“Yeah, I do.” He squeezed my waist lightly. “Now, I need to feed you before either of our wolves decide I’m a shitty mate.”
I couldn’t suppress a small smile. “Alright, fine.”
He pulled out and swept me off my feet in one quick motion, and a squeal escaped me as he settled me in his arms.
His expression was neutral again, but his eyes were soft, somehow.
I hoped he was right about it being real, because the more time I spent with him, the more I wanted to spend.
eleven
ABBY
Every dayof mydog bondingleave, I was a little more convinced that Nico was real. Our mate bond, too.
We cooked together.
Talked.
Sat together while I read and he watched a crime TV show.
Discussed my book, and his show.
Screwed.
Let our wolves run and play.
Hung out with his pack.
Nico was just… calm. Level-headed. Reasonable. Smart. Laid-back.
The more we hung out, the more glad I was that sleep deprivation drove me to Moon Ridge.
My friends kept texting me—especially Stella, for some reason—and I assured them I was fine, but I didn’t meet up with them.Our friendships could handle a week apart, and I still couldn’t be more than a room away from Nico.
When Sunday night came around, we drove back to my apartment. He agreed to take his truck when I asked him to drive separately, for safety’s sake, but my wolf flipped her lid when we tried to drive separately.
So, we took my car.
It was nice to have him drive me down that dirt road, to be honest.
After a night in my apartment, we went in to work for my first class together, equally exhausted.
Neither of us were morning people.
He sat in the corner of the room through my lecture. Some of the younger women stared at him, but he was always either looking at me or at his phone. I was sure he was bored, but he hadn’t complained about coming to work with me. His packmates hadn’t complained about him ditching them, either, which was nice.
Despite Nico’s complete uninterest in the girls staring at him, I could feel the wolf within me growing less and less patient with it as the hours went by.
When lunchtime came around, we made out in my office until she chilled out, then ate quickly before my last few lectures.
By the time my final class ended, I was just relieved I’d made it through the day.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this long-term,” I mumbled, as Nico tucked me up against his side while we walked out to my car.
More women stared at him as we went.
“It’ll get easier,” he said.
