Page 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Aline
“P lease give your daughter my thanks for letting me borrow her clothes,” I told Iggy a few hours after we arrived, as I handed him the now clean clothing.
“No problem at all. She was happy to help,” the warrior answered. “She was looking forward to meeting you, but she had to cover someone’s shift today.”
“I’m sure there will be plenty of time for that,” I replied with a smile.
Iggy took his leave, and I turned around to go in search of Xochil, when I saw her exiting the conference room’s hallway.
“Hey! I was just about to look for you. Ready to head to bed?” I asked her. It was already close to ten, and I was wiped.
“Goddess, yes! I’m pooped. I just want to cuddle with my boo,” she said with a teasing smile, but I could see the underlying sadness in her eyes.
I walked over to her and took her hand before walking up to her apartment. She went to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water, passing one over to me before we sat down on the couch. I pulled her closer, feeling that she needed the contact right now.
“Did you talk with your father?” I asked her after a few minutes of silence.
“I did.”
“And?”
“He was understanding, as I knew he would be.”
“And your brother?” I asked.
“Dad asked me to wait until the semester is over so he can concentrate on his classes.”
I didn’t push for more conversation, knowing she needed some time to assimilate all the changes coming to her life. During the flight back, we discussed our plan via mind-link. On Friday, we were going to pack up most of her clothing and head back to my place.
Over the next two months, we would focus on getting to know each other and finding our rhythm as a couple, and then we could begin the hunt for our own place. I was going to take a small step back from my restaurant, and allow Rosie and Guillermo to take over more of the cooking responsibilities, so I could get a break.
“Come on, let’s take a shower and go to bed,” I urged her after cuddling for a while, when I saw her yawning.
She let me lead her into the master bedroom. I undressed her and myself and got us into the shower. I cleaned her body, trying not to linger anywhere and make her think I wanted anything from her other than to take care of her.
I massaged shampoo into her hair, and my heart warmed when she closed her eyes and smiled. She was absolutely adorable and so sweet that I couldn’t help leaning down and giving her lips a quick peck.
She opened her eyes as I pulled back, her arms going around my waist to pull me close.
“You’re not just going to kiss me and stop, are you?” she asked.
“You need to rest,” I replied, pushing her back into the warm water stream to rinse the suds off her hair.
“Are you still mad at me?”
“What? No. Why would I be mad at you?”
“Because I grinned?”
“Ah! You mean because you thought it was funny that your mother and cousin could smell me getting all hot and bothered over you?” I asked, and watched her fight another grin.
“Ahem… yeah. That,” she said, then thought about it more and corrected. “Wait, no. I didn’t think it was funny. I was just stupidly happy that you feel that way about me.”
“Uh huh,” I replied, trying to look mad, but I knew I was failing when her hands moved a few inches south, and she squeezed my ass cheeks.
“You don’t believe me?” she asked, giving me what I could only call puppy eyes.
The thought of Xochil giving me puppy eyes and being a werewolf made me giggle, which made her smile wide at me.
“What’s so funny?” she wanted to know, cocking her head to the side, much like a puppy would, which only set me laughing again.
“I was just thinking about how you’re giving me puppy eyes, and you can literally turn into a big puppy. My wolfie.”
A big purr emanated from her chest, and she shook her head.
“You know, I think you’re the only person on this earth that would make Erinda purr instead of growl when being referred to as a puppy or a wolfie.”
“That’s because she knows I say it with love,” I assured her.
“Yeah?”
“Can’t you feel it?” I asked her.
“I can, but it’s nice to hear you say it,” she answered, suddenly a bit shy.
“Say what?” I pretended not to know.
“That you love me.”
“Is that what I said?” I teased, and she nodded her head in affirmation. “I guess if I said it, it must be true.”
“It must!”
“Then if it’s true, be a good Wolfie for me, and let me finish washing you.”
I laughed when her bottom lip stuck out, but she did let me finish conditioning her hair. Once she was rinsed, she pulled me gently under the water with her.
“My turn,” she pointed out as she poured shampoo from a new bottle into my hair and massaged my scalp. She did the same thing with conditioner, and once she rinsed it, she added some shower gel to the loofah.
I allowed her to do what she wanted, but couldn’t help whimpering when her fingers brushed against my nipples as she washed the underside of my breasts.
“You’re not playing fair,” I whispered when she moved down and her fingers began cleaning between my folds.
“Who’s playing?” she asked, before she dropped to her knees in front of me.
