Mates Conquer Everything, Right?

In the hall I see pack members staring at me. I look right back at them. One of them is a warrior and tills up his upper lip, a warning. My eyes narrow, which is a sign of strength according to Amanda.It conveys the message that I am not afraid of him, and I really am not afraid. Yes, he can kill me on the spot, but I know Igétas and a lot of the other pack members have my back, and that’s all I need to give me strength.

I go around the corner and meet Igétas in the hallway.

“I thought I felt you close by, is something wrong?” He closes the space between us. “Are you okay?”

Sometimes I like his concern for me, but he really needs to stop asking me how I am doing. Or maybe I need to get used to it. Who doesn’t want a man who wants to take care of you?

“I am fine. Well actually, I am not fine.” I see his face fall and I take his hands in mine. The electric feeling of his touch warms me instantly.

“I want to be with you, not on the other side of the freaking building. I am your mate, and we should be together.” I am determined to see this through. His hands leave mine to take place on my back.

“Don’t be sad. Do you know how difficult it is for me and Vasil? It is much worse.”

“How do you know? You can’t feel what I feel.” I mumble in his chest.

“Not yet,” he says, “but you know it is not a good thing for you to be with me at night.”

“Because you don’t trust yourself?” I ask, we never had a good conversation about this.

“Vasil, he can take over when I let my guard down.”

“Right,” I roll my eyes. “I want to talk to him, is he listening?” I look up and see little flecks of gold in his eyes.

“He is always listening when you are around.” That makes me smile.

“Let’s go inside.” He opens his door, guiding me to the couch.

“So, we never had a real talk about the danger of starting the mating process. But there’s one thing I know for sure. I need you close, Igétas. My whole body screams for your presence…” He listens patiently, but I know he wants to tell me it isn’t possible. “I want to spend the nights with you. Not to have sex...” I just say it as it is and see the gold in his eyes shimmer. “Stop it, Vasil.” I tell him firmly and his eyes turn back green. “I just want you to hold me when I sleep. I want you by my side when I wake up from nightmares, I don’t want to be alone in a little room far from you.” I feel a tear escape my eye and Igétas caresses my cheek, drying it with his thumb. I sigh, loving his small gesture of care.

“I know Violet. I feel it too, but can we take the risk?” He asks me, and I feel like I am taking part in the decision.

I sigh “You will jeopardize more than me, but just a second ago I told Vasil to stop and he left. Why don’t we ask him what he wants to do?”

A low chuckle fills the room, “He wants you to stay, obviously.”

“Can I speak with him?” Before Igétas can answer, his eyes are gold.

“Hi mate, you look pretty today. Igétas doesn’t tell you enough how pretty you are.”

“That is not true. He tells me a lot.” I pout.

“Not enough.” He shakes his head quickly and I reach out for him, my hands on his.

“I want to ask you something. Actually, I need your help.”

“I will help.” He says it so quickly that I laugh.

“You have the best laugh and the nicest smile.” He says, a little dreamy.

“Thank you. Listen, I need your help. I have a little trouble with the mating thing…”

“Don’t leave us!” he squishes my hands, giving me his best puppy eyes.

“I wouldn’t leave you, Vasil. Now let go of my hands, you are going to end up injuring me.” I say in a joking tone. Not only does he let go of my hands, in a second he’s standing in the corner of the room.

“I am sorry.” He says with pain on his face.

“It is okay, I am a big girl. Now come back here, I need to ask you something.” I feel my hair lift from his speed as he sits on the couch next to me. “Like I said, I need to talk to you. I want Igétas and of course you by my side all the time, but during the day it is almost impossible with your tasks in the pack, so I was thinking about spending the night with you. But there can be no mating. You can’t go switching in the night and starting the process. If that happens, we’ll need to leave the pack, your family. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

He shakes his head and I can see he’s trying to control himself. I understand, I did just talk about mating.

“So I need to know, can you handle me in your room? Can you leave the control to Igétas? And the last question, do you even want me to stay?”

He answers eagerly. “I want you to stay. I’ll try to be in the back of our mind and not at the front. I don’t want to leave my family. I will behave. Everything for my beautiful mate.”

“Thank you, Vasil.” A warm smile escapes through my lips. He’s adorable. “Can I get Igétas back? We still need to decide.”

Igétas comes to the front and hugs me tightly. “I think he will be a good Beta and stay in the back of my mind.”

“So we can try sleeping together?”

“Yes, I want to fall asleep with you in my arms.” He kisses my head and I sigh with contentment. The tingling of the mate bond embraces me.

“Let me get my stuff for the night and we can try it out. If it doesn’t work, I will stay in my room until we complete the mate bond, but I think Vasil will be a good Beta for me and for his Pack.”

He kisses my forehead. “I know it too.”