Page 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Xochil

‘A re you awake yet?’ I woke up to Miguel’s mind-link, but refused to open my eyes. I was way too comfortable to try to move or blink.

‘I am now. What’s up? Something wrong?’

‘Only that Aline’s grandmother insisted on cooking, and I can see everyone already drooling around the kitchen and waiting to pounce on the food. You should get in here unless you’re busy eating something else.’

‘As if I would have the mind-link open if I WAS doing that,’ I replied.

‘Then I suggest you don’t start and get your asses over here. I don’t know what she’s making, but it smells amazing.’

‘I’ll see if I can wake up my mate.’

‘Uh-huh. Don’t get frisky again, Alpha. You know these walls aren’t soundproof, and this time, everyone is a lot closer and awake.’

‘Mind your business,’ I said, feeling my cheeks heat.

I knew what he was making the reference to, but I wasn’t going to address it right now. For one, because I knew everyone probably heard us, though most of the warriors were respectful enough to not bring it up, or too afraid to take me on at training when we got home if they tried to tease me about it. For another, thinking about it was already heating me up, and I really wanted to try whatever food Miguel was speaking about.

“What’s making you blush so quick after waking up?”

I opened my eyes and looked to my left. Sometime during our sleep, we’d switched positions. Now, she was cuddled up against me, with her head resting on my shoulder while my arm was wrapped around her.

“How did you sleep?” I changed the subject.

“Good. How did we end up switching spots? I thought I was the big spoon?”

Not with us, she isn’t. She deserves to be coddled, protected and cherished. Like the goddamn luna she was born to be, even if we never officially give her the title, Erinda huffed in my head.

“Beats me. I very much enjoy this angle, though,” I answered, my eyes roaming down to her cleavage that was screaming “Here are the girls!”

“You have a one-track mind,” she laughed, but her hand was the one that came up to cup my breast.

“I’m not the only one,” I replied, wagging my eyebrows at her.

“We are mates for a reason, are we not?” she asked, her voice lowering to a sultry tone that made my lust ratchet up to ten in under two seconds.

“I ca—” Before I could say anything, there was a loud knock, and her grandmother’s voice came through the closed door.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop. The feijoada I made for lunch is almost ready, and the wolves are looking hungry.”

“We’ll be right out, Avó!” Aline called back.

I placed my free hand over my face with a groan.

“Vagina blocked by a woman who’s probably had more sex than both of us. That’s just wrong.”

“Unless you’ve been a harlot, I definitely have! Aline’s grandfather wasn’t a wolf, but he definitely had the libido of one!” she let us know through the closed door.

“Shit! I thought she left,” I blurted, and Aline began laughing as we heard the old lady cackling down the hall.

“I swear she wasn’t this bad before,” she said, shaking her head at the door.

“With age comes the don’t-give-a-fucks,” I chuckled.

“Come on. Let’s go get some food. Feijoada is my favorite of Avó’s dishes.”

“What is it?”

“A bean and pork stew, essentially, but you’ll see. It’s amazing.”

“I’m Mexican. You had me at beans,” I replied, sitting up when she got up to change.

I watched her dress, transfixed by the way she moved, and thanked my lucky stars that she accepted me and allowed me to mark her. Suddenly, she stopped in the middle of pulling up her jeans. I was about to ask her what was wrong, after she didn’t move for a few seconds, when her face snapped up, and she looked me directly in the eye.

“What were you thinking about just now?” she asked.

“What?”

“What were you thinking about?”

“How hot you are?” I tried to joke, my heart rate speeding up.

“That’s it?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“I... uhhh... I may have been thinking about how lucky I felt that you accepted me and let me mark you,” I answered, feeling my face heating up.

She stayed quiet for another moment before she dropped her pants and walked over to the bed. She crawled over until she was straddling me, and placed her hands on both my cheeks as tears formed and fell from her eyes.

