Taken by my mate

Covyn

When dinner time came I didn’t wake her. She had barely moved the whole time since I laid her down and her breathing hadn’t changed at all. Even Sequoia had moved and made more sound than her, and I had nearly pressed a mirror under her nose for fear my ears were imagining the sounds of her breathing. Still she slept through dinner, and I had mine brought to our room incase she woke up so she wouldn’t be alone.

I fell asleep some time just before midnight, tucking her under more blankets as the fire went out. We didn’t have central air here, the buildings and property were so big, and as wolven we rarely felt cold enough to need more than some blankets or the fire. When I touched her cheek and it felt like ice guilt had consumed me for not thinking of that sooner. How she slept through that feeling without shivering was a mystery to me, but a dreamy smile drifted over her face when I added the quilts.

Before falling asleep I decided to add a couple more logs to the fire. With me sleeping on the couch in front of it, there was unlikely to be any danger I would miss, and I could sleep in some shorts to keep from sweating.

“Covyn?”

Her soft voice woke me up and I opened my eyes to look for her. The room was pitch black, the fire long died out and the drawn curtains eliminated any moonlight from trickling in. I heard the bed creak as she got up and then she walked over to the bathroom and flicked the light on.

“Is something wrong?” I asked her after a minute of her looking around.

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

She walked over to the wall of windows were there was a door behind the curtain to go out onto the balcony and opened it up. Sequoia ran up to her so fast I was worried there was a problem, but they both walked outside. I got up and followed behind her, finding her standing at the railing and watching one of my men in wolven form circling passed on patrol.

“What is it?” I asked moving behind her to wrap my arms under hers and around her waist.

My lips moved to her neck, kissing over my mark and she tried to shake me off. “I’m guessing you don’t hear anything?”

I shook my head. Her smell was overwhelming me now, and I breathed her in deeply. With the cold air brushing our skin she shivered and moved back against me so I could shield her from the wind, but didn’t turn to go back inside.

“Do you have a lot to do today?” She asked instead, watching another wolf pass on his shift.

“A few odd jobs, you could come with me if you want.”

She smiled slightly. “Sounds like fun.”

“That’s still hours away,” I informed her, looking up at the night sky with her in my arms.

“Yea, it’s still the witching hour.”

“What was that?”

She turned to look at me. “Isn’t that what it’s called? The time after dusk and before dawn?”

“I don’t know,” I replied honestly, squeezing her in my arms. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”

She shook her head. “There’s no way I could sleep anymore. Coffee?”

I wrapped my arm around her. “Done.”

I led her down to the kitchen, but we were the first ones there. She helped me in getting the coffee press, my personal stash of beans, and the other components to make the best coffee in the pack house. When I placed the warm mug in her hand she took a deep breath, held it, and moaned as she exhaled.

“This smells divine.”

“I hide the good stuff from the others,” I informed sitting beside her with my own coffee.

“I can see why. This is the kind of stuff my dad keeps stocked.” She smiled briefly and returned to her drink.

“Do you see him much?” I asked absently, sipping my own coffee and moaning.

“Who?” She asked, just as absently.

I turned to her, resting my leg alongside hers. “Your father.”

She lowered her cup considerately. “No, not anymore. It’s a bit of a long story, not something I’m ready to get into.”

I nodded. “I understand… I know it doesn’t make it better, or easier, but I understand a little in that department. I lost my parents when I was pretty young. They left to help another pack in need and never returned. Ellion was there for me then, he was the only one I could really count on and talk to. If it wasn’t for him as my Beta, I don’t think I would have gotten through that time while also taking over as leader of the pack.”

She reached over and brushed my arm, and then took my hand to guide me over to a benched seat by a window. “What about Spencer?”

“He was off training at the time. He’s been all over, always looking for something more. He’s a great asset to the pack, but me and Ellion got a lot closer in that time, in a way that we never could.” She leaned her head against me.

“Losing one parent can be seen as a tragedy, to lose both as carelessness…”

“What?” I gasped and she startled.

“I’m so sorry, that was ridiculously careless of me. It’s from an Oscar Wilde book, roughly I mean, I was never great with exact quotations when it came to fiction, it’s a bit of a silly book that points out some of the ridiculous societal expectations in relationships that really shouldn’t matter where love is involved…” she rambled quickly but drifted off. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I would say such a stupid thing out loud.”

I chuckled, feeling her worry was enough to convince me she wasn’t being malicious. “It’s fine love, don’t worry.”

She sighed and relaxed some. We stayed in the kitchen until the staff woke up, all of them surprised to see me, but we got the first breakfasts, hot from the pan. Evadiene was apparently starving and dug right in despite it probably burning her tongue. Still, she didn’t eat as much as Daley or any of the other girls in the pack, but I had gotten a second plate. She gave some of the remaining food from her plate to Sequoia, and then we returned to our room to change for the day.

My first stop was the warehouse building to check on the deliveries coming in. When we walked in there was no one on the floor and I growled angrily.

“What’s the problem?” She asked, gauging more than just my volume for my feelings.

“Half the time I come in here they’re all on break together. I’m about ready to fire them all, but just a few more months and they will be located to other positions anyway when my warehouse in town is up and running.” I ran my hand over my face and groaned. “Stay here, I’m going to go figure out where these layabouts have disappeared to.”

She nodded and started to wander around the floor. Truthfully I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I didn’t want her to see the verbal beating I was about to give out either. I would be quick, and punish them properly later.