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4

I t took five days for my heat to break.

Five insane, insatiable days.

When I woke up the morning of the sixth day, it wasn’t out of an intense need for Remy to screw me into another dimension for the first time in a while.

No, it was with a sharp pain and soreness between my legs and my muscles aching like I’d run across the state of Washington.

Holy shit.

I peeled my eyes open and saw Remy sleeping beside me on his stomach. His face was turned toward me, his long lashes brushing the tops of his chiseled cheekbones and his full lips slightly parted. Even in the light of the morning, I could see the circles under his eyes and kinda felt bad.

He’d been a freaking rockstar the last few days, keeping up with all the demands of my heat and the uncontrollable needs of my body. Some of it felt like a haze, which might have been due to the feverish temperature of my body.

But finally I could open my eyes and instead of rolling onto Remy to ride him, all I wanted was to find a bag of frozen peas to shove between my legs while I laid on the couch and curled up with my e-reader.

Our bedroom smelled like sex and… sex. I needed to open some windows and air the space out.

I glanced around the room.

And I also needed to clean.

There were abandoned cups and empty bottles of water scattered around, as well as food wrappers and empty bags from popcorn and chips. And… when the hell had we ordered a pizza?

My cheeks flamed as I thought of a shifter showing up to our house to drop it off and smelling the pheromones inside our house because there was no way to miss them.

I sat up and groaned as my stomach clenched. I was starving .

The second I made a noise, Remy’s eyes opened and he reached for me, his hand curling around my thigh. “Hey.”

I gave him a small smile. “Hey back.”

Awareness trickled into his eyes and he scrubbed a hand over his face, more than a little stubble shadowing his strong jaw. “How do you feel?”

“Sore, I admitted with a wry laugh. I pointed across the room. “When did we order pizza?”

He frowned and followed my gaze. “Two nights ago? And we didn’t order it; Rhodes dropped it off on the front porch and texted me it was there. I went down and got it when you were sleeping… and then you weren’t sleeping.” He smirked at me.

Groaning, I leaned back against the headboard. “I’m not sure if I should apologize or not for the last few days.”

Remy scoffed and scooted over to use my lap as a pillow. “There was a minute I was worried you might’ve broken my dick, but I think we handled that pretty well.”

I laughed and scratched my nails lightly along his scalp. “I need a shower,” I muttered. “I stink.”

He snorted. “Not even close, babe.”

“Rem, I haven’t showered in days ,” I pointed out, wrinkling my nose.

He smiled against my bare thigh before nipping it lightly. “I love the way you smell.”

“Like sex?”

“Like us ,” he corrected. “And if you weren’t sore, I’d probably fuck you again for even implying differently.”

My vagina might’ve been in pain, but his words were exactly what my heart needed to hear.

He chuckled as my stomach let out another unhappy rumble, and then kissed my leg before pushing himself up and looking at me. His dark gaze dropped to my breasts and then between my legs before lifting back to my eyes.

I scowled. “No. Unless your dick is made of ice, it’s staying away from me for the foreseeable future.”

He lifted a brow, a little concern in his eyes. “Define foreseeable future .”

I wanted to give some flippant answer and say something like until my next heat cycle, but I really loved my mate and I really loved sex with him.

“Twelve hours?” I mean, it was probably realistic.

He grinned. “Deal, babe. How about I go make you something to eat and you take a shower?”

“Damn, I love you,” I murmured, leaning forward to kiss him quickly, my mind already on my shower and all the products I wanted to use on my hair and skin. Still, I waited for Remy to throw on a pair of sweats and leave the room before attempting to get up.

With a groan, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and got up, hobbling to the bathroom. I gazed at the massive soaker tub with the jacuzzi jets and vowed that once my shower was done, I was soaking in there for a few hours.

I was one of those weirdos who hated taking baths unless I was already clean. I mean, otherwise it was like sitting in human soup, and that grossed me out.

Thankfully Remy and I had a giant shower big enough for both of us and then some with no less than seven showerheads. I turned on every single one of them before stepping into the steam and taking a deep breath.

I finished my shower and quickly toweled off and grabbed some clothes. Before I left our room, I opened the windows and took a deep, cleansing breath of mountain air. The air had lost some of its heat as fall ushered in cool air and changing leaves.