“You keep surprising me. The bond keeps surprising me. Every time I feel the depth of your love, it’s like my chest fills with this warmth that makes me feel cherished, protected and incredibly blessed. I can’t believe you feel that way about me, and I can only hope I can always make you feel like that. Thank you for this gift. Thank you for your love.”

“You never have to thank me for something you deserve,” I replied, then met her lips as she leaned forward.

I wrapped my arms around her when she let out a moan, but she ended the kiss before I could do much more.

“Fuck,” she panted, resting her forehead against mine. “When do we fly out again?”

“Tomorrow,” I answered, pouting.

She groaned and got out of bed again.

“Let’s go eat before my grandmother hears what I want to do to you.”

I groaned in response, falling flat on the bed with a hand over my head.

“You can’t say shit like that before I’m supposed to go look my parents in the eye,” I whined.

“I mean, at least you don’t have a dick that will betray you,” she giggled.

“No, but werewolves can smell your arousal if you’re turned on enough,” I grumbled, getting out of bed to follow behind her, only to bump into her back as she froze in place. “What’s wrong?”

“What did you just say?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you say werewolves can smell arousal?” she asked, her voice a higher pitch than normal.

“Yeah...”

“So, if I’ve gotten aroused around werewolves, they could smell it?”

“If you were horny enough, I guess.”

“OH MY GOD!” she yelled and fell back on the bed, her hands covering her face.

“What? Aline, what’s wrong?” I asked, concerned.

‘Cuz, I told you not to start anything. We can hear her yelling all the way over here.’

‘We’re not doing anything, you doltz. She froze while we were talking, and now she’s embarrassed… or something. I’m trying to find out what it is,’ I replied before cutting off the mind-link and focusing on my mate.

“I can never face your mother or Cory ever again,” Aline whined.

“What? Why?”

“While they were explaining how mates work, I was getting aroused. Like really aroused. It wasn’t until I felt something hurting my chest that I stopped. I wondered why Cory couldn’t look me in the eye for a bit, but it never occurred to me he could smell me lusting after you.”

I tried to hide my grin, but at best, I managed not to giggle out loud. My silence at her statement was damning enough, though, because it made Aline look from behind her hands, and I knew when she saw the smile I was trying to hide. Her mortified look turned to confusion before she narrowed her eyes at me indignantly.

“Really?” she asked, and my fight against the grin failed.

I was aware my teeth were showing with how wide my grin was.

“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you,” I tried to reassure her, but it might not have had the soothing desired effect because I was still grinning.

“Oh, no. I understand. Miss Alpha Wolf is only too pleased to know I was aroused at the prospect of mating with her,” she said.

“Oh,” I replied.

She really did understand why I was grinning.

“Oh?” she repeated, standing up. “‘Oh,’ she says,” she grumbled as she went over to her pants and pulled them on quickly. She walked over to the door and looked back at me before opening it. “’Oh,’ she says,” she seethed one more time before leaving the room.

What just happened? Erinda asked as we watched her luscious ass in tight blue jeans walking away from us.

I think we just landed in the doghouse... or is it wolfhouse? I wondered, changing quickly, and running out to find her.

She was in a heated, hushed discussion with Miguel when I entered the living room, and she narrowed her eyes at me again when she saw me and turned her back on me. Erinda whimpered in my head, and I started making my way to her, but was stopped by Dad on the way.

“The South American Council got in touch with us this morning. The clean-up is being taken care of, and they’re waiting for our instructions for finding the families of the people we have back home. With a little luck, we won’t have to come back and search for them, just escort them back into their hands, so they can be relocated somewhere safe with their families.”

“Well, that’s good news,” I answered distractedly, willing my mate to turn to look at me. I sighed when she didn’t and turned back to Dad.

“Everything okay?” he asked, noticing Aline’s tense posture as she listened to whatever Miguel was saying.

“Yeah. I’m just in a teensy bit of trouble for grinning at something she said.”

“Never laugh at your mate, Xochil,” Dad chided.

“I wasn’t laughing at her!” I defended in a whisper-yell so she wouldn’t hear.

