Page 51 of Leave Me
“So long as you’re not around random people or in public,” I pointed out.
Kissing the corner of his lips, I felt his hole tightening back up and removed my fingers. As I licked them clean, Riley stared at the movement and swallowed hard, his horniness winning out over every other emotion.
Standing, Riley held out his hand to help me up. “What are we waiting for?”
“Nothing, mate.”
Waiting until Riley swam to shore and shifted, I was glad to only feel a little pain for his shift. It got easier each time, and I was glad to feel only joy when Riley watched me shift beside him.
Rubbing my body along his, I scented him, and there was a slight difference. Under his sweet apple essence was a hint of my almond blossom. Anyone with heightened senses who met him would know he’d been claimed and belonged to me.
Riley hopped back and yipped at me as if to say I was wasting time we could be using to have sex. Chuffing at him in return, I set off into the forest, knowing he’d be right behind me.
Wolves mated for life, and I would always have Riley by my side.
Chapter thirty-four
Riley
Two days after claiming me, a full day after my heat ended, Fowler and I rode his motorcycle back to the pack house. We parked next to my mom’s car and a row of other bikes, and I blushed at how many people would be greeting us. They’d all be able to smell Fowler on me. At least he’d insisted on washing me from head to toe for aftercare when my last heat wave passed.
The day of rest, when Fowler and I got to talk and be together without the pressing need to get off, was perfect. We caught up on the parts of our lives we’d missed, and I felt even more settled in our mating bond.
Our besties-to-strangers-to-lovers arc was back to being best friends, but also so much more. No one ever got me quite like Fowler King, and I was starting to believe fated mates were the real thing. If they existed, I knew my Alpha was mine.
Cutting off the engine, I could hear multiple voices in the house. Tilting my head, I found I could place them, even from outside, and I could smell them as if I’d always known their scents. Fowler’s Gramps and Channing were there, of course, and my mom. I thought I heard Rel’s laughter, followed by another voice I didn’t recognize.
“Well, that’s a surprise,” Fowler commented, giving me a hand off the bike. Sensing my unease at the stranger’s presence, he went on, “My best friend and partner from the city is here.”
Pouting, I crossed my arms. “I thought I was your best friend and partner?”
“Well, yeah. He’s more like a brother.” Fowler added quickly, rubbing his beard to hide what I suspected was a smile. “You are my best friend in a decidedly un-brotherly way.”
Rolling my eyes, I conceded and took his offered hand as he led me towards the house. Lowering my voice to a whisper as we made our way up the steps, I teased, “So you don’t have a bestie with benefits from San Francisco here to be pissed you mated with me?”
Fowler barked out a laugh as the door opened and revealed a large, bearded man with grey-blue eyes and a frown. Beside him, peeking around his broad shoulders, was a smaller person with brown hair and tan skin.
“Riley, meet Hudson Bradley, mybusiness partner,andhismate, Matty,” he emphasized, and I remembered Fowler telling me all about his part-shifter alpha friend with whom he started a custom motorcycle shop in San Francisco. “Meet my mate, Riley Jones.”
“Oh,” I gasped, excited to be introduced as his mate and to meet another mated couple.
Neither of them could shift, but when Matty presented as an omega and went into heat, Hudson’s alpha knew they were meant to be together. I remembered Fowler telling me Hudson was not into dating or relationships until Matty came along, and how Fowler had helped Matty with his transition. These two were part of Fowler’s pack as much as his blood family.
Extending a hand, I smiled in greeting. “It’s lovely to meet you.”
Hudson looked at my hand, glanced at Fowler, then pulled me into a hug. Fowler growled behind me, but Hudson only chuckled. “It’s great to meet you as well, Riley. Since Fowler went off the grid without so much as a word.”
“Oops,” Fowler conceded, but I could feel through our bond that he only felt a little guilty for focusing on me for days. “Sorry, brother.”
“You’re forgiven because you have a mate!” the softer voice came from beside Hudson as he let me go. Matty gave me a conspiratorial smile. “I won’t hug you so soon after your heat and piss Fowler off more.”
“Thank you,” I laughed.
Matty and Hudson stepped aside to reveal the others I’d heard standing in wait to greet us as well. My mom approached me first, while Fowler accepted back pats and handshakes from the men for our new bond.
“Are you all right, Ri?” she asked, trepidation evident in her eyes and her scent. I was going to have to get used to his new skill.
“Yeah, Mom. I’m better than all right,” I reassured her, pulling her in for a hug. My skin was sensitive, but I would always welcome my mother’s arms. “I’m…happy.”