My wolf rippled under my skin, craving a run across our pack land. I rubbed my sternum, assuring her we’d get out there soon enough, while going downstairs.

I found Remy in the kitchen, and he’d prepared a ton of food, all of which were my favorites. I snagged a piece of bacon, popping it into my mouth while climbing up on one of the island bar stools across from him.

“Feel better?” he asked me while turning to pour me a cup of coffee.

“Somewhat,” I replied with a smile as I accepted the mug. “Thanks.”

He winked at me, and aching core or not, desire filled my blood. God, I loved this man beyond reason.

“Are you going to check in with the pack today?” I questioned as he finished pulling a waffle off the iron. He slathered a crazy amount of butter and syrup on it before sliding the plate to me along with a set of utensils.

I cut into it and took a bite, sighing happily. “You’re my favorite person in the world.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “Same, babe. And no, I’m not dealing with the pack today. I texted Rhodes earlier; he’s handling stuff with Dante and Will for another day while you and I chill.”

I perked up. “You’re staying home?”

He nodded, watching me eat. Only after I’d eaten half my waffle and several pieces of bacon did he turn away and start his own waffle. I reached for the bowl of cheesy scrambled eggs and dished some onto my plate.

“How are you feeling?” He studied me closely, looking for something.

I frowned and lowered my fork. “Still kinda sore, but—”

He shook his head. “I mean about taking the… What are we calling it? Medicine? Potion?”

“Oh. Uh, birth control?” I shrugged. “I feel… good about our decision.” Worry prickled the back of my mind. “Why? Do you wish—”

“No,” he cut me off firmly. “We both made the decision that was right for us, Skye, and I don’t regret that at all.”

I exhaled a heavy breath, relieved. “Even if your council says something?”

“Fuck them,” he retorted. “First of all, my council won’t have shit to say.”

Since taking over as Alpha, Remy had made a pointed effort to blend his father’s old council along with the council he had chosen to be part of his inner circle. The ones he’d chosen, our friends, would never stand against us and would defend us until their last breath.

It was the old guard, as Mallory called them, that might throw up some resistance and question our decision. While the majority of them wouldn’t, there were a few that would, at the very least, give us a side eye.

“Second, if anyone says shit to you, you need to tell me,” he added, fire flashing in his eyes.

I smirked. “I just figured I’d tell Katy or Rhodes.” His sister and best friend were two of the hottest headed people I’d ever met, and they were fiercely loyal in addition to being more than a little overprotective of me.

He winced. “Yeah, maybe we don’t start a pack war,” he muttered.

My brows lifted. “Oh, because you’d be so much calmer?”

He grinned at me, not bothering to disagree. While Remy was diplomatic and level headed, once you pissed him off? Yeah, good freaking luck weathering Hurricane Remy. He was the youngest Alpha our pack had ever had, and one of the youngest in North America, but he’d proven—multiple times—that he wasn’t an Alpha by default.

He’d earned that title, and he had no problem proving why he was the Alpha as many times as it took.

It was me who hated seeing him challenged or getting upset.

Rhodes loved to punch people and Katy was always up for a verbal bitch slap, so why get Remy riled up if they were around?

“Third, the day our pack thinks they get to dictate our bond and when we have children is the day I dissolve the pack, and we go live on some mountain in Russia.”

I grinned. “You know my parents would love for us to move there.” My father was the Alpha of the first pack of shifters known to our world. My mother lived there with him now, and we had plans to visit with them over the holidays.

He shook his head. “Babe, all I’m saying is, what we decide to do with our family is no one else’s fucking business. Not the pack’s, not my parent’s, your parent’s, or our friend’s.” He came around to my side of the island and turned my chair, stepping between my legs to press a hand against my flat stomach. “We give enough of ourselves to our pack. When we’re ready, we’ll have as many kids as you want.”

I tipped my head back to look up at him. “And have we decided how many we want?”

“Ten?” He kept a totally straight face, but there was a teasing glint in his eyes.

Snorting, I punched his stomach. “Nice try. I’m thinking half of that.”

“Five?” He gave me an odd look.

“Is that okay?”

“Five sounds perfect,” he replied, kissing my forehead and then my mouth. “When we’re ready.”

I nodded, inhaling his scent. This was my home, right here in his arms. As long as I had that, I could handle anything.

Maybe even ten kids.