I could do nothing but gasp as she placed my leg to rest on her shoulder before she leaned forward, and ran her tongue from my entrance up to my clit. I placed a hand against the wall and one in her hair to steady myself. I moaned as she sucked my clit into her mouth, and felt her purr vibrating my leg and core. The sensation caused me to shudder as pleasure wracked my body.
“Xochil,” I whispered her name as she continued to work my bundle of nerves with her lips.
‘Louder, mate,’ she mind-linked, and I jerked in surprise for a moment, still not used to being able to hear people in my head.
‘Again,’ I demanded.
‘Talk again, or do this again?’ she asked, sucking my clit hard, and making me my eyes roll back.
‘Both?’ I managed to whimper in return when she speared my core with her fingers.
‘Cum for me, Aline,’ she ordered.
My body listened. The intimacy of hearing her in my head, while she pushed my pleasure to its peak with her mouth and hands, was overwhelming to the senses. I detonated with a scream.
“Again,” she demanded when she came up for air a moment.
“I can’t,” I replied, trying to stay upright while my body recovered, but she wasn’t having it.
‘You can,’ she insisted, switching back to mind-link as her mouth and hands became busy again.
“Xochil!” I gasped.
My legs became jelly, and I could no longer hold myself up, but it didn’t deter her. She put my other leg on her free shoulder and pressed me against the shower wall so she could continue. Now all I could do was moan as she continued to eat my clit and pump her fingers into my pussy.
‘Now, mate!’ she ordered.
I came with a scream, my body obeying its alpha. I felt like a puddle of flesh, and didn’t notice her moving us until she was pulling me out of the water stream. She placed me on top of the covered toilet, gently drying my body. When she started combing her hands through my curls, I managed to look up at her.
“I’ve got a comb, but it’s gentler to start with my fingers,” she explained. “You’ve got such pretty curls. I don’t want to ruin them.”
“Ho—”
“My hair was much more curly before it turned wavy when I hit puberty. Also, I always loved playing with Mom’s hair. She taught me how to take care of it,” she answered without me needing to finish the sentence.
I leaned forward a moment and kissed her chest, feeling and hearing the purr she let out. I closed my eyes and let her continue to do what she wanted, knowing I could trust her to treat my hair correctly. Once she was done, she pulled the comb through her hair quickly, picked me up, and carried me to the bed.
“I was supposed to be taking care of you tonight,” I mumbled as I struggled to stay awake.
“You did. You’re here with me. That’s all I ever need from you, Aline,” she whispered.
I tried to argue, but only a hum of noise left my throat before I succumbed to the most comfortable night of sleep I could remember having.
“W ake up, sleepy,” I heard Xochil’s voice penetrating the dream I was having, where I was holding a tiny little boy in my arms.
“I don’t want to,” I think I mumbled.
“Come on. It’s time for breakfast, and then I want to show you around a little.”
“But I was having the nicest dream.”
Not a dream, Ogum mumbled in the back of my head.
“It was a nice dream,” I insisted, only half processing who was saying what.
“It must have been, but if we don’t hurry, the breakfast tacos will be gone by the time we get downstairs.”
“Tacos?” I answered, finally opening my eyes.
“Breakfast tacos made with homemade flour tortillas. You’ll love them.”
“I never eat breakfast,” I announced, stretching in bed.
“I guessed that already. My mate needs to eat, though, so from now on, I’ll be making sure you eat every meal.”
“Spoken like a true wolf,” I huffed, letting her pull me up.
“Spoken like a woman in love, you mean,” she corrected. “I want you healthy, happy and satisfied.”
“Sexually?” I smirked.
“In all ways,” she chuckled, leaning and giving the swell of my breast a quick nip, making me yelp.
Just for the record, I keep you healthy. That’s why you were rarely physically ill all your life, Ogum provided.
“Ogum said he keeps me healthy.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you have to make it difficult for him to do his job,” Xochil pointed out, and I could feel Ogum swooning over her.
“I feel bullied,” I huffed.
“As long as you feel loved and bullied, mate.”
I couldn’t disagree with her, so I quickly changed and followed her down to breakfast. There was a long line going into the kitchen, and Xochil groaned.
“What?” I asked her.
“We’re late.”
“And that’s bad?”
“No. It’s good because we’ll get the freshest tacos. We just have a longer wait now.”
“And this is why you love me,” Miguel pointed out as he walked out of the kitchen with a big platter in his hands.
“You’re the GOAT!” Xochil exclaimed and pulled us out of the line. We followed Miguel over to the main dining room, and the room went silent when they saw me.
