Spending the Night

CONNOR

A piece of popcorn bounced off my forehead and hit the pillow beside me.

Willow groaned. “Cheater! That was ~so~ on target.”

“Was it?” I arched an eyebrow, snatching the offending popcorn and tossing it back in the bowl. “Because unless you were aiming for my brain—attempted murder via buttered projectile—I’d say that’s a miss.”

Sprawled sideways across my bed with one leg hanging off the edge, her hair a tangled halo on the sheets, she grinned. “No way! You moved your head at the last second!”

“Alpha reflexes,” I said, smirking.

She narrowed her eyes and lobbed another one way too far to the right, which I caught in my mouth. “Show off,” she muttered, but her lips still curved upward.

That smile, the real one, was starting to come out more often. And every time, it sucker-punched me to the ribs.

After she’d agreed to spend the night, we’d come upstairs with two pizzas, two bowls of popcorn, and a few bottles of soda. She hadn’t understood why I’d grabbed so much until the ravenous hunger and insane thirst hit, the kind that always followed a shift.

I’d queued up a nostalgic supernatural show from the early 2000s, figuring the irony alone would entertain her. It had, and we’d watched a few episodes, paused to eat, and began tossing popcorn at each other like teenagers.

She seemed relaxed, at loose-limbed, warm-blooded peace. It was the best damn thing I’d seen in weeks.

Now, with her beside me, her eyes glowing faintly in the dim bedside lamp’s light, she turned serious. “Tell me more about the mind-link. Because earlier, when your wolf brushed past me and whuffed, I understood you. Or, my wolf did. Is that what the link is like?”

“No.” I shifted to face her. “It’s telepathy. Straight up talking to each other’s minds.” When her eyes widened, I chuckled. “Every pack can do it. Their members can connect to each other in either wolf or human form.”

A wide grin spread across her face. “Prove it,” she said, sitting up.

After arching a brow, I sighed dramatically before sending a request to an omega. To Willow, I said, “Hope you’re thirsty.” I shot her a cocky smirk as I counted down from ten.

By the time I reached two, a soft knock came at the door. One of the omegas poked his head in with two cold sodas in hand. “Mind-link delivery,” he said with a wink, then retreated.

Willow’s jaw dropped. “Okay, ~what~? That was real?”

“Told you,” I said, popping the cap off one of the bottles and handing it to her.

She took it, and her face scrunched in thought. “So, when will I be able to do that?”

“When you join the pack, you’ll be able to talk to everyone.” I debated my next words, my heart skipping a beat at the thought of broaching the topic. In the end, I couldn’t stop myself from adding, “But there is a way you could mind-link with just me first.”

Sitting straighter, she tilted her head. “Oh? And how’s that?”

“If we mated and marked each other.” I let the words sink in before continuing, “Then, we’d form a personal bond strong enough to allow it. Just between the two of us.”

She nodded, taking a slow sip of soda. “What exactly is mating?” Her question made my brow furrow, and the moment she caught it, she rushed to say, “I mean, I know what ~mating~ is, but, like, for wolves, for this bond, is it different? Or is it…”

Her words died off as she buried her face in her hands. Pink tinged her ears, and it was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. She groaned an apology, and I pulled her hands away, chuckling.

“Mating is a choice,” I said with a smile. “A physical and spiritual bond. The wolves are drawn to each other, yes, but the humans have to choose. Once the decision’s made through, uh, certain rituals, the bond solidifies.”

Willow pursed her lips before asking, “If we mated, would that make me your luna?”

“To me, yes. But, technically, you’d have to be accepted into the pack first. They’re two separate rituals, you see,” I said. “But after? Yeah. You’d lead beside me as luna.”

Her expression, thoughtful at first, shifted to concern. Her gaze dropped to her lap.

“What is it?” I asked, scooting closer.

She grimaced. “I feel bad.”

My brow furrowed. “Why?”

“For making you wait. For not knowing how I feel. I mean, I ~do~ feel something, really strongly, but I don’t know if it’s me or her, my wolf. Where do I end and she begin? What’s mine and what’s hers? It’s just”—she sighed—“confusing.”

Her voice cracked on the last word, and it made my heart twist.

I reached out, brushing her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “I know,” I said softly. “But there’s no rush here. You’re the only one for me. And I’ll wait forever if that’s what you need.”

Her eyes flicked up to mine, wide and uncertain.

“And if you decide you don’t want me?” I shrugged with a crooked smile. “I’m a big boy. I can take it.”

There was a beat of silence before she smiled. “Thank you,” she said, and yawned.