Instinctively, I knew it would make things worse if she thought I was discussing her arousal with my father. I kind of hoped she was discussing it with Miguel, and he was telling her that it was something that happened to everyone, and no decent wolf would ever bring it up.

“Vamos comer!” Renata said from the side, and while most of us didn’t understand Portuguese, this was close enough to Spanish to know it meant “Let’s eat,” and people started crowding around the stove until Mom made them form a line.

I stood behind Dad in line, and as Aline walked toward the back, I held out my hand for her. She was still annoyed with me, and I saw her looking down at the hand, trying to decide if she was going to take it, when her grandmother tapped her shoulder.

“I’ve got yours and Xochil’s plate over there.”

“Thank you, Avó. That’s very kind,” Aline replied, and nodded her head at me.

I quickly breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t mad enough at me to tell her grandmother, and followed her to the bowls of food on the side counter. I grabbed both of them while she filled two glasses with drinks, and I followed behind her to where she chose to sit.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered in her ear when I sat down next to her.

She nodded her acknowledgement of my apology, but I could still see she wasn’t ready to forgive me. I was quiet as I ate and listened to her speak with other people. The food was delicious, but I had to admit the excitement over the food was taking a back seat to Erinda’s constant whining as Aline continued to ignore us. She was speaking to everyone around us, thanking the warriors for fighting to save her, and answering questions about her orixa’s power as we ate.

‘Honey, you look like you want to cry. I thought everything was fine between you?’ Mom mind-linked.

‘I think things are fine,’ I sighed, ‘but I think she’s trying to teach me a lesson.’

‘And are you learning it?’

‘Probably not. I couldn’t help my reaction. I’m a wolf. I like it when she tells me… never mind,’ I stopped myself before I could blurt everything out to my mother.

Some things shouldn’t be a parent-daughter conversation.

‘Apologize and try,’ she told me after chuckling into my mind.

‘I did, and I will. I suspect I just have to eat crow a little, first.’

‘Yeah, you probably get that from me.’

‘You? Not Dad?’

‘Believe it or not, it was me the one fucking everything up when we first met. Your dad was patient and understanding, thankfully. You’re a good daughter, Xochil. I know you’ll make it better.’

‘I know. I just wish Erinda would stop whining in my head. She’s driving me nuts.’

Fuck off, human. I can’t help it. I’ve gotten a total of half a minute with our mate, Erinda defended.

That has nothing to do with you whining like an injured puppy because she’s not looking at us.

‘I just want my mate to love us!’ she said, and I was surprised to feel a mind-link connect, and flabbergasted when Aline jerked in surprise beside me.

“What the hell was that?” she asked, standing up.

“What’s wrong?” Dad asked from further down the table, standing up in alarm.

“That voice. I heard a voice in my head,” Aline answered.

“Isn’t that your orixa?” Miguel asked.

“No. It wasn’t him. It was... it sounded like you, but weird,” she said, looking down at where I was still sitting in my chair with my jaw hanging down.

At her words, everyone’s eyes turned to me.

“Xochil?” Dad prompted when I still hadn’t reacted.

“I-I think it was Erinda. She was complaining, and then we were mind-linking Aline.”

“I thought humans couldn’t mind-link?” Miguel spoke up.

“They aren’t supposed to,” Dad agreed.

“Maybe it was a one-off?” Mom suggested.

‘Can you hear this?’ I sent the mind-link to Aline.

“I can hear you,” she answered out loud.

“It’s not a one-off,” I answered Mom.

“Is it just you because she’s your mate?” Chris asked, and moments later, Aline eeped from my side.

“I can hear you!” she exclaimed, but she wasn’t looking at me anymore. She was looking at Miguel.

“It’s not just Xochil,” Miguel confirmed.

“Can you answer them back? Can you connect to someone?” Mom asked.

“What does that mean?”

“Sit down for a moment, love,” I instructed, patting the seat she’d vacated.

Aline sat down slowly and squirmed a little as she realized everyone’s attention was on her. I took her hands to calm her and focus her attention on me. When I had it, I made her take a couple of deep breaths.

