Bonded Beyond Trickery (Trick or Treat Monsters)

CHAPTER 6

WHITAKER

My gritty eyes remind me just how little sleep I got last night. How could I sleep while I could still practically taste my mate’s scent on the tongue? Between her scent, leaving her behind at Blood Rising, and going over everything she admitted last night, it’s a miracle I was able to get even a little bit of rest.

It wasn’t enough considering the fatigue I can feel pulling at me.

“You left our mate,” my wolf admonishes me.

It’s not the first time he’s made me feel like shit for the way I left things with Tilly last night. His censure certainly didn’t help me sleep last night. My control was the only thing that kept me from shifting and going to track down my mate.

“She hid herself from us,” I remind my wolf. “We lost five years with her. Five fucking years.”

“And what would have happened if we had found her at her first mating ball? She might have been 18, but she was still in high school. Would you have insisted that she move to our pack and finish school? Could you have been that far away from her while knowing who she was if she stayed at Golden Summit? What about her dream to go to college? Would you have let that happen?”

I scoff, my tone filled with fury, “Let? I would never have stopped her from going to college. She could have done that and been here at the pack.”

“And if she struggled with staying on top of her studies while taking on being Luna?”

The honest curiosity in my wolf’s growl has me pausing. What would have happened if she struggled with both things? I really want to believe that I would have prioritized her goals instead of the pack, but can I really be sure?

“Mom and Ella could have helped with her Luna duties,” I grumble.

“Yes, they could have, but would you have suggested it, or would you have just insisted that she cut back on her classes because sacrificing for the pack is as natural to us as breathing?” He chuffs before laying down in the back of my mind. “I hate that we lost time with our mate, but I can also understand what led her to make the choices she did.”

“I understand too,” I admit, begrudgingly.

There was a time in my life, when I was growing up, when the thought of putting the pack first and making decisions with the pack in mind felt like a noose around my neck. But I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. It was my fate to be Alpha.

“Maybe she went about it the wrong way,” my wolf points out, “but she also made a sacrifice for the pack.”

Even though my wolf is only in my head, I straighten up, surprise making some of my fatigue evaporating. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“She sacrificed her time with you to make herself a stronger Luna, one better equipped to support he pack in ways we probably can’t even fathom,” he points out.

“Because she has her business degree?”

“Yes,” he growls and puffs up with pride in my mind.

I huff out a breath, but there’s not much else I can say to that. While shying away from the sacrifice required of the Alpha and Luna for the pack, she gave up time with me. She put the security that being mated to me would ensure.

How many times have I sneered at the she-wolves who have tried to get in my pants because they wanted the power and luxury of the title, but had no interest in the pack, the responsibility of the position, or doing any work at all?

“Fine,” I grumble, “you might be right about that.”

I swear he shoots me a wolfy grin my way.

At least he’s not gloating. Much.

It’s not like I want to keep distance between my mate and me, but I feel raw. And cheated out of something that only happens once in a lifetime.

There is only one fated mate for us, only one other half of our soul. The first time we met, I had no idea she was my mate.

After meeting her gaze last night, after feeling the first tendrils of the bond plunge into my soul, how is it possible that I missed it five years ago? Sure, her scent was masked, but the bond is more than scent. It’s a feeling of rightness and it’s undeniable.

I hate that I was oblivious to my mate being right in front of me.

“Pride makes us a good Alpha, sometimes,” my wolf grumbles, “but don’t let it build walls between us and our mate.”

“When did you become a fucking philosopher?”

My wolf chuffs with narrowed eyes as he turns his back and settles deeper in the back of my mind.

There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll get over the chasm that Tilly placed between us and the way I was robbed of my mate for five years. It’s just not in me to hold it against her for too long. Even if I wanted to, the bond between us would fight against it.

“Alpha,” someone using the mind link amongst the pack breaks through my thoughts, “someone is at the gate.”

I grunt and climb out of bed, needing to get the day going because sleep is just not in the cards for me at this point. I wonder how long I’ll have to wait until I can sleep next to my mate. There’s no doubt that sleeping wrapped around Tilly will bring me the best sleep of my life.

