Page 18 of Chasing the Wolf (Dark Wing #7)

Chapter 18

Xavier

T here are two types of lion shifters: crazy and chill. I thought Mac's roommate was the lie in the sun kind. I thought wrong. I can't scent Mac, but I sure as hell can scent Colette's raging killer hormones.

"It's good, Colette. We're talking it through," Mac says, placing her hand on Colette's arm, but her eyes are on the pie.

There's an urge in me to say nice kitty . But I think that would be the last thing I said if I did.

"I'll say something if I need help." Mac nods at her roommate.

"Just yell, 'come murder my stupid not-mate.'"

"Got it," Mac says.

Colette stops by the table next to us. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Nope, we're all good,” the couple there says.

"Okay, well, have a lovely evening. See you tomorrow." Colette smiles.

The couple slides out of their seats and runs for the door. I'm guessing there's no way they're coming back to the dining room for the rest of the cruise.

"If she doesn't kill me, I'll make sure to give her a good tip," I murmur.

Mac nods. "So you were horrible because you were trying to protect me?" She places her fork next to her plate. It’s clearly killing her to not dig in.

"Yes, but I was a cub too. I didn't realize the enormous damage I caused. Can we at least see if what we both think is true is true?"

"No more spray? Okay."

"That's a start."

"Just a start, Xavier. I didn't say I would mate with you. Just that I won't use my spray bottle anymore."

Mate you . Her forehead furrows. And fuck me. I knew it was going to be hard. I know emotional wounds are harder to heal than bones. Some of the things my father said to me will live rent-free in my head forever. Twisting truth, creating lies from my own thoughts. During the day, I have control, but not at night.

"I know. No matter what you decide, I'm here for you."

Mac shakes her head. "It doesn't work that way."

"Sure it does."

"If we decide to not mate, we can never see each other again. Not without hurting ourselves. And you know our wolves won't let us mate anyone else."

My eyes flick to Mac's hand on the other side of the table. I long to touch her again. "There are ways around that. With modern tech." I put my hand on the table. My wolf’s growl vibrates in my chest, but I keep the sound to myself. It can't come to us turning the mating bond off. They've found a way to turn it off. Yes, I've been keeping up with technology. Not that I've wanted to use it in years. But back when my father first started the threats, I read everything I could find about it. Back then, there was nothing.

It's not lost on me that the doctor who invented the way of turning it off without magic is the physician for the ship. It's like fate's giving us another smack in the face. The "Fine, you don't want to do it? Here, let me make the most painful decision you could ever make a little too easy."

Mac glares at my hand but finally places hers on top of mine. I interweave our fingers. "I need to?—"

"Eat pie," I say, picking up her fork. I scoop up a bite of the apple pie and feed it to her. Her lips close around the tines. Her body crumbles, and she moans. "One step at a time, Mackie. Let's celebrate with what you say is the best pie on the planet."

Not only do I have to convince Mac she's my mate, but I'm going to have to win over her friends too. "You have a good group of friends on board. I'm glad they're so supportive of you."

"I do. It started as a small circle, and it just keeps growing. They're the best." Mac takes her hand back to serve herself ice cream on her apple pie.

But my wolf settles enough. I take a fork and bite into the red one. Strawberry-rhubarb. The flavor explodes in my mouth. "Holy shit, Mac. This is better than your mother's pie. Sorry."

"No, it's true." Mac's half done with her slice of apple. "It's heaven." She's moaning around her fork. "So good." And I can barely get my fork into my mouth I’m so hard.

We're lost in the bliss of pie. Mac's humming to herself, her eyes rolling back into her head with each bite she takes. It's adorable. Almost adorable enough that I forget about eating or the daunting task I have set out in front of me. "So how many friends would you say are in your close circle?"

Mac wipes her mouth with her napkin and takes a long drink of water. "Are you wondering how many females on the ship are planning your demise?"

"Perhaps?"

"Most likely just Colette, but there's Hope, who you met at the front desk. Rama, who you know. Naomi, who is in PR. Ina is on the bridge. Fiona and Daisy aren't on the ship anymore. Daisy had this bad break-up from a love match with Rama's brother. She took a job at a hotel in Texas. I miss her tons. Fiona lives on the island that the ship ports at most weeks. Depending on weather."

"The one with the school you volunteer at?"

"No, the island next to it. We'll be porting there tomorrow. You really sent money to the school?"

"I did." I pull up the email from the headmaster on my phone and slide it over to her.

Mac scans it. "Whoa, Xavier, you didn't need to... But I'm grateful you did. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Using children to get what you want is something my father did, not me. This isn’t..."

Mac holds my eyes for a second. They glisten even brighter blue before she nods and picks her fork back up.

" N ow for your third array. Pie or whole pie?" Colette asks.

"What's the difference?"

"Whole pie, they place one of each of the eight types of pie served tonight into one pie plate. Platter, the slices are spread out, nothing touching."

