myself kissing him again. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close, leaning his head down toward my neck when the kiss broke and seeming to breathe me in. Maybe, fear then. That he might have lost me before we even had a chance.

“So the first time you met was during a confrontation where Cici was hurt?” Leslie asked.

Simon nodded.

“You’re lucky he didn’t mate you right then.” Leslie shook her head. “Male wolves become very territorial when their mates are in danger. They’ll often initiate sex as a way of reinforcing the bond. In an unbonded couple, that need grows excessively.”

“He bit me while I was in the clinic they had there.”

“How bad was she injured?” my dad asked Simon while his gaze scanned every inch of me he could see. I’d always downplayed my injuries, so I wasn’t offended he didn’t ask me.

“Scrapes, bruises, a possible concussion, and a cut on her stomach from the claws of the wolf who tried to use her to control Hannibal,” Simon answered. “My bite shared antibodies to help speed up her healing.”

“I’m fine, Dad. And I’m sitting right here. Now, back to my questions.” I moved the conversation away from what had happened with me and back to what I needed to know about mating. Simon had already gone over how my body’s natural ability to heal me would be enhanced. Which brought me to my next thought. “Did any of your senses change after mating?”

My dad nodded. “All of them. Not on the level of Leslie or any other shifter. But for a human? Vastly better. I’ve noted an increase in strength, as well. Plus, the added bonus of not aging as quickly. It wasn’t my genetics that have kept me looking as young as I do.”

I hadn’t thought of that, but it was true. My dad could and did easily pass for a man half his age. All the time. It was weird to realize it was due to his relationship with Leslie. Yet, it made perfect sense at the same time. I couldn’t help but to touch my face. It wasn’t hard to understand that my aging would slow, as well. Or did it halt altogether?

“A lot of this we learn as we go,” my dad offered. “I can see the wheels spinning in your head. Some things are intuitive. Some things are given. And some things we have to learn on our own. That’s the way life is.”

“That settles it then,” I said with a nod.

“Settles what?” Simon asked.

“Dad and Leslie are going to have to come with us. Hannibal will want his mom there, and I need my dad. They’ll have to join the James Pack, too.”

Simon nodded without question. “Absolutely.”

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