Chapter 35

ACE

I couldn’t stop breathing her in. Touching her. Looking at her beautiful face. Her skin. Her hair.

My Doe. She was here. She was in my arms, and she was safe. She wanted me.

She ~loved~ me.

I would have stayed in that moment forever, but other, more pressing matters had to be taken care of.

Doe was already starting to act out of the ordinary. She couldn’t stop licking my neck, rubbing her chest against mine, taking any opportunity to press her soft lips against my own.

Her heat was approaching at a rapid pace.

I had to get her home so she could nest and get comfortable. There were things I had to walk her through and explain.

First heats could be scary and painful if not handled correctly. But not Doe’s. I would make sure she had everything she needed to make everything go as smoothly as possible. I would take care of her.

“We should fly back to Colorado today. We’re going to need time to prepare for your first heat. There’s a lot to do,” I told my mate, kissing the side of her head.

I grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her back from the spot she was nuzzling.

She didn’t know it, but my sweet mate was scent-marking me, tagging me with her smell so everyone knew who I belonged to. The possessive action was adorable and extremely arousing.

Doe pouted. “Like what?”

Her fingers tightened their hold on my shoulders as her nerves flared through the bond, putting me on edge.

My wolf automatically started to purr for her—well, more like growl for her at a low decibel—and I pulled her to my chest to get her closer to the sound.

I loved the way my wolf’s growling calmed her down.

“You don’t have to worry, baby. I’ll explain everything to you as soon as I get you on my plane.” With that, I scooped her up and placed her on her feet.

“Hold on. ~Your~ plane?”

I wondered if I could get away with sneaking out of the palace without speaking with my cousin. I wasn’t ready to share my mate with the world just yet. Especially when she smelled so good.

Plus, I wasn’t sure I wanted to face Grayson after how I just spoke to his mate. It was in the heat of the moment, yes, but I was certain he wasn’t too pleased with me.

Grayson was just as protective of Belle as I was of Doe. I was lucky he didn’t bite my head off when I yelled at her.

Powerful alphas with human mates… What more was there to say?

“Well, it’s the pack’s private jet, but I use it the most,” I explained. “How else do you think I got here so fast?”

“Um, on a commercial flight like a ~normal~ person?”

“You didn’t take a commercial flight.”

“I was with the queen of the supernatural.”

“And you call ~that~ a normal form of transportation? Using magic to travel across the world at the snap of your fingers?”

Doe’s face fell. “Good point.”

Now that we were both upright, Doe’s eyes raked down my body, stopping on my semi-erect cock between us. Her scent spiked and turned into gooey sweetness that made my mouth water.

My cock certainly seemed to like the scent, jumping with excitement.

Perhaps I should have tried a bit harder to control myself, but I’d just found my mate after months apart, ~and~ she smelled like sex on a stick. Cut me some slack.

I grabbed her chin between my fingers and tilted it up. “Eyes up here, baby.”

That pink blush that I loved so much deepened across her cheeks.

She swallowed. “I think we should get you some clothes. Or a blanket or something. You’re very…distracting.”

I couldn’t help my smirk. Now that I didn’t have to hide my wolf from her, it was going to be fun to see her reaction every time I shifted back to my human side.

I wrapped my arm around Doe’s waist and gently nudged her in the direction Grayson and Belle went.

“Come on, I bet my cousin will have some clothes I can borrow. He’s the only man I’ve ever met who’s bigger than me, so his clothes might fit.”

“Wait.” Doe stopped and faced me. “You cannot go prancing around a castle in the nude.”

She pulled her sweatshirt—well, ~my~ sweatshirt that she stole, the little thief—over her head and wrapped the arms around my waist, tying them behind my back so the front dangled in front of my cock.

My ass was still out, but it was better than nothing, I suppose.

I didn’t care. I would have worn a fucking clown suit so long as it made her happy.

Doe stood back to admire her handiwork. “We’ll just make sure no one looks at you from behind.”

I smiled. “Sure, baby.”

DOE

When Ace and I stepped into the room that Grayson and Belle had disappeared into, I was surprised at what we found.

Grayson had Belle pushed up against a wall, her legs wrapped around his waist while they engaged in the most heated make-out session I had ever witnessed.

Belle’s fingers were tangled in his hair, keeping him against her, and Grayson had a hand up her shirt, fondling her as he ground his hips against hers and thrust his tongue in and out of her mouth.

I gasped and stumbled back. I would have fled if it hadn’t been for Ace standing behind me, his arms locked around my middle.

Belle’s eyes snapped open. Squeaking, she ripped her lips from Grayson and attempted to shove him away from her.

She succeeded in removing his hand from under her shirt, but Grayson, of course, just like another certain alpha I knew, did not seem as eager to pull back from his mate.

He continued to kiss around Belle’s lips and along her chin, obviously not bothered by his audience.

