Page 7 of A True Mate Bond

She’d never felt this good around anyone and deep down, she knew she’d found her soulmate in Blake.

As they walked through the village, she noticed that the way she was perceived was changing. She was no longer met with dark glares, but rather with respectful smiles. Some even seemed thankful. It eased the anxiety she’d felt since joining the pack. She knew that she would always be an outsider, but at least she didn’t feel like the enemy anymore.

Her thoughts wandered to the Skadu families and wolves that chose to become part of the Timber Pack. They must feel just as horrible as Niev had. She wanted to go see them, so she could meet them before she made up her mind. Of course, she was already leaning to one side of this conflict–she wanted them to feel welcome. She understood that they simply did as they were commanded by their alpha. Most of them were likely raised to fight and knew no other way of life.

Tristan was waiting for them halfway up the hill next to his truck. His left arm was in a sling, but he seemed fine otherwise.

“There are the two love birds,” he chuckled before he pulled Niev into a hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but I feel terrible that you got into trouble with your mother.”

Shrugging his shoulders, he smirked a little cocky. “She’s already getting over it. She even allowed me back home after she saw that my soul wasn’t tainted by your witchcraft,” he laughed. “Are you ready to finally move into your new home?”

“I honestly can’t wait.”

“Well, I’ll let you two be.” He handed Blake the keys, waved Niev goodbye, and started walking toward his home that was hidden behind the tree line.

“I believe we still owe him dinner,” Blake said amused as he watched his best friend walk away.

“We do?”

Leading her inside the house and up the stairs, he explained, “Yes, I invited him the night before the first attack on us. I’d promised he could meet you over dinner in return for bringing us the truck.”

“We should definitely invite him soon then.”

Slowly, they packed up their belongings. They didn’t have much, just the few clothes that she’d retrieved from the truck a few days ago and the box with baby clothes that Lyliann gifted them. Blake had a few clothes, but he wanted to keep them there. He said he had more than enough clothes at his cabin.

While Blake took the things to the truck, Niev went into the living room in search of Mayra. She found her sitting on the couch sewing.

“Mayra, I just wanted to let you know that we’ve packed our things and will head home now.”

With a sad frown on her face Mayra put the sewing aside and got up. “I wish you would stay here. You’ll be so much closer to everyone. I’m afraid that you’ll be too far away from us to be part of everyday pack life.”

Before Niev could answer, she felt Blake’s hand gently brush her lower back. “She still has a car and can come anytime. I’m sure she’ll spend a lot of time with Christa.”

“I just wish you were closer to us. You’ll be close to the end of the pregnancy before you know it and it would be nice to have you close for that.”

Mayra wrapped her arms around Blake and Niev and pulled them into a tight hug before she let them go and returned to her sewing.

Blake gestured to Niev to follow him outside and helped her into the truck. This time, she let him drive. She knew he preferred it, and she had no desire to fight him on it.

Welcome Home

Blake

Blake drove off and was quite pleased that Niev hadn’t fought him on driving her home. After the last few days and all she’d gone through, she deserved to be spoiled, and he would do exactly that. As he was driving, he couldn’t help but think about his mother’s last words before they left. It had never bothered him to live far away from everyone else. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It was exactly what he’d wanted. He’d never wanted to be close to the pack, needing as much distance from them and his family as possible.

Now that his circumstances had changed, he was no longer alone. He had Niev, and with the twins arriving in a few months, she would need assistance. One child was challenging enough but with two, she would definitely need help, at least a little bit.

“Blake?”

Niev’s soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Yes, beautiful?”

“The members from the Skadu Pack that have decided to stay, where are they right now?”

Her question caught him off guard. “They have a temporary home outside of the village. Why do you ask?”

She started to bite her lower lip, something she seemed to do when she got nervous. He reached for her face and pulled her lip free.

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