Page 69 of A True Mate Bond

The next few days flew by as Blake and Tristan kept each other busy with renovating the house. Tristan and Terra still weren’t talking, even though Tristan tried to convince her to meet Olivia and give her a chance. Blake could see how frustrating the situation was to him, but Tristan tried to take it easy, especially because he didn’t want Olivia to worry about it. They both decided to stay at the guest house. Of course, Olivia had her own room and so did Tristan. He seemed to be more than willing to give her the time and space she needed to adjust to their new relationship.

Today was a little different. Ann, Blake’s sister, had arrived and his mother had invited the whole family to join them for dinner. Blake had just arrived home and expected Niev to be here, but the house was quiet, and she was nowhere to be found. He didn’t mind her going out on her own. He never expected her to be home waiting for him. So he walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower before getting dressed for the evening.

He hadn’t seen Ann in quite some time. Even when she’d been preparing to leave, he’d barely said goodbye to her. Not that he didn’t love her, but he’d been in a dark place before he met Niev. It just made him realize how much better his life had become with her. His entire mental wellbeing had improved and his whole outlook on his future had become brighter.

Just as he pulled his shirt over his head, he heard the door open. He peaked around the corner and saw Niev coming down the hallway, smiling and a little out of breath.

“I know I’m late and I’m so sorry.” She took a deep breath and hugged him before rushing into the closet. “Christa and I just lost track of time. I didn’t forget or anything but it was just so fascinating.”

“What did you talk about today?” He always enjoyed listening to the new things she’d learned throughout the day.

“We started to talk about the whole shifting process. How it works, what kind of things can influence it, and interfere with it.”

He watched her as she picked two dresses, unable to decide. He pointed at a light purple one that he knew Layla had given her.

“I like that one.”

She nodded and quickly changed. “You did tell me about the moon and depending how close Selene is to us can intervene with the shift but I didn’t know that your mood can do that too.”

He followed her as she rushed to the bathroom. He leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets and watched as she combed her hair.

She continued talking along, her mouth almost unable to keep up. “For example, if a man is happy or mentally prepared for it, his shift is far less painful. If the wolf takes over for whatever reason, like danger, the shift is far more painful because the wolf and man don’t agree.”

She seemed truly fascinated. For him, it was old information but for her, all of it was excitingly new. He stepped closer and ran his fingers over her shoulders.

“I love how all of this is so amazing to you. For us it’s normal, common boring knowledge, but for you it’s all extraordinary. This is a completely new world to you–”

But before he could finish, she interrupted. “And I’m falling in love with it each minute of the day.”

Selene had truly made her amazing. A true blessing not just for him, but the whole pack. “I’m glad you’re loving it so much. I was and will always be afraid that what I and the pack are giving you can’t hold up to what you wanted your life to be like.”

“I always thought I knew what I wanted. Now that I’m here and have all of this, I never want to go back.” She leaned against his torso and took a deep breath. “Are you ready to go? Maybe if we hurry no one will notice we’re late.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek with a grin. “We can just say the twins were giving you a hard day.”

She did seem to be in a hurry as they walked toward the village. He had to slow her down a few times, afraid she would exhaust herself. Luckily, they didn’t arrive last as Michael and Seth seemed to be missing when they arrived at the main house.

Ann was already waiting for them and excitedly jumped out of her seat when they entered the living room. She rushed toward Niev and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m a hugger and with all of the stories I’ve heard of you, I feel like I already know you.”

Niev, a little taken aback, wrapped her arms around Ann and relaxed into the hug. “It’s very nice to finally meet you, Ann.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” Ann let go of Niev and turned to Blake. “Now look at you. Finally grown up with a child on the way and a woman by your side.”

Blake leaned down and hugged her. “Where did you leave your new mate?”

She twirled around and Blake followed her gaze. He’d only seen Kareem once before and barely talked to him during that meeting. “Right over there.”

Blake greeted him with a smile. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s always a pleasure being here,” Kareem answered in a sonorous voice.

Kareem was a tall man with a sleek figure. His golden-brown hair was short, framing his friendly face. Blake watched as Ann pulled Niev to the table and started bombarding her with questions.

“Mother and Layla of course told me all about you–how you got here, how you saved everyone, and how you slayed that wolf, but I never could quite picture you. I’m glad I can finally put a face to the name.” Ann barely paused to breathe as she kept going. “How are you feeling? Any morning sickness? Do you feel the baby kick yet or is it too early for that? Have you narrowed down a name yet?”

Blake leaned closer to Niev. “May I tell her?”

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