There was no doubt he would have heard us coming. With his combined vampire and werewolf superhearing, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d heard my conversation with Ace down the hall.

With blood rushing to my cheeks, I shoved Ace back and out of the room. It was the only thing I could think to do. They gave us privacy when we needed it, so it was only right to give it to them too.

“Sorry!” I called out. “We’ll, uh, wait outside!”

Ace was laughing when I shut the door behind us.

I smacked him in the stomach. “Stop, it’s not funny,” I reprimanded. “Did you know that was what they were doing?”

I heard a commotion behind me—the sound of Grayson growling and Belle giggling. I could only hope they were wrapping things up and would come get us soon.

Ace shrugged, trying to suppress his laughter. It didn’t seem like it fazed him at all. “I didn’t realize that was how you would react. Werewolves aren’t known for keeping their hands to themselves.

“There was even a time, not too long ago, when our ancestors would fuck in front of each other. We are wild animals, after all.”

He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward him, my palms falling onto his bare chest. I swallowed. It took all my willpower to ignore his nakedness or else we’d have ended up like Grayson and Belle.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m human,” I reminded him. “No public sex for us.”

I let out a nervous laugh and patted his chest. “Did you see how tiny Belle looked compared to him? It was like she was kissing a giant.”

My eyes widened. “Oh, my god, is that what we look like when we’re together?”

Ace’s grin was ear to ear. It occurred to me that it didn’t matter what I said to him right now. The man was looking at me as if I were the moon and the stars. He was just happy to be with me again.

As was I to be with him. Everything was perfect now.

“Probably worse,” he admitted. “Grayson might be bigger than me now that he’s part vampire, but you’re tiny compared to Belle.”

He wasn’t wrong.

While Belle was long and lean, standing around five-six or seven, with an athletic build and legs that went on for miles, I was barely above five-two, with a round face, wide hips, and large breasts.

According to the books, I looked like an omega was supposed to look. A small, ~human~ omega.

I could only imagine what I looked like next to my huge, growly mate. Even after all the weight he lost, Ace was still as big as a house, standing at nearly seven feet, with muscles upon muscles.

I laughed, my head falling on his chest. “We must look like the most ridiculous couple in the world.”

“The moon goddess herself chose us for each other. We are the perfect pair.”

~The moon goddess.~ I didn’t know much about the goddess the werewolves praised, but I had read somewhere that her name was Luna—the name of the title women took when they became leaders of their packs.

I would become the luna of Ace’s pack once we fully mated. I would lead by his side, as his equal.

The idea didn’t seem as scary as it had a few months ago. I could make a difference. I was sure of it. I looked forward to it.

Looking up at Ace, I studied the hard lines of his jaw and his navy-blue eyes. “I want to go to college,” I rushed out.

~Is this the right time? Probably not. But I have been dying to talk to him about it.~

“I’ve applied to some schools nearby and I think I’ll get in.” I dropped my hands to my side and lifted my chin. “I don’t want my education to be over. There is more I want to learn.”

My stomach fluttered with nerves as I waited for his response.

I reminded myself that it didn’t matter how Ace reacted to this news. I was going to college no matter what he said.

But it would be nice to have his support.

I didn’t think he would say no. He knew he wasn’t my keeper.

But he also didn’t like being apart from me. And unless he joined me in all my classes like he did in high school, he would need to be okay with us spending some time apart every day.

Ace regarded me for a few long, tense seconds. Then he nodded. “Good. You love school.

“We’ll have to make sure you get your own dorm room though. No roommate will be okay with me staying over every night.

“And a bigger bed. I won’t fit in one of those flimsy twin-size ones even without you sleeping by my side.”

My lips parted. He had thought about it. He even assumed I was going to live on campus.

“I…I wasn’t planning on living in the dorms. I was going to commute. Or take classes online.”

Ace exhaled. He cupped my face and smiled. “Perfect. That’s…perfect.”

My heart melted.

The door opened behind me. A breathless-looking Belle appeared. Her brown hair was messy, and her lips were a bright red that matched her cheeks.

Grayson was standing at her side, looking far less ruffled, wearing a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

Belle cleared her throat and adjusted her wrinkled shirt. “Sorry about that.”

Grayson grunted. “I’m not sorry about anything.”

Belle smacked him on his stomach. She was doing a bad job of trying to hide her smile and remain annoyed.

Grayson purred and wrapped an arm around her in response, holding her the same way Ace was holding me at that moment.

I had to fight to hide my smile. There was no way Belle and I weren’t going to be close friends. We simply had too much in common.

Belle studied Ace and me. “Is everything okay? Did you guys need something?”

I glanced down at Ace’s ridiculous lack of an outfit. “Clothes,” I said. “And to say goodbye.” I grabbed my mate’s hand and smiled. “We’re going home.”