Melting Away

EVA

A week has passed since Estella’s arrival, and we haven’t laid eyes on her yet.

But if you want to hear her, just get within a mile of Max’s new place. For us werewolves, maybe a bit further.

To say I’m happy for them doesn’t quite cut it. I’m also relieved. My nightmares have stopped completely since Estella came back and moved in with Max.

Luz is still a bit on edge, but that’s to be expected. Kids are more sensitive to these things, and with the abilities my daughter has, everything is heightened.

I’m just hoping she’ll settle down soon.

“When they finally leave the house, they’ll have lost a few pounds each,” Patrick joked one night.

“You feel sorry for them?” I teased.

“I’m jealous. When was the last time we could hole up in our bedroom for days without a care in the world?”

“Over a decade ago, I think.”

“When all this shit is over, we’re taking a vacation. No kids, no pack, no problems. Just you and me.”

“You promise?” I asked, resting my head on his chest.

“As long as we make it through this alive, baby,” he sighed.

“We will.”

“You can’t predict the future.”

“True. But I can lock the door for an hour or two.” I winked, and he laughed.

ESTELLA

Would you laugh if I told you I can barely move?

Max carries me everywhere in the house, and it’s safe to say we’ve had sex twice in every room.

Even so, I haven’t picked a favorite yet, though some surfaces are more comfortable than others.

Did I mention I’m incredibly happy?

Well, I just did. I feel so complete; it’s insane. Deep down, I knew only Max could give me this feeling, but experiencing it so intensely is… It’s magical.

I know it sounds cheesy, but I can’t describe it any other way. I feel like my heart is finally full. It’s a nice feeling.

I look at him, and I know he’s finally mine, and sometimes it’s so overwhelming I want to cry from happiness. I don’t, though.

I don’t want to look like a fool in front of Max. Not that he’d mind, but still.

“I love the way you look at me, darling,” he murmured, kissing me softly.

See? I was doing it again. Whenever we weren’t having sex, I’d watch him, like I just did. To give you an idea of where we are, we’re in bed.

“If you’d let me, I would’ve done it sooner,” I pointed out.

“How long are you going to hold that over me?”

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “But I’m not saying this to rub it in. I just feel like we wasted time with all the back and forth and you pushing me away.”

“Maybe we did waste time. But maybe the time is now. To me, all that matters is that you still want me.”

“I tried not to want you,” I confessed. “Many times. I thought that since you didn’t want me, I should move on like you told me to.”

“That’s a natural reaction. Nobody wants to feel unwanted. And I’m sorry for all the times I made you feel that way.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel insecure or even ugly. You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Okay. Bonnie is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen,” he said, deadpan.

I stared at him in shock, then punched him in the chest, scowling.

“Hey! I thought you didn’t want me to exaggerate,” he retorted, rubbing the spot where my fist had landed.

“I didn’t, but that doesn’t mean you have to name one of my best friends as the most beautiful woman or creature or whatever.”

“She is, though. And if you’d let me finish, you’d hear that I’m not attracted to her at all because I’m in love with you.”

Max saying those things to me? It’s something I still can’t get used to, and it surprises me every time. Can you blame me?

He was never this expressive. Although now that I think about it, he did tell me I was beautiful in the past, but I never took it seriously. I thought he saw me as a kid back then.

“Can you slow down?” I asked nervously.

“Slow down?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, slow down. Telling me how much you love me. It’s too much.”

He burst out laughing and pulled me close to his chest.

“Why are you laughing?” I demanded.

“Because you’re weird,” he replied, still chuckling. “I thought every woman wanted to hear that she’s loved.”

“So, you’re telling me what you think I want to hear?”

“No, I’m telling you what you deserve to hear, and since it took me a while to get here, I’m making up for lost time.”

“You don’t have to, Max. I’m happy either way.”

“I know, darling. But I kept it all bottled up for so long, and now I can’t hold it in.”

I leaned up and kissed him.

“Then don’t bottle things up, darling,” I teased, and got up from the bed.

“Where are you going?” He frowned.

“I’m going to drag myself to the bath—”

“I can carry you,” he interrupted.

“No, Max. At first, it was romantic. After the first ten times, I started feeling like an invalid. Plus, I need to put some clothes on. I’ve been naked for a week.”

“And for good reason,” he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

I rolled my eyes and hobbled toward the bathroom. The moment the door clicked shut behind me, I couldn’t help but break into a wide grin.

I was so incredibly happy.

And in love.

Deeply in love.

MAX

A week of pure, unadulterated bliss.

It was more than I’d ever dared to dream of. But a nagging part of me knew that not everything was resolved. I hadn’t even told her yet that she was my mate.

Truth be told, I’d been so consumed by her these past few days that conversation was the last thing on my mind. I craved her constantly. I couldn’t get enough of her.

The only thing that irked me was my wolf, but that was to be expected. He was eager to complete the bond, especially when he saw her wolf trying to assert itself.

Once we managed to leave the house, I’d have to do some research on that.

I should have done it years ago when I first met her, but I never thought her wolf would try to surface before I’d properly marked her.

When she emerged from the bathroom, her face set in a pout and her eyes accusing, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

She was always so perfect, no matter what she did, and I was overjoyed that I finally got to see her in all her glory.

“Finding this amusing, are you?” she grumbled, crossing her arms over her bare chest.

“You don’t see yourself the way I do, darling.”

“Yeah, sure!” she scoffed. “Maybe you and your perspective should start picturing me with a scarf around my neck. I should start borrowing from Bonnie now.

“What have you done to me, Max?”

“I believe they’re called hickeys, darling.”

Maybe this was the right time to tell her that my wolf was trying to mark her every time we made love.

