Page 5 of Aching for His Mate (The Wolves of Luven #5)

Iota looked over the bedroom for the twelfth time. The bed was perfectly made—fresh sheets and a summer quilt spread over top. Usually Iota slept with nothing on the bed but himself these months, but he wanted Domitia to be comfortable. Especially the nights she spent in their bed alone. He wanted to buy her clothes, but he wasn’t sure what she liked or what size she was, so he decided to leave that until after they’d had some time to get to know each other.

He walked through the rest of the house, double checked that the bathroom was spotless and two new towels hung beside the shower. He had gone to the market and gotten fruit and vegetables, thawed enough meat to feed her for a week, and picked up four different kinds of cake from Chi. Iota couldn’t be sure which flavors she preferred so he decided it was better to simply have everything.

Three loud knocks on the door made him jump, but he hurried over and opened it.

“She’s not pregnant,” Beta said matter-of-factly. “You can pick her up from pack housing. Room seventy-three. Her name is—”

“Domitia,” Iota finished.

“Correct. Please refrain from going within one hundred yards of Alpha until your rage towards him has quelled. Studies show this takes between three and six months.” Beta sounded like he was reading from a script.

“If she doesn’t mind, I don’t mind,” Iota answered through a smirk. Why would he care about Alpha? He didn’t hurt Domitia and she wasn’t into him so there was no reason for him to feel any kind of way towards that wolf.

“Still, please stay away from him in case your beast feels differently. Dr. Tau gave Domitia recommendations for continued treatment, which she has all the information for.”

“Wait, what? Why does she need continued treatment?” Iota felt panic rise. “Is she not well? I thought the hospital didn’t release anyone until they were cleared.”

“She has long term consequences from her time in Balaur that can be helped by regular appointments. She can fill you in on particulars, I was not given them.”

Suddenly, Iota didn’t feel so calm. The dragons hurt Domitia so badly she still needed care after months in the hospital? What the fuck did those monsters do to her?

“Iota, your eyes are flooding black. We recommend not meeting a human mate with your wolf pressing against your control.”

“I’m fine,” he said quickly, concentrating on calming the wolf. The dragons weren’t here, Domitia was safe in Luven. She would be even safer with him. He’d never let anything bad happen to her again.

“You sure? She’s human and might not understand—”

“I know how I have to behave with my mate,” Iota cut. He shook his shoulders out and stepped onto the porch, shutting the door behind him. “I’ll collect her now. Thank you for the information you’ve given.”

Beta nodded. “Good luck and congratulations. I wish you all the happiness.” It sounded like his second command was reading off a script. Which after the flood of new mates Luven had experienced, probably wasn’t far from the truth.

“Thanks, Beta,” Iota answered and walked past him. Now that he knew Domitia was ready, it was taking all his control not to shift and race down the streets.

But meeting his mate completely naked, in either wolf or man form, was probably not how she envisioned their meeting going. Hell, it wasn’t how he envisioned it either. He wanted her to fall in love with him, at least a little, and the wolf wasn’t an easy sight to take in for non-wolves.

He jogged down the street, noticing that he started sweating immediately, then stopped and walked more slowly. If he kept running, he might stink by the time he got there. He crossed the street to walk in the shade and willed his legs to calm down.

“Iota!” Gamma called from down the street. He had Celyn in his arms and Renny walking beside him.

“Hey,” Iota yelled back and his voice cracked a bit. Fuck, he needed to quell these nerves.

“She all clear?” Gamma asked once Iota stood in front of him.

“Yup.”

His friend smiled and nodded once. “Then I won’t keep you. As always, once she’s settled, we’ll have everyone over. Maybe not right away. After we get settled with the new baby.”

“Thanks.”

“Now, go on. Get your mate.”

“Iota has a mate?” Renny piped up.

“He does. Now, we’re going to leave him alone so he can spend time with her.” Gamma winked as Iota continued on his way.

“What does mate actually mean?” Iota heard Renny ask. He smothered a smile as he continued on, wondering how Gamma would explain that to a three-year-old.

Iota got to pack housing without any other stops and took a quick look at his reflection in the glass door. He’d taken his beard down to a light stubble and knotted his hair in a bun at the nape of his neck. Should he have cut it? Too late now. He pushed through the door, and took the stairs over the elevator.

Iota made his way to room seventy-three and knocked. He blew out a breath and closed his eyes, his heart bouncing around his chest in anticipation.

“Holy shit! Iota? Iota! Yes!!” For some reason unknown to him, Vallie stood in the threshold instead of Domitia.

“Uh,” he mumbled. “Do I have the wrong room?”

“No, no! She’s here!” Vallie finally stepped out of the way and revealed Domitia sitting on the foot of her bed, eyes as wide as full moons.

“Hi,” he breathed. “I’m Iota.”

She smiled softly. “I gathered as much from listening to Vallie scream.”

In that moment, locking eyes with his mate, a smile playing over her lips, he knew he was done for. He would do anything for this woman. He knew why Beta said he needed to stay away from Alpha because if she asked him to burn Luven to the ground, he’d do it.

“I am so excited! This is perfect. Domitia and I are best friends. We’ve been really close ever since…well, Cade chained us together in the dungeon.” Iota felt his rage start to bubble at the mention of his mate’s ill treatment in Balaur. “She is the most amazing person, you are so lucky to be mated with her! And she’s so hot. I mean, right? Look at the body on her.”

Domitia’s cheeks pinkened a bit and she looked down as she rolled her lips between her teeth.

“Ah! This is amazing. The four of us can hang out all the time! I invited Domitia to dinner tonight, but you’ll probably want to spend time together. As soon as you’re done with the non-stop fucking though, you two should totally come over. It’ll be a blast. We can all get drunk and tell stories and—”

“Vallie,” Domitia interrupted. “I’ll see you later.”

Vallie giggled and nodded. “Right.” She gave Domitia a quick hug. “Have fun! Remember what I said… great. ”

“I remember, now get out of here.”

Vallie scooted out of the room, giving Iota’s shoulder a quick squeeze as she did. He stepped into the apartment and closed the door.

Now they were alone.

He took a deep breath and let her scent invade every corner of his body. Heaven, home, right. She was here, and she was his.

“I’m Domitia. It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Iota. I’m even more excited than Vallie.”

She grinned and stood up off the bed. “Yes. Vallie can be a lot. But I love her.”

He nodded and looked around the room. “I’ve never been in pack housing before. Pretty nice.”

“Yeah, comfy bed too. Cozy couple nights Hadie and I had here.”

“Did you eat breakfast? Are you hungry?”

“I already ate.” She paused and took a step closer to him. “You want to show me where we’re going to live? Vallie should be out of the elevator by now.”

“I would love to.”