“She’s my mate. She’s aware of who we are,” Xochil told everyone, and the room relaxed, going back to the normal bustle and conversations, while a few threw out congratulations our way.
“What was that?” I asked her quietly.
“We’re not allowed to disclose what and who we are to humans, so they couldn’t speak as usual with you here unless you already knew about us.”
“Oh, because you’d get in trouble otherwise?”
“Yes, and because we’d have to wipe your memory if you were an ordinary human, and that’s always dangerous. You never know what else you’re erasing. We prefer to be careful. No one here is comfortable being the reason a person has to be manipulated against their will to keep our secret safe,” Miguel explained, and I saw a few people we passed nod when they heard him.
“There’s a lot of rules for you guys.”
“Mostly that one: Don’t let humans know about our existence.”
“What about Avó?”
“She already knew,” Xochil reminded me with a chuckle. “Her precog power allows her to know.”
“Right,” I replied, my shoulders relaxing. I kept forgetting she was magical on her own.
We sat down at a table near the back of the room, and people kept coming up to introduce themselves. It was such a whirl of names being thrown my way, that I was hoping I wouldn’t be expected to remember on the first try.
“What are you guys up to today?” Miguel asked as we ate.
“I’m giving Aline a tour of the grounds after breakfast, and then I’ll take her over to Crescent Moon to have lunch with Cory and Evie.”
“We get to see Cory and Evie?” I asked.
“Yeah, they’re just a quick walk over the river, and then we’re officially in their pack grounds.”
“Over the river… as in, we’re magically flying over the river?” I asked, and a few people around us started snickering.
“No. We have a bridge,” Xochil chuckled.
“Oh,” I answered, feeling embarrassed.
Even Ogum was laughing at me in the back of my head.
I think I liked it better when I didn’t know how much you laughed at me , I told him.
I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at the situation, he corrected.
Yeah, yeah.
“It’s okay, Luna. Half the shit our ranked members can do leave the rest of us feeling very silly and assuming the fantastical, too,” someone from the table next to us called out.
“Yeah, I thought Alpha Helios was powering the entire pack house when I learned he could make lightning,” another admitted, making all of us laugh.
“Wouldn’t that be handy? You guys always forget to turn the lights off when you leave a room,” Helios called from the entrance to the dining room, making a few people duck their heads sheepishly. Helios walked over to us and sat down across the way. He gave me a friendly smile and asked, “Do you guys have time to stay for dinner or are you heading back to the city tonight?”
“We’ll be here until tomorrow,” Xochil assured him.
“Great, I’ll cook us some dinner. It’s the least I can do after Aline and her grandmother cooked for us so much.”
“That works for us. We’re having lunch with Cory, but we’re free for dinner,” Xochil agreed, then eyed me.
‘Sorry. Is that okay? I just realized I’m making all of the decisions.’
‘That’s more than okay. I like your family,’ I assured her and thought I felt her relief through the bond.
It will get easier to feel her emotions the more time we spend with her, Ogum told me.
We finished eating breakfast and then followed Miguel out to the training area. He was one of the instructors for the basic class, so Xochil and I found a seat and waited for him to get the class going.
I saw another side of Miguel. The carefree, silly guy was gone while he was leading the young werewolves through the warm-up and lesson. He was still a kind, supportive person, but I could see the more serious and in-charge side of him. This was the side that would make him an amazing beta, and I could see the respect reflected on everyone’s face as he corrected their forms and gave advice.
“He’s really good at his job,” I mentioned to Xochil later as we walked around the grounds.
“Yeah. He is a big teddy bear with family, but he knows when to get to work. He’s going to make an amazing beta,” she agreed, then stopped us as we passed a building. “This is the long-term clinic. T—”
“I thought werewolves barely got sick. And doesn’t Nat heal?” I interrupted her, startled.
Up to this point, my understanding was that werewolves lived a long time and were immune to a lot of ailments that plagued humans.
“What plagues the people that live here is not physical, Love. It’s a mental trauma they aren’t able to fully overcome. See, when Dad first became a shifter, he saved a lot of shifters and vampires who had been kidnapped from their homes, tortured and used for experiments. Most of them were able to get through that trauma with help and therapy, but some were never able to fully recover.”
“That’s horrible,” I answered, my heart going out to every person living in that building.
“It is. We have this building to help care for them.” She nodded at a tall woman in scrubs swiping her badge to enter. “We have medical professionals to care for them, and there are a couple of acres in the back dedicated to them. It’s a safe space for them to shift, walk, etc. I think they also have projects to work on to occupy their time and exercise their mind.”
“Do they have any hope of recovery?”
