Page 73 of Mating at Midnight: Book 1

“Girl, none of us have been snooping in on you and Braxton’s love fest. I for one don’t want to see or hear it, but since he’s still waiting on your return, you need to gather the items you came for.”

“Yes, grandmother,” I giggled, stooping down to pick up the lemon I dropped.

As her voice started to fade, grandmother stated, “Never forget that we are always here with you. Now it’s up to you, Skia, and your mate to protect this Pack. Willa and I will no longer be able to communicate with you, but Skia will be our middle woman. I love you, Nyah and keep making us proud of you. And to be clear, you can bring your mate with you the next time you come.”

“I love you too, grandmother and I will,” I said through happy tears.

Just like with momma, I felt her aura disappear. It was weird because I should have been sad from the disconnect, but instead, I was happy, rejuvenated, and more assured of myself than before, knowing that two of the most important people in my life were looking out for me like guardian angels.

I got myself together and finished gathering the items I came for before returning to Braxton. I smiled as I came through the forest line, and he had prepared the table for dinner. He had the fish neatly placed on some of my grandmother’s antique plates from the shed. He even had glasses, and a pitcher filled with fresh water from the well.

“I hope you don’t mind that I used your grandmother’s stuff,” he said.

“Not at all,” I responded, going over to the bucket of water by the well, then tossing the lemons and wild onions in it. As I began to clean them off, I told him, “As a matter of fact, my grandmother said you are welcome to visit her garden with me.”

Taken aback by my words, Braxton tilted his head to the side. Shit, I said too much.

“You spoke to your grandmother?”

Well Hell. I’d already lied to him about talking with Skia. I didn’t want to lie to him again. Staring into my mate’s puzzled face, I replied, “I did.”

He folded his muscular arms over his chest. “But how can that be?”

“From my wolf and I merging.”

“That’s wonderful, Nyah,” he voiced. “I can only imagine who will try to speak to me when my destined wolf and I merge. I just hope it’s not my mother or Megan because I have not a damn thing to say to either one of them, but I do wish that it’s my older brothers.”

Although he put on a happy display, I sensed sadness in his voice. Taking his hand in mine, I say, “Trust me baby, they will come to you. You might not have personally or physically known them, but I bet they’ve been watching you and are proud of their little brother.”

“I hope you’re right,” Braxton said. “Sometimes it was Hell being the oldest. My younger siblings were brats growing up, butI still loved them. If the twins were here, they could have given me advice dealing with their asses.”

Nodding, I returned, “And I’m sure they would have, but the Gods saw a different path for you and them. When the time is right, they will come to you and after that I’m sure they will answer any questions that you may have.”

“And boy do I have a lot,” he chuckled. “But until then, let me help you wash these off, so we can have dinner. I sampled a piece of the fish, and it was amazing.”

“I told you,” I laughed.

Together, we cleaned the lemons and onions before going over to the table. I placed them on an empty plate as Braxton and I sat down across from one another. Picking up the knife on the table, I cut the lemons into wedges, then sliced the onions. Braxton smiled as I put slices of onions on our plates before grabbing a lemon wedge and squeezing the juice on our fish.

“So, how do you suggest I eat this?” he asked.

Grinning, I replied, “First, take a bite of the fish, then the onion.”

I watched as he followed my instructions. The way he closed his eyes and hummed; I knew he loved the flavors.

“Good, huh?”

He nodded his head up and down, opening his eyes. “Better than good. This is the only way I want to eat my fish from now on.”

“And you shall,” I promised.

It was nice sitting there with my mate, enjoying our meal. We talked about everything from the craziness of our day to changing the subject to discussing the hotel. At the end of the day with the dark cloud of war looming over us, there was still a business to run. We agreed after having breakfast with the family the next morning, we needed to go to the hotel and make sure things were still running smoothly.

When we had our fill, we took our dirty dishes to the creek and washed them. As we made our way back, the sun was starting to fade. We took the plates back to the shed and cleared the table. By the time we were done, the moon had replaced the sun. Braxton made us a bed by layering several sleeping bags on top of each other next to the fire. Using some of the clothes from the bins, he formed a pillow for us. He then took my hand and guided me to the sleeping bags.

“I know it’s not a five-star rating, but I think we will be comfortable,” he said.

“As long as I’m with you, we could be sleeping on the bare ground and it would still be a five-star rating,” I told him.

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