Page 31

The ride back to the pack was quiet. Nathan thought about the rest of his conversation with Micah. He had asked him how Paige felt with Micah's over protectiveness.

"Some times it bothers her, mostly when I get mad about the things others have done to her, but for the most part it's fine."

"I don't understand why though. She seems to resent everything I do, she won't let me protect her."

"Well imagine it's because she doesn't trust you as much as she does me but also I don't try to control her. Protection doesn't mean control."

"She said something like that once."

"Well I learned it from her. I also learned it from watching our Dad interact with her. He was always trying to control her. What she did, who she saw, hell, he even tried to control what she thought. Way more than he ever did with me or Sophie. It just made her resentful and when she got away from him and lived her life on her terms for the first time, she shined. It faded a bit when she got to London but she's still brighter than she ever was at home. I know it's not easy but you have to trust her. You can't make decisions for her, you can't control where she goes, who she sees or what she does. You figure out ways to protect her around her decisions. Paige is smart and strong. She knows what she's doing, you have to trust that."

"But Paige is human, she doesn't know-"

"I really hope you aren't about to say she doesn't know how to handle wolves or what our world is like. She knows, perhaps better than some. She's not the unknowing human you met in Sydney. She wasn't an unknowing human even then, it's just the image of her you formed in your mind before you knew her whole story. By saying she doesn't know, you're disregarding her lived experience. Paige knows. She knows quite a bit more than a bunch of wolves who rarely leave their pack lands."

"So it's just trust then?"

"Yeah, that's what it comes down to. You trust that she knows what she's doing, that she knows how to protect herself. You trust that she knows better for herself than you do."

"How is a newly matured and mated wolf so wise?" Nathan asked sardonically.

"Okay, one; I'm like not even five years younger than you. You were my age when you became Alpha." Micah retorted. "And two; most of what I know I learned from her. Paige is smart and she's a strong fighter. You saw that this morning. You can't fight her battles for her but you can fight along side her."

"You saw us fight this morning?"

"Yeah, I scented her rage and wanted to check on her. I saw you two sparring before the beta told us to keep away from the gym. She was always strong but it looked like she's picked up some new skills in the last few years. She wasn't that strong the last time we sparred."

"When was that?"

"Before she left Boston. I'd observe her training whenever I visited London but I think she must have been holding back then. I've never seen her hit that hard or that fast."

***

They pulled off the interstate for a pitstop. Paige and Nathan were left alone in the car as Micah and Patrick attended to their business. Nathan couldn't help but smile at the memory of another time they had been left alone together while traveling. Paige looked over at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said. "This just reminds me that train we took. You remember?"

"Oh gods." She smiled at her own memories of that ride.

"You were so annoyed at all of them for making us bunk together, I thought you wouldn't speak to me just to spite them."

They had took an overnight train between cities.

Their group had all seen the chemistry between Nathan and Paige and had hatched a plan to ger them together.

They maneuvered it so that Nathan and Paige would be forced to share the same cabin.

The fact that there was only one halfway decent bed in the cabin was just a bonus to them.

"I thought about it, but you were just so..."

"Irresistible?"

"Annoying. I was willing to do anything to shut you up."

"So everything we did that night was just to shut me up?" He meant it as a tease but it came out much more sultry than he intended.

The mood shifted immediately.

That night had been a night of firsts in their relationship.

The memories came rushing back.

The frustrated tension that had been between them was quickly replaced by another kind.

He shifted closer to her.

"Well I had planned on sleeping that night." She moved closer to him.

"You know what they say about the best laid plans..."

"Yeah?" Her eyes danced all over his face, flicking mostly between his eyes and his mouth. "Whose plans went wrong that night then? Theirs or ours?" He could feel her breath on his face.

"Depends on who you ask." He looked down at her mouth and back up at her a question in his eyes.

He wanted to make sure she wanted to do this to.

She gave a slight nod and he leaned in.

His lips brushed hers and the front door opened.

They pulled a part as Patrick and Micah climbed in to the car and they pulled back out to the road.

Paige fell asleep on the rest of the ride back.

He didn't blame her. The day had been exhausting for him as a bystander, her couldn't imagine how tired she must feel.

He noticed her reaching out to him as she slept.

He unbuckled his seat belt and slid into the middle seat, closer to her.

She wrapped her arms around his and hugged it like a teddy bear.

She laid her head on his shoulder and slept soundly the rest of the way.

She woke as the door closed as Patrick and Micah got out of the car.

Lifting her head from his shoulder she looked around.

The confused look she had on her face was adorable and Nathan wanted to kiss her.

She scrunched up her face and looked around.

When she realized she was clinging on to him she pulled away quickly.

"Oh, sorry." She said, "I didn't mean too-"

"It's fine, Rook. You will never hear me complaining about you holding on to me. I quite like it as a matter of fact." He said mischievously.

She gave him a weak smile, that held a hint of embarrassment and long suffering for his comments. "Still," she said. "We probably shouldn't, it blurs the lines to much."

"What lines?" he asked. He was confused. He knew she was keeping some walls up surrounding him but he thought those were starting to come down.

"The line between whatever we are now, what we were before, and what we're heading towards."

"What are we now?" Nathan would like to know. He knew she was his mate but he didn't know what she was thinking.

"Potential." She said simply.

"Potential for what?"

"Either the greatest love story ever told, or the deterioration of a greatness long passed and an incoming implosion that will take out more than just us."

Nathan looked at her, unsure of what to say. His heart leapt when she mentioned their love story and crashed when she mentioned it's implosion. She stretched up and kissed his cheek before saying goodnight and getting out of the car.

"Paige wait!" He scrambled out after her. She turned at the end of the car. "Have dinner with me," he said before even thinking it through.

"What?"

"Have dinner with me. Please. Tomorrow night." She gave him a skeptical look as if trying to decipher some deeper meaning behind his question.

"Why?"

"You don't want to have dinner with me?"

"Nathan-"

"Have dinner with me. In all that time we were together I don't think we ever had a proper dinner together. We went from arguing all the time to being together. I don't think we ever actually went on an actual date."

"You want to take me on a date?"

"Yes. You wear a dress, I'll wear a sports coat, I'll bring you flowers, we'll go to a nice restaurant, maybe even do a little dancing. Then I'll walk you back to your front door and try to steal a kiss before your dad starts flicking the porch light. Go on a date with me Paige. Please."

"What did I just say about blurring the lines?"

"I don't care. I want a date with you. At least one proper date. Even if this doesn't work, even if you leave. I still want at least one date."

Desperation laced his voice. He thought she was going to say 'no'. He was being cheesy as hell but he couldn't help it. He loved her but he also wanted to romance her. He wanted to take her out on a date and make her happy. Even if it was just for one evening.

"Fine." she said. "You can pick me up at seven." He wanted to dance a little jig, a happy dance jig but he also didn't want to look like an idiot. He settled for a huge grin to cover his face. She rolled her eyes at him and started walking away.

"Goodnight Nathan."

"Goodnight Paige, I'll see you tomorrow." She waved behind her and got into her truck. Nathan watched her go, already counting down the minutes until he would see her again.