“After almost thirty years? I’m not sure, but I would imagine the odds are low,” she answered sadly, making me squeeze the hand holding mine.
We continued to walk around the grounds, occasionally stopping to speak with pack members. As we walked the edge of the forest, I saw a gorgeous woman walking silently through the trees.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
“That’s Bastet,” Xochil answered.
The name sounded familiar to me, but I couldn’t quite place it.
“She’s the goddess of beauty,” she continued explaining. “She’s not one of Dad’s siblings, but we found her a couple of years ago being abused at the hands of an enemy. She doesn’t currently like crowds, so Dad set her up in a cabin in the forest so she could be comfortable.”
“How many gods live here?” I asked.
“That’s a complicated question,” she answered. “Some of our pack members have wolf spirits that used to be gods, and some are full gods like her.”
As we continued walking, Xochil continued explaining and answering my barrage of questions until we arrived at a bridge. Xochil nodded at the guards on both sides as we crossed, and more questions came to mind.
“Why do you need guards at the bridge? I thought Cory was your cousin. Do you guys not get along?”
“They aren’t there to keep either side out. Our two packs are practically one family. But just like we have family and friends, we have enemies. The guards are there mostly for communication and as a form of defense.” When I simply looked at her in confusion, she continued to explain. “I told you that a pack can communicate with everyone in their respective pack, right? Well, say Crescent Moon was attacked in the middle of the night. Cory would send out a pack-wide mind-link to alert them. The guards at the gate on his side would let the ones on our side know, and they would in turn reach out to Dad, and we could assist them quicker than trying to reach everyone via phone.”
“Handy.”
“It is,” she chuckled. “The guards also know everyone in the packs, so if someone somehow managed to get through the Crescent Moon guards, they would still have to fool the guards. They are trained to detain anyone not from the two packs until we can figure out who they are, and what their intentions are for crossing.”
“I understand now. It’s smart,” I agreed. We arrived at another giant building, much bigger than the one in Guardian Moon. “Geez. How many people live here?” I asked.
“A lot,” she chuckled. “Their pack is much bigger and older than ours.”
We walked inside and almost bumped into a gorgeous, older gentleman who paled when he saw Xochil, and put his hands behind his back to hide some sort of container.
“Uncle Markus! Why do you look so guilty?” Xochil asked, and laughed when he sighed and brought out a Tupperware of food from his back.
“Cory didn’t want to share his guisado (stew) with me because it was for you, even though he knows it’s one of my favorites. So, when he had to go check on Lucas, I stole some for me and Celeste,” he answered, and though he looked guilty, his eyes told me he regretted nothing.
“I won’t tell if you don’t,” Xochil laughed.
“This is why you’re my favorite niece,” Markus answered, then smiled at me. “You must be Aline. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m sorry my first impression is as a thief.”
“Not a very good one at that,” I teased, and shook the hand extended to me.
“I mean, three more seconds, and I would’ve gotten away without anyone knowing,” he answered and then winced. “I gotta go. Cory just figured it out and threatened to come take it back. I swear, my son used to be more laid back before he had kids.” He gave us a quick hug and ran out the doors.
We started walking toward the side of the stairs when Cory came out of an elevator, and stopped in his tracks.
“You’re here.”
“He got away, Cory. I’m sure you made lots anyway,” I laughed as he tried to look for his father behind us.
“He thinks he’s discovered his funny side now that he’s a grandpa,” Cory huffed then gave us a quick hug.
We followed him to the elevator and rode up with him as he continued to rant.
“Last week, he thought it was funny to put a fake mouse in the kid’s playpen. It made Evie scream bloody murder, and I thought we were being attacked. I almost shifted as I burst through the door looking for the threat.”
I didn’t mean to laugh, but the image of what he was describing made the giggles burst forth before I could stop them. It only made it worse when Xochil laughed along with me.
“It’s not funny when it happens to you,” Cory grumbled, but I could his lips trying to twitch.
“Your dad’s right, you used to be more laid back before you had kids,” I teased.
The Cory I met in university was a serious man, but he was easygoing and easy to laugh with.
“I am not!” he answered indignantly. “I mean… You try getting enough sleep with three kids under two,” he pointed out.
“Why don’t you and Evie have a night out in Phoenix in the next month? Xochil and I can babysit,” I suggested, feeling for the poor man.
“Oh, I don’t think you know what you’re signing up for,” Evie’s voice came from the kitchen as we exited the elevator. “But, no takesie backsies!”
“I’m sure we’ll survive. What’s the worst that can happen?” I chuckled.
Famous last words.