Page 25 of Warrick (Rocky Mountain Pack #1)

She jerks Nellie behind her as they rush out the kitchen door.

I watch them both walk out as I look at Hazel with confusion on my face.

Hazel is looking at the door that just swung shut when she says, “I’m going to start working on the tablecloths now that Caelon and Xavior have brought the tables in.

” She rushes out the same door without a single glance back.

The refrigerator door shuts as Warrick turns around. “That was weird.”

Nodding my head, I take another sip of my coffee.

He walks over to where I’m leaning against the island and stops only a step away from where I’m standing.

I suck in a breath as I stand up in front of him.

It’s been three months since we have seen each other and the only thing that I can confidently say that has happened since that time, is that I know I want my mate. I want Warrick. More like need him.

His nostrils flare as he takes in my scent.

He reaches up and twirls one of my curls around his finger.

“You look beautiful today, Aspen. You always do, but today I have to say…” His fingers run over the ruffled cuff of my dress and trail down my arm.

“Today, I love this dress and how stunning you look in it.”

He runs his fingers down the length of my arm, capturing my hand in his.

I hold my breath, unsure where this is going, as I watch him bring my hand to his mouth.

He gently kisses each knuckle while whispering words of affirmation to me.

“Beautiful.” Kiss. “Intelligent.” Kiss. “Worthy of love.” Kiss. “Strong.” Kiss.

My chest is rising and falling in sawing breaths as I flush with arousal.

I watch in rapt attention as his nostrils flare wider, pulling my slick scent into him.

He gently pulls me the last step forward, slamming our bodies flush together.

My arm is now crushed between us as I feel all the hard plains of his body mold around my soft ones.

“Why…” my mouth dries as I try to forms a coherent thought. “Why did you call me Rose? That’s the second time.”

He smirks, “So you did hear me in the bookstore?”

My face heats with embarrassment. “Yes, stop avoiding the question.”

He shrugs. “Not avoiding it. Just proving a point.” He leans down, brushing my hair over my shoulder, and runs his hand down to the small of my back. “I call you Rose because I can’t wait to watch you bloom with each swipe of my tongue, with each moan, with every chant of my name.”

With a firm pull, he erases all the space between us, cocooning us in our mingling scents.

I can’t help but close my eyes and bask in it.

The rightness of this moment. My soul feels at peace for the first time.

He leans in closer, his nose brushing along my shoulder and his breath ghosting across my skin, sending a shiver down my spine.

“One day, I will earn the privilege of knowing each and every thing that will make you scream my name. One day, I will be honored with a place by your side. And one day, I will earn your love.” His lips move across my neck as he speaks and my knees begin to quiver.

What I wouldn’t give to just give into it right here, right now.

He moves up my neck and ghosts his lips across my jaw line. “Today isn’t that day, but just know that the day isn’t far away. I will do everything I can to earn your love, Aspen, even if it means walking across burning coals barefoot.”

A gasp escapes me at his declaration. “You…” I gulp. “You don’t have to do that for me, Warrick.” I let out in a husky breath.

He cups my cheek with his hand as my eyes open. He is looking at me with pure adoration and it might just be the best moment of my life. I’ve waited years for him to see me.

“You deserve to be loved like the fairy tale books you read, and I’m determined to give you just that.

Don’t give in now, Aspen. I can see it in your eyes.

I’m sorry that I’ve mistreated you in the past. I don’t deserve to even hold you in my arms like I am now.

You should hate me for everything I’ve done to you, embarrassing you in front of others, and flaunting women when I knew you would be around.

I don’t want your forgiveness right now.

I want to earn it. Can you hold out a little longer for me? ”

His eyes are pleading with me, and I can see by the droop of his shoulders that he truly believes that I should never forgive him. He doesn’t believe he deserves love. Maybe that has been the issue all along. Not me, but him?

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” Caelon says from the doorway.

We jump apart, breaking the moment we were just having. I watch as Warrick retreats back into himself.

“It’s fine, I have to find Nova anyway to see what else she needs me to do.” Warrick moves toward the door.

“I was actually coming to tell you that we need to run down to You’re Bacon Me Crazy to pick up the catering for the event,” Caelon says while staring at the floor.

“Sounds good,” Warrick says as I watch him walk out of the kitchen.

Caelon looks at him, his eyes retreating back to me, and back again. “You okay, Aspen?”

I just nod my head, because, honestly, I’m not okay. I think I finally understand the piece that I’ve been missing this whole time and I don’t quite know what to do with that.

We were able to get everything done in time, like I figured we would.

The pack house is full of everyone, from pack members to townsfolk.

The level of excitement for what the twins will be is almost a physical being inside here.

You can feel it everywhere you walk in the room.

It’s funny how something this town has never done before has brought together so many people.

We even have the Mountain Lion Shifters, the Goat Shifters, and the Hawk Shifters present.

Nova really does have a way of bringing everyone together.

“Alright, who is ready to find out what the gender of the twins are?” Silas’s voice booms around the room.

The room erupts in whistles, cheers, and noise as everyone chants. “Show us! Show us!”

He wraps his arm around Nova, pulling her under his arm as he says to her, “I don’t think they want to know. Maybe we shouldn’t tell them. Doesn’t seem as though they are excited.”

I didn’t think it was possible for the room to get louder, but it does.

He holds his hands up in surrender as Warrick and Nellie walk up, each holding an enormous black balloon with blue and pink ribbons hanging down.

Each balloon has a bold white question mark on it.

Warrick is the only one who knows what the gender is.

Not even Nova or Silas were told, which makes him the world’s best secret keeper, since I know that she had to be asking him daily.

After handing off the balloons to each of them, Warrick steps to the side as his eyes slide to mine. He points to them and then he mouths “One day” to me.

“Alright, who's ready to count down? On the count of three, we will pop the balloons!” Nova yells out to the crowd.

Everyone begins to chant: “3…2…1…”

Nova and Silas slam their pins into the balloons as confetti drops to the floor in a shower of… blue!

“We are having BOYS!” Silas and Nova announce together.

Nova’s mouth falls open as she rushes to hug Silas. He kisses her forehead, each of her cheeks, and then once on the mouth before he wraps his arm around her shoulders.

“Welcome to the pack, Damon and Kael!” he announces to the crowd.

Awe, I love the names that they picked. Since we knew she was having twins, we had to pick two of each name, just in case. We also spent hours going over name combinations to make sure they sounded great together.

Glancing over to Warrick, I see his pained expression. I can see the desperate yearning playing across his face, the envy of what they have, and the moment he resigned, that he wouldn’t ever have it. I’m about to say something to him, when he turns and disappears through the crowd.

Maybe, just maybe, our fate is about learning how to love each other and accepting that we deserve that love.