"Platter," Mac and I say at the same time.

I'm almost five slices in and slowing down. I've got most of my sweet potato, cherry and pecan left. And some of my apple. Mac's eyeing the rest of it, though. "Do you want the rest of my apple slice?"

"No, I couldn't."

I slide it over to her platter. "I had lunch. But you didn't?"

"No... I haven't eaten. I've been a bit distracted. Also, eating without being able to smell is hard."

"And whose fault is that?"

"The pies, they smell good, right?" Mac points at me with her fork.

"Better when I was hungrier, but yes, really good."

"Violet—the one who gave me the potion—she said it would last a day or so but that it’s different for everyone. Though, when I took a shower, some of it washed off." She stares at her pie.

I'm not going to get butt hurt about her being more willing to get rid of the potion to be able to smell pies than to know whether we are fated mates. It's a little concerning, but she has priorities. I can't fault her for that.

"What are you smiling about?" Mac puts her fork down.

"We can get our leftovers and head back to 1414. The tub is huge, and the shower is even bigger. With enough scrubbing, you might be able to smell by the time you're hungry again. And if not, I'll dig up as much as I can remember from my poetry class in college to describe the aroma of pie to you."

Her lips purse, and I have a feeling that she's going to say no. "Okay." Her chin lifts and her thin smile widens. "Okay."

I want to punch the air. Seriously, she's promised me nothing but taking a soak in my tub, and I don't care. I crane my neck around, looking for Colette.

"I'll get her." Mac places her napkin on the table. But Colette appears.

"What else can I get you?"

"Can we get this added to our other one?" Mac asks.

"Together or separately?" Colette asks with a layer of judgement in her voice.

"Together. It's okay, Colette. I'll explain things later. You were right; there were reasons."

"Good reasons?" Her eyes narrow at me.

"Yes, good reasons."

"Okay, do you want it sent up to 1414? I can't believe I'm saying that to you."

"Right?" Mac half laughs.

"Yes." My tone is low.

"We're sending a lot of things. It might take an hour or so. But I'll make sure you're taken care of."

"Thank you." Mac stands and hugs Colette.

"You're welcome," she says to Mac. Then she turns to me and points.

"Message received. Mess this up and I'm lion food,” I say.

"Ew, no. I would never actually eat you."

I'm not scared, but my shoulders relax.

"I mean, I'd let my lion tear you to bits and spread you around a beach until?—"

"We gotta go. I'll text you later." Mac grabs my arm.

"Yes, you will. Or Rama will have Luca searching the security cameras again." Colette pivots and walks away.

"There aren't any cameras in the cabins," Mac answers before I ask. "Ready?"

"Yes." I've never been more ready for something in my life. I swipe the pin into my pocket with a quick glance. A black cartoon dragon is holding a pie that has PI in gold letters on it. A memento from the holiday.

With my fingers interlaced with Mac's, I'm trying not to pull her out of the dining room. By the door is Rex, her boss, and he's standing next to an older woman with long gray hair.

"Hold up, Xavier. Marion, wow. That was amazing."

"I'm so glad you got to enjoy it. This Christmas, we're going to do one for just the crew."

"Really? That's amazing. I know how much work this is for you. And it's fantastic. Thank you for sharing your family's secret recipes with us. I mean, the product of the recipes, of course."

Marion kisses both of Mac's cheeks. "You're welcome."

There's no line for the elevator, which I suppose shouldn't be shocking as it's almost ten and we're one of the last guests to leave the Hoard dining room. The elevator opens, and it's empty. Mac steps on first, but I step close to her, absently tapping the button for deck 14 but keeping her moving until her back hits the far wall of the car.

Her eyes flick over me. "Xavier, what are you doing?"

"Elevator space is always at a premium. I'm being considerate by having us take up as little space as possible."

"There's no one else here." The door closes.

"Like a scout, I like to be prepared."

"You weren't a scout."

Our bodies are aligned. I lean into her, and instantly she's grinding herself against my erection. Fuck, it feels so good. I want to take her here and now. Forget about pushing the emergency stop. Forget that the door will open any second.

"No, but I still like to be prepared." I stick my nose into the waves of her dark hair. I can wait to be able to scent all of her. Have all of her.

She laughs and puts her hand on the middle of my chest and pushes. "Back up."

I'm not budged by her light shove. But I throw my hands in the air and put half a foot between us. "As you wish."

Her face drops. "I don't know what I would wish for right now."

"I get it, Mackie. It's a lot to take in." I should have told her years ago, even before I had everything under control with my asshole of a father. Let her help me make the decisions. I see now that keeping her in the dark didn't do either one of us any good. But that's water long floated away. There's nothing I can do about it now.

I take her hand when the doors open. I sprint down the hall, but Mac's long legs keep up with me. I fumble with my wristband, but Mac takes it from me and the door pops open.

I want Mac, and I have to make her understand how much.