“Close your eyes, and let Ogum help you. Look for the connections to the people in this room. Most of them are in the pack, and you should be able to mind-link them. They are like tethers in your mind. You will know instinctively which tether belongs to which person. Once you have it, pull on it. Reach out for the person by following the tether. Once you do that, speak with them with your mind as if you were speaking with Ogum.”

She didn’t have to close her eyes to mind-link, but I thought it would help her visualize better and distract her from all the eyes on her. The room was quiet as Aline tried to find the mind-link inside her. It was a natural process for us werewolves, same as having a wolf in our heads, mate bonds and shifting. I was curious to see if she could do it, and if it had more to do with her being my mate, or her having another presence inside her.

Suddenly, I felt her pulling at the mind-link, and her soft, nervous voice flowed into my head.

‘Can you hear this?’

‘I can, my love. You’re doing such a good job.’

‘Mate,’ Erinda purred.

‘Why did your voice change?’

‘That was Erinda purring.’

‘I can talk to her?’

‘Yes. When you connect via mind-link, you can hear both of us if we choose to speak to you,’ I explained.

‘I will always choose to speak to you, mate,’ Erinda added.

‘Can you hear me?’ a deeper, more masculine voice flowed through.

‘I can. It’s lovely to meet you, Ogum,’ I answered.

‘I just want you to know that I’ve been trying to get her to stop being so grumpy about the arousal thing. It’s a point of pride that we can love as we do.’

‘Ogum!’ Aline chided, and I did my best not to chuckle through the mind-link, but Erinda twirled in the back of my head and chuckled. ‘Whose side are you on?’

Despite her chastising, I could hear the excitement and humor in her voice.

‘I love talking to you both, but since we’re still being watched, can you try reaching out to someone else in the pack so we can ensure you can connect to everyone.’

‘Who else is in the pack? Miguel?’

‘Miguel, my parents, and all of the warriors except Chris.’

I felt the mind-link disconnect abruptly, and I watched her pretty face concentrating. After a few moments, she smiled and then I heard Iggy chuckling from behind me, before her eyes cleared, and they focused on me.

“Did it work?” I asked her, already knowing the answer.

“It worked, Alpha, and Aline wanted me to tell you that she has a secret, and I’m not allowed to tell you what it is,” Iggy answered for her.

I groaned, and everyone laughed. We settled back to eating, and I felt Aline’s hand take mine under the table. Erinda melted into a bundle of purrs in the back of my head.

We had a visit from the council in the afternoon. While here, one of them insisted on meeting Aline, having heard the tales of a young witch with an orixa attached to her soul, disappearing long ago. Thankfully, I was able to mind-link her to avoid telling them she had fully connected with Ogum. I wouldn’t have her become a target. Our family had many gifts, and we were careful not to draw attention to ourselves. We had enough enemies, and people hunting us for our blood and gifts as it was.

Aline thankfully told them she wasn’t aware of any being attached to her. She knew what people said, and while she admitted her intuition seemed to be better than others, she didn’t have any special talents as far as she knew.

I wasn’t sure if they bought her explanation entirely because they could hear her heart rate speeding up as much as I could. But then she told them how Benicio had hunted her for twenty years and that all she wanted was to stop being afraid for her life now that he was dead. When she asked them if they could please make sure to spread the word that she died in the attack so she could finally live in peace, they seemed a little less suspicious. Only time would tell if they actually bought it, or if they decided to look further into my mate.

That night at dinner, things were more relaxed. The following morning at breakfast, Aline had to change back to the same clothes she wore that first day, after one of our warriors bumped into her on his eager way to get seconds.

“Grandma, are you sure you won’t come with us?” Aline asked Renata, as we prepared to vacate the Airbnb to drop her grandmother off at home, and then head to the airport.

“I promise to visit soon, Aline. I will help you train your gift once you’ve understood it a bit more,” Renata answered.

“I miss you, Avó. Come up soon.”