I grunt back to whoever is at the entrance to the pack, “Who is it?”

There’s a pause and I take advantage of it by getting dressed quickly. Just as I’m about to brush my teeth, there’s a question in his voice as he replies, “The she-wolf says her name is Tilly Ryan and that you’re expecting her?”

Well, shit.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting her to come so soon. After we left things last night, I thought she might stay away long enough that I went after her instead of her coming to me. I wouldn’t have lasted long either, even though I’m not happy with what Tilly chose to do years ago and the time we’ve lost together.

“Let her through,” I growl as I brush my teeth quickly.

My movements are jerky as I head down to the first floor of the packhouse and then out the front door just as a car arrives and parks. While I’m not expecting her to come bounding out of the car toward me immediately, I start to get worried with how long she’s taking.

Is this some kind of power play?

“Don’t be a dick,” my wolf warns me.

I shake off the worry that my mate is playing games with me and try to find the well of understanding and empathy that I use when I lead my pack. Tilly doesn’t need the side of me with a bruised ego; she deserves the best of me.

She is my mate after all.

Slowly, the door to her vehicle opens and she climbs out. Her golden hair is pulled up on top of her head in some sort of bun thing, but there are whisps hanging down around her face that make her look like a fucking angel.

Don’t get me wrong, my mate looked gorgeous last night in the dress she wore, but today she’s wearing a pair of light, linen pants with a wide leg and a high waist paired with a tank top. It looks effortless and breezy.

It’s at complete odds with the way she looks around with darting eyes. I hate the way her shoulders are slumped and showing the shame she’s feeling. Part of me should be pleased with her obvious discomfort, all things considered, but I’m not.

My wolf bristles at the sight and everything in me screams to go to her, wrap her up in my arms and comfort her.

“Our Luna should never be weighed down by shame. She should stand tall and proud like the Goddess she is,” my wolf growls and I have to agree.

Before I can head down the stairs toward her, Alex comes to stand next to me at the top of the steps that leads up to the porch of the packhouse. I can practically feel the curiosity wafting off him.

“Who is that?”

I close my eyes, hating the uncertainty that fills me. As much as I want to tell the pack that their Luna has arrived, I’m scared to do it. What if she decides that she’s not ready for the roll? What if she wants to continue her studies and chooses that, again, over the pack and me?

Still, if I can trust anyone with this news, it’s my Beta. I murmur softly, “That’s Tilly Ryan. She’s Alpha Crew’s younger sister and,” I swallow hard and then push the truth past my lips, “my mate.”

Alex stills and turns toward me with wide eyes. I nod slowly, but he must see something on my face because the celebration rumbling up in my best friend and Beta slowly recedes.

“From the look on your face, there’s more to the story,” my Beta’s voice is strained. When I nod, he grimaces. “Okay,” he breathes out.

I don’t look at him, I can’t when my gaze is locked on my mate. She’s looking at me with hesitance written all over her features. I hate it.

Everything in me rebels against the knowledge that my mate is uncomfortable. Still, there are consequences for her actions and decisions.

To my utter amazement, Tilly squares her shoulders and closes the distance between us. She gives Alex a polite smile while barely sparing him a glance. No, her eyes are trained on me and having all her focus on me makes my heart pound while also making me melt.

The strength in my mate is worthy of pure awe. My wolf lets out a low growl of approval, one I feel deep to my soul. I clench my jaw to stop myself from reaching for my mate.

“Hi,” Tilly breathes when she stops a few stairs down from me. It only highlights our height difference. While she’s an average height for a woman at around 5’8”, I’m tower over her. It makes all of my protective urges toward my mate roar to life.

“Good morning,” there’s a question in my voice, one I can’t even try to hide in my voice. When Tilly bites on the side of her lower lip and throws a glance toward Alex, my manners kick in. “Tilly, this is my Beta, Alex.”

The smile that spreads across my mate’s face has my gut churning with need. Fuck, her lips are so damn plump that it’s difficult to focus on anything else.