I chuckled and nodded toward the bathroom. “I had your pajamas and toothbrush brought over. If you’re okay with spending the night, that is.”

She blinked, seemingly surprised, and her expression flickered. For a heartbeat, I thought she might say no. Instead, she stood, and the corner of her mouth twitched up again. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

After she disappeared into the bathroom, I exhaled slowly, letting my head fall back against the headboard.

~I can take it.~ What a godsdamn lie. It was the biggest lie I’d ever told, and I’d looked her right in the eye while saying it. I wouldn’t be able to take it. The thought of her not wanting me would destroy me completely.

My throat constricted, but this all made me more determined. I ~wouldn’t~ push her, and I ~would~ wait forever.

But, damn, forever might kill me too, seeing as these past weeks waiting for her already felt like the hardest thing I’d ever done.

WILLOW

When I stepped out of the bathroom, the lights were low, and Connor was already in bed.

Topless.

He had the blanket pushed down to his waist, and the light from his bedside lamp caught on the muscles of his chest and shoulders—all golden skin and long lines of lean strength.

I froze, awkwardly clutching the hem of my oversized T-shirt, until I saw the waistband of his shorts, and relief washed over me.

My wolf, on the other hand, let out a huff of disappointment.

“Come on,” Connor said, pulling the blanket back and patting the space beside him. “It’s a warm spot. Premium real estate.”

I hesitated only a second before padding over and climbing in. The mattress dipped beneath me, and I pulled the covers up to my chin. But the second I settled, my body made a decision for me.

Shifting toward him, I tucked myself under his arm and laid my head on his chest.

His heart beat steadily beneath my cheek. His skin was warm and solid and real. Every point where our bodies touched lit up with sparks, soft, humming, and addictive.

My wolf purred in satisfaction.

“I feel safe here,” I murmured before I could overthink it.

Connor’s arm tightened around me. “Good. That’s all I ever want you to feel.”

For a moment, I let myself enjoy the quiet, my fingers resting on the line of muscle right above his ribs. “How did you become alpha?”

He remained quiet long enough to make me lift my head. “My parents were killed. Rogue attack when I was nineteen. I was next in line, so I stepped up.”

“I wondered where they were,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

He gave me a single nod. “They were good people. They’d have liked you.”

I blinked against the unexpected burn in my throat.

“Do you remember yours?” he asked.

“No. Nothing.” I shook my head. “Just the facility.”

“Then maybe it’s time to start getting some answers,” he said. “I think your parents were alphas too. That’s why your wolf is so large, so powerful. You must come from a bloodline meant to lead.”

“Is that what made me your mate? I mean, can you only mate with another alpha?”

Connor’s chest rumbled with a laugh. “No. The Moon Goddess doesn’t care about bloodlines. She handpicks mates. Perfect matches. She chose you for me. And me for you.”

The steady rhythm of his breathing filled the silence for a long moment. “I’m not sure I believe in all that,” I said eventually.

“That’s okay,” he replied. “You’ll find your way to her. In the meantime”—his fingers drew slow, lazy circles on my back—“I’ll believe for us both.”

The tingles from his touch rolled over me like warm ocean waves, soft and persistent. My eyelids grew heavier with every pass of his hand.

I didn’t know what I believed in. I didn’t know where my wolf ended, and I began. But for the first time since escaping the facility, since learning and embracing what I was, since being offered a new life, the questions didn’t frighten me.

Because I didn’t have to find their answers alone.

***

There was no nightmare; I simply woke—no idea why.

The room was still cloaked in shadows, with faint moonlight bleeding in around the edges of the curtains. Everything was silent, soft, and still.

Yawning and blinking, I stretched one arm across the bed, reaching instinctively for warmth, for him. But the space beside me was cold. I frowned and sat up.

The mattress still held the shape of his body, but he was gone. His absence felt inexplicably eerie.

I strained my ears for footsteps, creaks in floorboards or doors, any sign that he was nearby. “Connor?” I whispered.

No answer.

My wolf stirred uneasily in my chest, her ears pricked and hackles rising. She sensed something more than Connor stepping out for a late-night snack. She sensed something wasn’t right.

Pushing the covers off and sitting upright, I brushed the hair out of my face as I scanned the room. His shirt was draped on the chair. His boots rested beside the door. Everything was the way it’d been when we’d curled into each other hours ago.

~Boom!~

The explosion shattered the silence. Windows rattled. The bed shook beneath me. Then came the sharp cracks—~pop, pop, pop~—deadly fireworks echoing through the night.

My blood turned to ice.

~Gunfire.~

We were under attack.