“I will. Now that your mate has a fancy private jet, I’ll visit more often,” she replied, winking at Dad.

I chuckled when Dad began assuring her the plane would be her disposal any time she wanted it.

‘You know, I think this old lady has more game than all of us,’ Mom said, when Renata turned to Miguel and asked if he would be able to escort her back and forth, as she was an old woman who might need a strong man to help her move about.

‘I think you’re right,’ I snickered when Miguel guaranteed her that he would fly down to get her without hesitation.

“Take care of my granddaughter,” Renata walked over to me, and gave me a hug.

“With every breath in my body,” I promised her.

We dropped Renata home, and Miguel climbed into our SUV. I noticed him twitching in his seat as we set off toward the airport.

‘What’s wrong?’ I asked him.

‘Aline smells different. Like honey. What perfume is she wearing? It’s strong.’

I leaned against my mate’s shoulder to subtly smell her, but while I could smell the honey faintly on her clothes, it was barely perceptible.

‘I think it’s whatever detergent was used on her clothes,’ I told him.

‘No... it’s like... never mind,’ he sighed.

The flight back to Arizona was uneventful, but as we rode towards the pack house, I began to dread the conversation I knew I needed to have with Dad. Aline and I were staying at the pack house for a few days to rest. She had to be back in the city before the weekend rush, and I would be going with her. Now that Benicio was dealt with, I couldn’t delay the conversation any longer.

We arrived at the pack house, and everyone swarmed the SUVs. I was dragged one way, while Aline was dragged another. Once she assured me she would be okay, I allowed Jacob to pull me and Miguel into a conference room, where we talked about what I was planning on doing. I knew they were both crushed, but as I expected, both promised me their support, and to support my brother in his training. They assured me that they would support him as his beta and gamma. The advantage there was that they both had a good relationship with him already, so my brother wouldn’t have to look for his officers while trying to learn the ropes of his new responsibility.

Once we had a plan in place, I left the conference room and headed for Dad’s office. I knew he’d be debriefing my uncles there. The faint smell of my mate, lingering in the room when I entered his office after knocking, surprised me.

“Hey, I was hoping you were all here. Can we talk?” I asked.

Everyone looked at each other before Dad nodded at me.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I-I don’t know how to say this gently, so I’m just going to come out with it. I promised Aline that I wouldn’t take over as alpha. She can’t leave Phoenix because of her restaurant, and I can’t make her, but I also can’t reject her. Her place is at my side, and if that means I move to Phoenix to ensure she remains there... I’m sorry, Dad, but that’s where I belong.”

Dad and my uncles began mind-linking, and I allowed them to talk it out amongst themselves. It was a big bomb I was dropping, and I knew they had all been looking forward to retirement.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, mija,” Dad finally said somberly when they finished. “You would have made an amazing alpha, but I understand.”

“ We understand,” Uncle Gonzalo corrected, narrowing his eyes at Dad.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dad mumbled, then sighed and looked at me again. “The truth is, all of us would give up our positions in order to keep our mates, and we would be hypocrites to try to begrudge you for it.”

“Thank you. I knew you would understand. Do you want me to speak with Damian about it?” I asked.

“No. Well, yes. But wait a few months before we break the news. Let him finish the semester out, so he can concentrate on his studies before we drop the news,” he requested.

“Okay. I can do that. Until then, I can tell everyone I’m going to Phoenix to spend a few months with Aline, so we can get to know each other without all the prying eyes,” I suggested.

“Thank you, Xochil.”

“I really am sorry, Dad. I know you guys wanted to retire soon.”

“That’s not something you need to worry about. We’ve got the energy for a few more years of waiting,” Uncle Theo chuckled.

I stood up and walked to the door, but before I left, I had to ask. “What was Aline doing here?”

“She wanted to know who to return the clothes she borrowed. Your mom is over at Crescent Moon checking on a few pups with broken bones,” Dad answered.

“Yikes, what happened?” I asked.

“ATVs taken without permission. Just pre-teen antics. Nothing too terrible.”