The night passed by uneventfully and dawn quickly approached. I gazed at the sun rays peeking through the tops of the trees and breathed in the cool autumn air.
The briskness of the morning made me glad it hadn't snowed yet. I threw another log on our small fire and shook Valen awake.
I had learned in the past few weeks that he is not a morning wolf. I usually had to sucker punch him to get him out of bed, but today he awoke easily.
"Morning, sleepyhead," I greeted him.
He grumbled a half-hearted response back to me and pulled his sleeping bag up over his head. I giggled and began pulling out a cast iron skillet to fry us up some eggs.
I buttered the pan and set it on a pile of hot coals. While I was waiting for it to heat up, I gathered up some sliced lunch meat, bread, and cheese from the small cooler Valen had brought.
I figured breakfast sandwiches would rouse him enough to speak coherently.
I cracked the eggs into the pan and watched as they began to sizzle. Valen sniffed the air and sat up, sending me a child-like grin.
"I'm so glad you're my mate," he stated.
"Good, because you're stuck with me," I said as I planted a kiss on his lips.
I had meant for it to be an innocent good morning kiss, but passion quickly overwhelmed me, as Vale slid his arms around me and locked me in an iron tight grip.
It wasn't until we could smell the eggs burning that he finally released me with a laugh.
I scooted away from him and began to assemble our sandwiches, burned eggs and all, while Valen watched me carefully. I handed him his sandwich once I was done and took a big bite out of mine.
"Even though they're burned, these are still fantastic," Valen said around a mouthful of food.
I shook my finger at him, silently scolding him for talking with food in his mouth. He just grinned back at me.
I liked the mood he was in this morning. Playful, funny Valen was my favorite.
Too bad I knew I had to ruin it. We still needed to discuss me fighting alongside him and everyone else.
I popped the last bit of my sandwich in my mouth and brushed the crumbs off of my pants. I grabbed an iced coffee out of the cooler and took a big swig, before handing it to Valen. He downed the rest in one gulp.
"Hey! I wasn't done with that, you know."
"You snooze, you lose."
"That doesn't even make sense. I got it first."
He shrugged his shoulders at me and crushed the bottle.
"Oh well." I glared at him for a moment before clearing my throat.
"Valen, about last night.." He held up a hand to stop me.
"I was thinking about that, too. I want to say that I was wrong before. I'm protective of you and I'd give my life if it meant that you would be safe, but I can't keep you in a bubble forever. You're apart of this pack, and I wouldn't expect any of my other warriors to sit on the side lines. We need you, whether I want to admit it or not. You're one of our greatest assets. I just got lost in my head for a while."
I was stunned.
Long gone was the hot-headed Valen who would slam doors and punch walls when he didn't get his way. The man sitting before me was considerate enough to put aside his wants for me.
He was going to make a great ruler some day.
I took his hand and laced my fingers through his.
"Thank you. It means a lot to me to hear you say that." He squeezed my hand and brushed a kiss to my cheek.
"There's something else I want to talk to you about, though," he began.
"What's up?" I asked as I began rinsing out the pan.
Once it was sufficiently cleaned, I dumped the water onto the fire, effectively putting it out and sending smoke billowing up in my face.
I grabbed another coffee and took a swig before turning my attention to him once again.
"We should think about completing the mating ritual soon," he said as he looked away from my eyes.
I choked on my coffee and spit it out at him.
"Excuse me?"
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, trying to conceal the incredulous look on my face. I wasn't sure I was ready yet. He knew that.
"Well, someone is out to get you. If we mated, we'd both be stronger. I'd feel a lot more comfortable having you in battle if you were at your full potential," he stuttered.
"I mean, not that I don't want you just because...I mean, I do, Goddess, I do, but you know..."
He finally looked up at me and cringed at the pissed off expression on my face. You could feel the anger rolling off of me in waves.
"Let me get this straight-you're telling me that you are only okay with me fighting as long as we're mated first. Is that it?" I huffed out. His eyes widened.
"No, of course not! That's not what I mean! It's just.." he trailed off and pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing.
"We discovered we were mates weeks ago. Orion is getting antsy, and I'm sure Sienna is, too," he looked me in the eyes as he said this.
Okay, he had me on that one. But still.
I crossed my arms over my chest and pursed my lips together, refusing to admit it. He heaved a large sigh before continuing.
"Look, I don't even care about the physical side of it. I want to be bonded to you completely. I want to feel that unbreakable chord that connects our souls for the rest of eternity. I worry that.." he looked down and took a deep breath again.
"I worry that you're upset that I'm your mate. That you won't bond with me fully because you're planning on leaving me."
The anger I was holding onto drained away as I saw the pained look on his face.
Valen rarely admitted when he was feeling vulnerable, so I knew it had taken him a lot to tell me this. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his large frame.
"I promise you that's not true. I'm beyond happy that you are my mate. I'm just scared, is all. I'll think about what you've said." He looked at me with watery eyes.
"Promise?"
I almost giggled at his innocent expression-which was a huge contradiction from his normal scowl- but I pursed my lips and nodded my head.
"I promise," I replied and ducked down to kiss him with as much love as I was capable of giving.
He responded immediately by putting his arms around my waist and kissing me back with heated passion.
I felt the electricity surging through my veins everywhere that our skin touched, and I was quickly becoming breathless.
Valen wasn't giving up, though. When I pulled away to come up for air, his lips attached themselves to my jaw.
He kissed along the bone, down my neck, and finally landed on my collar bone. He nibbled the spot where he would some day mark me and claim me as his forever.
I shivered under his touch and he brought his lips back to mine.
I parted them quickly and his tongue flicked into my mouth, fighting for control with my own.
I groaned and clutched at his hair, making his grasp around me tighten. I untangled my hands and ran them down his back slowly, before diving under the hem of his t-shirt and putting them on his bare waist.
He jumped at the touch and kissed me harder for a second more before pulling away.
I pouted and watched as he breathed heavily; his eyes flashing between icy blue and fiery red as he fought to keep Orion at bay.
His lips were pink and swollen and I wanted nothing more than to kiss them again.
"We need to stop here, Orion is trying to take control."
I nodded my head and moved away from him a little. Sienna whimpered in my head at the loss of contact.
"Maybe we could let the wolves out tonight. They could sniff around the ruins and spend some time together," I suggested.
His eyes flashed again, but he nodded his head before standing up. He held out a hand to me and I took it, pulling myself up along beside him.
"I'm glad you suggested that. Orion would probably take over completely the next time we kissed if you hadn't."
I laughed at him and held his hand a little tighter.
"Come on, let's find somewhere comfortable and get on with this stakeout."
Author's Note:
The many sides to Valen! What do you think of his more vulnerable side? Did he get himself into some trouble bringing up everything to her like that? What do you think will happen next?
Comment and Vote to let me know!
Xoxo,
CrimsynIris