Page 134 of An Omega for the Lycan Prince

Emerson’s lips tug into a grin while Aryanna punches my arm.

*ANNALISE*

The past few days flew by like nothing, and now I’m finally allowed to set foot outside the pack grounds again. It took some convincing before Liam would agree to meet our friends outside the pack grounds. I fully understand that it’s a tight situation, but I haven’t seen Dave in a while. And it's not like Liam and I are on our own… Aryanna and a few warriors accompany us.

I know Dave is apprehensive, especially now that Ella needs to hide too. Dave, as a human, isn’t allowed on pack grounds. I’m relieved that Finn and Celine keep an eye on him. However, it bothers me deeply that I can’t do anything for him. Facetiming and chatting on the phone is not the same as seeing him for real.

“You know I love you,” I say as I get out of Liam’s car.

“Yes,” he says warily, anticipating that I will say something difficult to handle.

I nod. “And you know that once all of this is over, you will need to let me go to places on my own? Well, almost alone, as I will need to take my Gamma with me then.”

He frowns.

“Liam,” I say with insistence. “You can’t always come with me. And I can’t always stay under your watch on the pack grounds either. It would drive me insane. It would drive both of us batty. You need to let me meet my family and friends.” I pause.

He sighs deeply sounding slightly annoyed, but I know by the way he looks at me that my words are already sinking in. Liam is not an idiot, and a very confident and independent mother raised him. No matter how crazy and absent-minded Flora appears to be sometimes, she is very confident and does whatever she wants. And Elden lets her.

“Tell me that I’m not only your mate but also your partner,” I say quietly. "Please tell me."

“You are also my partner,” he says, looking at me thoughtfully. “But Annalise, you got abducted and hurt. That was a close call.”

“I know,” I admit quietly. “That’s why I said ‘once this is over’. I know I need protection now. But once we've dealt with it, I want to have some normalcy back. Is that too much to ask?”

“No, it’s not.” he finally says.

“I will be careful,” I say. “What Aryanna said to me about my role in the pack and for the pack's future really hit home. I understand. I can’t do anything unreasonable. But when we have our lives back, I want to be able to do things on my own.” I smile. “I know how things in your pack run by now. I also know you will assign a guard to me. I will have my Gamma then, just like your mother. I promise I’ll never leave the pack grounds without a guard.”

He takes my hand, leading me through the alley towards the restaurant we chose. We are meeting Celine and Dave for dinner. “I know you are right,” he says after a while. “You are also not the first one to point this out,” he chuckles. “I already got an earful from my mother, Finn and then my mother again.”

“Your family are not ones to keep their opinion to themselves,” I laugh before turning serious again. “And if you ever think I’m too unreasonable, just tell me.”

He chuckles. “You think you are unreasonable? You haven’t seen my mother yet. Yesterday she was on a two-hour rant towards my father because she wanted to walk through the forest alone. And I’m not talking about the forest on our pack grounds.”

I grin. “I wish I could have seen it.”

He takes my hand into his, rubbing his thumb over it. “Truth is, I already started looking into a car for you, for after we settle our issues with Red Claw,” he pauses. “You can drive, can’t you?”

I nod, my eyes widening when I register his words. “Wait… what…”

“You need something to drive around in, and I assume our usual SUVs are too big for your liking.”

“Liam,” I say quietly. “You don’t need to buy me a car.”

“I absolutely do,” he says earnestly. “You need one. But rest reassured, we're thinking about adding a few compact cars to our fleet anyways. My mother doesn’t like huge cars either. Aurelia will be passing her license exam soon too.”

“All right, but please don’t make it too expensive!” I urge. I need to find a way to contribute to the pack, too. College classes are starting again next week. Ella and I will take mostly online classes for now. But I want to finish my degree and then work to add some income and knowledge to the pack. I think these thoughts might be something to discuss with Elden. I’m sure he has a few ideas already.

“What are you thinking about?”

“My future,” I point out. “What kind of work can I do to help the pack?”

His eyes widen. “You know,” he says carefully. “You don’t need to work if you don’t want to.”

“I want to, though,” I point out. “I feel like I’ve been on vacation the last two weeks, but I definitely want to contribute something to the pack in the future,” I add firmly. “Don’t try to stop me.”

“I won’t,” he says to my surprise. He shows me one of his rare, beautiful smiles when I look at him. “I hoped you would say something along those lines. I love that my mate and my future Luna wants to help the pack. My mother majored in architecture, and she currently works in that field.”