I laughed, “I’d like to see that. I could also arrange it and make it happen.” Melanie laughed, “Oh my gosh… that would be hilarious.” Oden chimed in, “Let’s do that then. Keep her happy.” It really was easily done.
I somewhat warned her, “Just remember, your wish is my command. I’m a partial Fairy. I can absolutely make them eat lard.” Melanie cackled. She managed to say, “You… have… no…. idea… how… funny… that is….”
I changed the subject, “When I come back from doing something for my uncle, will you be ready to move? I’d honestly offer to move to your pack, but I’m certain I would not be accepted there. Nor do I like most packs in the Nashville area.”
She snorted, “Because they are mostly trash… there are good ones though… since ya know, Phil’s friend… his pack is good.” I nodded. I offered, “You could challenge and be the Female Lead Warrior of the pack that’s mine if you wanted to.” Melanie’s eyes widened.
She replied, “You might not want me to move... I mean... I don’t know if I can... I mean... Black Mountain is…. and I’m….” I interrupted, “I want you with me.” She put her fingers in the corners of her eyes, wiping tears away before they fell. She whispered, “You might not say that once you know everything.” Oden demanded, “Make her stop crying and tell her that’s not true at all!” I was going to.
I pulled her into my lap and rubbed circles on her sides. Eventually I looked her in the eyes. I vowed, “There is nothing you could say that could make me not want you. We all have a past, and stories to tell. You can tell me yours when you’re ready. I still want you to be ready to leave when I come back. I shouldn’t be gone very long. It will be a few days at most.” She put her forehead on mine.
She whispered, “I hope that’s true. I want to be with you, Xander. Always. We have… a lot to talk about and work through though if you do too.” I asked, “Like what?” She looked away before answering, “I have a lot of baggage.”
I teased, “I’m good at moving things from one place to another. I’ll conjure it all to Black Mountain. I can also carry quite a bit.” She sniffled, “I mean emotional.” I kissed her lightly whispering, “I know what you meant. I stand by what I said.”
“Your baggage is mine too. I’m here for you. I’ll help you carry the burden. I’m your mate and I’m here for you. I’ll be here at every twist and turn. If you need time to explain things, that’s fine. I’m still here. I’ll leave you my burner number. You can contact me on it while I’m gone.”
I stated, “I’m not leaving you. Not ever. Now that I have you, I’ll never take a mission like this again if you can’t be by my side. I know my uncle will agree. He might want to see your skill set, but your reputation speaks for itself.”
I complimented her, “I’m so proud of you. I can tell you have some ghosts and some things that hurt you in your past. I don’t think I can accurately express how much I hate that. I wish I had been there for you all along. I wouldn’t have held you back, ever; however, I would’ve shared the burden. You don’t have to take on the world and the injustices in them alone anymore. I’m here and I’ll help you. Whenever you are ready.”
Melanie didn’t bother to try to stop her tears this time. She clung to me as if I was her lifeline. She pulled back, “I’ve… I’m…not exactly alone, but I am. I have my friends… and it’s my fault they aren’t as close to me as… well… I keep them further away than I should… it’s just they don’t understand…” Neither did I as things stood.
She continued, “They have become my family but… my wolf… not having a wolf was a huge missing piece inside me... and… you. I’ve missed you so much.” I’d missed her more than I could express. I couldn’t imagine thinking I didn’t get a wolf. I’d had Oden with me my entire life.
I held her giving assurances, “I’m not going anywhere. You have me now. I’m sorry it took so long for us to meet. I’ve been fighting my instincts about popping down to Nashville to meet you in person. I was trying to respect your wishes. I was really worried about you last year. If those in Black Path know what’s good for them, they will stay away from you.”
She sighed, “Can… I…? You… well... I mean… about marking me….” I raised an eyebrow. Oden howled in delight. Melanie continued, “I want that…. like more than I can express… but... like… we need to wait… until we can talk… about everything… then you... umm can decide…. what you want to do.”
Oden grumbled, “I do not need any details. She’s ours.” I replied, “I know that. Nothing, literally nothing, even her being a serial killer, could change that.” He snorted, “She’s not.” I huffed, “It was an example. I know she’s not.”
I told her, “I’ll mark you whenever you’re ready. If we are waiting until we have some big talk, that’s fine. I might have to bite a pillow at times though.” I winked at her. She buried her hands in her face. I laughed, “We can take our time with all that because we have it.”
She whispered, “I want to… I’ve just… I mean… I haven’t…. and you’re… like wow… and well… like you know what you’re doing with stuff.” Oden purred, “She’s so cute. She said stuff instead of sex.” I caught that.
I slid my hand on her neck and kissed her lips again. I pulled back, “I’ve never done this before either. I was waiting for you. I did get drunk at my birthday party one year and a girl kissed me…” She growled and I couldn’t help but smile. It was an adorable growl.
I continued, “I pushed her off the second I could without hurting her and walked away. That’s all I’ve done.” Her eyes widened. She gasped, “That’s it? I mean... you... but… like… LOOK at you! Plus… well… You said… but… they….”
I laughed, “Clearly you do not own a mirror. My Lovebug is gorgeous. You’re so incredibly beautiful. I am a VERY lucky man.” Oden growled, “She said they. It’s like she was going to say something else.” We could figure it out later. She knew I couldn’t lie.
She asked, “Will you regret this if you find out later... I’m not who you think I am?” I replied, “There’s nothing about you I will regret. You’re exactly who I think you are.” She whispered, “But what if I’m not?” I realized she didn’t think I knew she was Melanie. Oden snorted. I smiled, “Then I’ll enjoy learning more about you.” I kissed her again.
We began making out and petting each other through our clothes. I groaned when I cupped her breast. I desperately wanted to play with her nipple. I reached to take her shirt off, but she pulled back. Her heart rate was near panic levels and her face showed it.
I asked, “Is everything ok? If this is too fast….” She cut me off, “No. I mean... I just… I don’t want to take my shirt off.” I was startled. I put up my hands saying, “Hey, it’s really ok if this is too fast. We can go to bed.”
I offered, “There are plenty of rooms here for you to sleep in if you don’t want to stay in my room. You are absolutely welcome to join me though. I’ll snuggle the fuck out of you.” I’d also be sleeping on the floor outside whatever room she picked.
Melanie stammered, “I... No. I want to do this… I just want my shirt to stay on.” I nodded, “Ok.” That was confusing but fine. Before I could say anything else, her mouth crashed onto mine. I smelled Phil coming and popped us to my room.
I laughed, “Now I have more questions.” She smiled, “You could ask them... or….” She took my shirt off. Her jaw dropped. She said, “OH MY GOSH! Seriously? I mean… good gosh… look at you! Are you kidding me? What the heck?! How do look better in person than your videos? That’s insane…. Do you ever leave the gym? I mean… just wow… I mean…” I pulled her onto the bed and kissed her neck.
I kissed where her marking spot was, where my mark would be one day. She moaned. I gently nipped at the spot. She jumped, “Holy mother of pearl… what the….” I bit it again harder. She ground her hips into mine, whimpering. I couldn’t stop my smile.
I muttered against her skin, “Maybe when I found out you were my top account viewer across several accounts I had that drilled down into the content you like. Then maybe I created more content just for you.” She moaned, “Xander… oh… oh…” I kissed her body through her shirt.
When I got down to her jeans I slowly peeled them off. She was wearing boy short underwear. I gathered the hem of them in my teeth and slowly, with some shimmying on her part, slid them off her. I’d seen this plenty of times in the Hackura realm, so I had the basics.
