Mates Conquer Everything, Right?

There we are, standing in what looks like a broom closet. I don’t know how to act. Looking at my feet, I wait for him to speak, he doesn’t.

I look into his eyes and I don’t see a sign of dominance. His handsome face looks at me and waits for me to say something. I am human, weaker than him, weaker than the pack members, but I am not a pushover.

“Speak,” I tell him and wait for him to explain himself, expecting him to tell me that I need to do whatever he says.

He sighs and drops to his knees, head down and bearing his neck to me.

“Wait, what are you doing? Are you alright?” I drop to my knees and join him on the floor, trying to raise his head.

When he looks up, I see his face written with repentance. “I am apologizing. It was wrong of me to demand that you stay. Wrong to do that in front of the pack. You are your own person, and with you not having wolves’ blood...” he waits for a second to find the right words, “I was not thinking clearly. All I could see was you in danger. I wanted to talk to you about moving, but I didn’t say it the right way. We didn’t discuss it.”

I am relieved he came to this conclusion on his own, glad I didn’t need to educate him about it. I really don’t want to be in a controlling relationship.

“I want you to take your place by my side as my mate. I want the whole pack to respect you, and me being so dominant, overruling you, will not help to achieve that goal. I am sorry.”

A single tear rolls down my cheek. He isn’t just a crush for me. He is my mate. He sees me as an equal, he isn’t about to let me go and I don’t want him to.

“It’s okay, I love that you are apologizing. It means a lot to me.” He wipes the tear off my face and kisses both my cheeks. “But don’t expect me to accept it so easily next time.” He chuckles and holds me in a hug.

“I have a better idea. How about I don’t screw up so I don’t have to apologize at all.”

I smile at him. “Yes, let’s do that.”

We are sitting on the floor between buckets, brooms, and different tools. He is holding me close and I fit in his frame perfectly. “I have a question.” I whisper and he hums that I can continue.

“Why did you ask Ela and Amanda to have a sleepover with me?”

“I thought you liked them.” He is not understanding my actual question.

“I like them, really, they are great. But I wouldn’t mind sleeping in your room.” I am sure my face is on fire when I say the last words.

“Ah,” he hums. I feel him relax, kissing the top of my head. “I didn’t know if you were angry at me or if you wanted me to be with you. Also, if I went to sleep with you next to me, I’m afraid Vasil would take over and we would be moving too fast. We need to take it slow. Not only because you are human, but also because we need to take the pack and my brother into consideration. We need to move slowly in the relationship.”

“And moving in together is going slow?” I ask with sarcasm, as he lays his head on top of mine.

“No, it isn’t, I need you to be safe. We are getting closer. Do you feel the bond becoming stronger? The pull I feel towards you grows every hour. If you go back home, it will be worse for both of us.”

He is right. We are getting closer. The tingling I feel in my body is comforting. My home is wherever he is.

“Violet, you are mine. I will do everything in my power to protect and love you.” I smile the second he says my name.

“And I will try to make life easier for you. I’ll try to be a good mate, which also includes kicking your butt if you are being a fool and overstepping your place by my side.”

I get a booming laugh out of him. “Overstepping my place by your side? I thought you were filling my place.”

“We will fill each other’s.”

“Fine, you can kick my ass anytime you see fit.”

“Oh, I will. I think you are the kind of guy who needs to be whistled back.”

He isn’t responding to my teasing. “I don’t understand.” He says quietly.

“Sorry, I meant that I think you need to be corrected sometimes.”

“Oh, that I need. You can always correct me.”

I take a deep breath. “I-I didn’t want to go against your word tonight.” I almost whisper.

“I know, and you did well. I will try not to speak to you like that with an audience. But even if you had told me off, I still would have been the one who needed to apologize.”

“Do you want to stay here?” he asks, and I know he is talking about Sunday.

“I want to, but isn’t it going to make things more complicated?” I turn around in his arms and look at the man who has become my world.

“It probably will, we can’t ignore our bond anymore. Whatever Tharros wants to do, we will be a pair and conquer everything he throws our way. I will be right next to you.”

“And I will be next to you. We will take our spot next to each other and be a force to be reckoned with.”

“Hell yeah!” he says and hugs me again.

After talking for about half an hour, he takes me back to Ela’s room. The girls are happy to see me, and we play a couple of games and go to bed.

It is strange how normal everything feels to me. He is mine and I am his. We are going to be together, whether Tharros wants it or not.