But I had a feeling that would only make her angrier, so I decided to hold off for a bit longer.

“So many? They might as well be wounds, Max. Just look at them.”

She crawled onto the bed and knelt beside me, sitting back on her heels. I felt a pang of guilt when I realized she was right.

How I hadn’t noticed the extent of the damage I’d caused was beyond me, but I was determined to make it right.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Does it hurt?”

“Yeah, but I’m kind of sore all over, so I didn’t really notice.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to fix it.”

I jumped out of bed and made a beeline for the first aid kit.

I felt guilty, even though I knew that the actual marking would hurt her a hundred times more, and she wouldn’t be able to mistake it for anything else when it happened.

The last time, I’d almost broken skin with my canines, and it was incredibly difficult to stop the process then and there, but I managed.

“There you go.” I smiled after I’d tended to her wounds—or hickeys—and helped her into one of my T-shirts. “All better.”

“But I’ll still have to wear a scarf,” she sighed.

“You won’t need a scarf, darling, because we’re not going out just yet.”

“Max, eventually—”

“We’ll have to,” I interrupted. “I know. And it’s not like I’m not excited to tell everyone that we’re together, but I’ve missed you so much.”

“Okay. First things first. Who said we’re together?” she asked.

I knew she was joking, but I growled anyway.

“We’re not?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I want us to be,” she sighed. “But…”

She trailed off, and I let her gather her thoughts. A week ago, I’d made my suggestions. Now it was her turn. As I’d said, it was her call.

“You can’t leave this place,” she finally said. “Your pack needs you, and your mom and dad need a break too.

“Before you argue, I know Howie won’t mind going back to his duties, but besides being a doctor, you’re an excellent warrior. It would be a shame for this pack to lose both.”

“I’ve thought about it too, darling. It wasn’t an easy decision to make.”

“I understand that. And I also understand that you feel like you need to make up for lost time. But you don’t have to do that by leaving everything you’ve known since birth.”

“Maybe not. But I can’t ask you to make more sacrifices. Like you said the day you arrived, I’m ready to be with you now. I need to give something too.

“You deserve it, and I want it too.”

“Enough. I’m overdosing again,” she growled playfully.

“Okay,” I chuckled. “I’ll stop. What’s your plan?”

“Well, there’s a chance I might be able to do my internship remotely, at least for a while. We discussed that option before, but I turned it down because I’d decided to settle in Paris.”

“Do you think they’ll agree to that?” I asked hopefully.

“I don’t see why they’d reject the request since they were the ones who suggested it in the first place,” she shrugged.

“Although that means I’ll have to fly back for a week or so to sort everything out.”

“I can come…,” I started, then stopped.

I wanted to say that I could go with her, but it wouldn’t be the right time to leave the pack with the threat of an attack looming.

“You can’t,” she said, a sad smile on her face as she stroked my cheek. “They need you here more. We’ll go together another time, and you can meet my friends and see my place there.”

“I’ve seen your building,” I confessed.

“What?” she gasped.

“When you first left and wouldn’t answer my texts, I flew there a few times to check on you. I didn’t want to bother you, so…”

“You never sought me out,” she finished my sentence. “I thought I was losing my mind, feeling you around.”

“You weren’t. And there’s more,” I confessed.

“What did you do?” she asked, her voice sharp.

“Promise you won’t hate me? Too much?”

“I can’t promise anything. I’ll decide after you spill.”

“Fair enough,” I sighed, clearing my throat before I continued. “Remember after your sixteenth birthday, when you told me you thought you’d kissed someone?”

“Yes,” she answered slowly, then added, “What I didn’t mention was that I thought it was you.”

“Well, sweetheart, it was.”

She stared at me, her mouth open in shock. But I knew this wouldn’t last.

ESTELLA

He confessed he was the one who kissed me when I was sixteen, and I thought I’d gone deaf.

“You… my… first…no… kiss.”

Apparently, I’d also lost my ability to string together a full sentence.

“Yes, I gave you your first kiss,” he said, smiling.

“Oh, thank God!” I cried, throwing myself into his arms.

“Aren’t you angry?” he chuckled. “Don’t you want to hit me? Kick me?”

“I’m so relieved I didn’t swap spit with some random guy while I was drunk that I’ll let it slide.”

“Thank you.”

“But why did you kiss me? Wasn’t I too young and naive then?”

“I didn’t plan it, and you started it. Not a great excuse, I know, but I thought since you probably wouldn’t remember it the next day, I might as well give in just once.”

“Was it as good as I vaguely remember it?” I asked, curious.

“The best kiss I’ve ever had. The only thing that stopped me was that you were underage and drunk.”

His explanation made sense, and it fit with what I knew of him.

But his confession stirred up something inside me, and because I’m not one to bottle things up, I asked, “Are there more secrets? More things I should know but don’t?”

He looked at me seriously, and I started to feel uneasy.

“Yes,” he said, his gaze steady.

“It’s a big one, isn’t it?” I whispered.

“I’m afraid so.”

“Is it cowardly that I don’t want to know?” I asked, biting my lip.

“Is it cowardly that I don’t want to tell you?” He laughed, but there was no humor in it.

“Then don’t,” I begged.

“No. I have to, sweetheart. There comes a time when you have to face things.”

“Can we face them later?”

“Wanting to face things later almost made me lose you, Estella. It’s not a good strategy, believe me.”

Fear washed over me, but I tried to push it down.

“You’re right.” I nodded. “But can we put it off?”

He started to protest, but I cut him off.

“Until I get back from Paris, at least. Please, Max. I’m so happy now with you. I don’t want to ruin it. Not yet. Please.”