Page 168 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“You can dance. You don’t have to stop. You can dance for as long as you want to—as long as you need to.”

“But won’t that get in the way of leading the pack?”

“No. I’ll still do my other work, too. My dad works still. My mom doesn’t, but that’s only because she had me almost right away after mating with my dad, and she decided to stay home and raise us instead. But almost all alphas and lunas have some other job outside of just running the pack. Plus, I know ballet makes you happy, and seeing you happy makes me happy. I wouldn’t ever take that away from you,” he said, all the while rubbing his hands in gentle, soothing motions everywhere on my body.

I nodded again, squeezing my eyes shut to hide the glistening I knew would be there. I wasn’t a crier, but with him, it seemed the tears came on their own. My hands grabbed his face, and I pulled him to me to kiss him, showing him what his words and his promise meant to me the only way I could at the moment.

He smiled against my mouth as we kissed, his hold on me tightening as his hands pressed my upper body into his. I pulled away and lay my head against his chest again, and he went back to eating his second—or maybe his third—sandwich.

Between the warmth of his chest, the warmth from my full belly, and the sweet, spicy, and smoky scent of his cologne, I found myself growing sleepy in no time. My eyes fought to stay open, and a yawn forced its way from my body as I curled further into his solid presence.

In my exhausted state, I heard Wesley chuckle and felt him kiss my forehead and say, “Come on, Sugar Plum. Let’s get you to bed.”

CHAPTER 56

WESLEY

I fell asleep on Saturday night with Haven in my arms and woke up Sunday to an empty bed.

As soon as I realized Haven was no longer in our bed, I jumped up and out of it, my eyes scanning the vacant room. My lycan growled, my heart leaped into my throat, and I gripped my hair in my hands as I tried to catch my breath.

Had it all been a dream? Her coming back and accepting me, making love to me in front of the mirrors, letting me provide a meal for her for the first time as my mate—had I imagined it all?

I yanked the bathroom door open, looking inside to see if she was in the shower or getting ready, but the lights were off, and the room was empty. I darted to the walk-in closet, but again, the lights were off, and the room was empty.

“Fuck!” I muttered under my breath, sinking down onto the small ottoman in the middle of my closet and putting my head in my hands.

The whimpering in my mind from my lycan did nothing to temper the flare of distress in my body. It had to have been real. I couldn’t have dreamt up something so vivid, so erotic.

I took long, deep breaths through my nose to calm myself so I could think clearly and rationally. Haven’s scent still lingered in the space, so it helped to calm me, even though her absence was the reason for my distress.

Then I realized the scent was strong—stronger than it would have been if she hadn’t been there with me during the night.

My eyes popped open, and right away, I saw where she’d put her things next to mine. It was just a few items of clothing and a pair of shoes that must have been in the bag Reid grabbed. But still, they hung with my things, which meant I hadn’t imagined anything. She really had been there.

My lycan and I relaxed, knowing we hadn’t imagined it, but another thought entered my brain. What if she’d changed her mind and left? What if she’d decided it was all too much for her and she didn’t want to be a part of it, didn’t want to be my mate and my luna?

But my eyes landed on her backpack. The one Reid had brought back from her place. I snatched it up, and there was stuff in it, but it was much lighter than it had been when Reid had handed it to me.

I sighed in relief and realized I could smell bacon wafting down the hall from the kitchen.

I stood up and took off down the hall and into the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to look at my mate. She stood in front of the stove in just my T-shirt as she cooked breakfast and drank coffee, and she looked content, beautiful, and perfect.

Mine.

My lycan and I both relaxed more at the sight of her. Then his tail wagged when he realized she was making food for us, just as we had made food for her the night before. I was sure she didn’t understand the significance of the gesture, but it didn’t matter to us. All that mattered was she was there, and she was taking care of us.

I dropped her backpack and closed the distance between us. My body pressed against her back. I wrapped my arms around her waist and dipped my head into the crook of her neck to breathe in her scent, to finish convincing myself and my lycan that she was really there, really mine.

Her body in my arms was too good to be true. The way she fit with me, the way she relaxed into me anytime I touched her—it should have been a sign to me sooner that she was always mine.

“You scared me, Sugar Plum,” I whispered in a hoarse voice, my lips tickling her skin and my breath making her hairs stand on end. “I thought I had dreamt it all or that maybe you decided to leave me,” I confessed, holding her tighter as I voiced my fears aloud.

“It wasn’t a dream. And I wouldn’t do that,” she said, turning her face towards mine, her hand rubbing my arm. “I’m real, and I’m here for good, Pal.”

I gave her a soft kiss, and in my mind, my lycan did that weird thing where he couldn’t decide whether to preen, pant, purr, roll around, or wag his tail. He was so ridiculous around her.

“I’m here for good too, Haven. I promise,” I murmured into her mouth as I squeezed her.

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