Page 10 of A True Mate Bond

“You should, so this feels like home to you.” He turned her around and lovingly pressed his lips on hers. “I don’t know when we’ll move or if it’s even possible at the moment.”

“After I’ve unpacked, can I have some wolf cuddles?”

With each passing minute, he fell more and more in love with her. “Of course, you can. Would you like a picnic outside again?”

“I would love that!”

She beamed from ear to ear and quickly continued unpacking her clothes. He grabbed a few hangers from the closet and opened a different box. It was filled with memorabilia. “Would you like to add these to the house?”

She leaned over to look inside and shook her head. “No, keep them in there for now. It’s just gonna be more work repacking everything if we do find a house.”

He nodded, closed the box, and opened the next one. “Do you miss what you left behind?”

“You mean my work?”

“Yes, and your friends.”

For a moment she thought about it before answering. “I miss it a little. I mean I didn’t have a lot of friends. Actually, I really only had Jason outside of my co-workers.”

“Do you miss working?”

“You’ve kept me on my toes since I got here. I don’t have the time to miss work, only the independence it gave me.”

“Would you want to work again? I mean outside of the pack?”

“Would that not go against everything a pack stands for?”

“Yes, but you’re different.”

She sighed with a sad shadow laying over her face. “I don’t think I want to be any more different than I already am.”

“Have you talked to Jason since you left?”

Surprised, she looked up. “If I had, would it bother you?”

“It wouldn’t. He was a close friend of yours and I thought you would’ve let him know that you’re okay.”

“I didn’t think that was allowed.”

He picked up the last of her clothes and hung them in the closet. “Father doesn’t encourage us to make friends with outsiders, but you two were already friends and he has helped you a lot over the years, hasn’t he?”

“He did. I think if he wouldn’t have let me stay with him, I wouldn’t have been able to get on my feet so quickly. So, you think it’s okay for me to at least text him and ask how he’s doing?”

“I believe it would be fine. Just don’t tell him where you are or invite him over.”

“I won’t, I promise!” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. “Thank you.”

“I would do anything for you.” He kissed her forehead. “Do you want to grab a few snacks for the picnic while I put the boxes away?”

She nodded and with a bright smile on her face, she skipped to the kitchen.

It saddened him to know that she felt as if she had to change herself to be part of the pack. She wanted to have a job and the independence that came with it, but didn’t want to take it, afraid she would be judged for it. She felt that she had to be someone else to be able to fit in, and that broke his heart. She was amazing and she shouldn’t have to feel as if she needed to hide who she was.

He stacked the boxes in the back of the closet and walked to the living room where she was already waiting with snacks and the picnic blanket in her hands.

“Do you think we need anything else?” she asked, barely able to contain her excitement.

“If so, I’ll just walk back and grab it for us.”

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