“Her lips are made for kissing,” my wolf rumbles and I grunt in response.

There’s a smile in Alex’s voice as he pulls me from fantasies about kissing my mate, “I’m headed to training. Will you be joining us today?”

I snap my gaze toward my Beta who has a shit eating grin on his face. With narrowed eyes, I tell him what he already knows, “No. I’ll get Tilly settled.”

With a wave and a pointed look which tells me that he’s expecting details later, he heads off toward the training grounds and my gaze moves back toward my mate. She’s taking in the packhouse and what she can see of the land, which isn’t much, with wide blue eyes. I swear they light up when she looks back at me.

“Your pack is beautiful,” she gushes and pride swells in my chest while my wolf howls.

I want to tell her that it’s our pack, but I can’t seem to form the words. It will be our pack, I know it will be ours, but the memory of the time we’ve lost still burns in my gut.

Tilly shifts from one foot to the other like she’s nervous before blurting out, “I’m sure you didn’t expect me to show up so soon, but I couldn’t wait. I know it’s my fault that we’ve lost so much time, but the thought of not being with you, even if you can’t forgive me yet, was too much for me and my wolf. Honestly,” she huffs out a breath, “I can’t even put into words how difficult it was to stop myself from launching myself at you five years ago. Last night and right now is even harder,” she mumbles the last part under her breath.

I barely stop myself from chuckling. She’s fucking adorable. I swear I can feel my wolf sigh with contentment in my mind. Yeah, he might be an Alpha wolf, but he’s a big softie for our mate.

“If you,” she swallows hard before standing up a little taller and taking the last few steps to the top of the porch, “aren’t ready for me to be here then you just need to tell me. I know this is my fault. I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t understand my reasoning. I won’t hold it against you, Whitaker,” my name whispered from her lips is everything.

Even though I want to deny her and turn her away, I know I won’t. I know I can’t. I want to hear her say my name over and over. One day I’ll hear her screaming it in pleasure.

The thought sends a shiver down my spine.

Her eyes are wide as she looks up at me, waiting and fighting against saying more. My mate is proud, not one to beg, but she’s also willing to let me see a sliver of her vulnerabilities. It’s beautiful.

Surprisingly, with her heartfelt words and the look on her face, she steals a bit of my heart.

“She has all of mine,” my wolf sighs as he stretches in my mind.

“But,” she breathes out, “I really hope we can start over. I don’t expect you to forget, but I’d really love a chance.”

Fuck.

My mate, whose strength sings from her, showing me a side that she probably hides from everyone is heady.

I hold my hand out between us, an olive branch of skin and bone. She looks at it for a long moment, probably scared to hope the same way I am. When she slides her hand into mine, the rightness of it brands my heart and soul as hers.

“We’re hers and she is mine,” my wolf sounds like there are hearts shooting out of his eyes.

I clear my throat, trying to push down the joy of feeling the tingles of the mate bond dance from our joined hands and up my arm. If this is going to work, I’m going to have to let go.

Before I can think twice about it, I tug my mate toward me. She huffs out a breath when our chests connect, and I get lost in the blue of her eyes. I don’t know who moves first, but then our lips meet and the world around us fades into nothingness.

When I nip at her bottom lip, her mouth parts and I swallow down the moan she lets out. The taste of my mate explodes on my tongue. She tastes just like I imagined she would—chocolate with a hint of orange.

As the ambient sounds of the pack waking up and starting their day filters through our shared moment, I pull back slowly. The way she looks up at me, her eyes dazed and full of lust, makes me want to haul her over my shoulder and carry her off to the Alpha suit.

But I can’t do that. Not yet. I don’t know if she’s ready, but I’m not. My wolf huffs out his displeasure, but he doesn’t try and argue with me about it.

My need for Tilly to feel comfortable here overrides the way my cock is throbbing. My voice is husky and thick with need, “I think starting over is a good idea. How about we start with a tour?”

Tilly smiles so brightly that it makes my entire body tighten with the need to taste her lips and hold her against me. I’m sure there will be setbacks as we work through the beginnings of our mate bond, but this right here? It’s enough for now.