Chapter 27

Erik has been awake for a while now. He has been alternating between touching Cobie’s hair, trailing a finger down his nose, his cheeks and his lips. His little angel. His little spitfire. Erik mentally snorts at that, if Cobie heard him say those words, he’d pretty much either punch him in the face or kick him in the dick or even maybe both. 

Cobie lets out a small sigh and moved closer. He’s on his side, both hands tucked under his face. Erik hopes when his mate opens his eyes, they would be the same gold they’ve been for days. He had searched the internet for the meaning behind the color, gold and he had liked what he found. He remembers clearly what the site had said.

Gold represents love and passion. 

Erik bit his lip to keep back his laugh when he hears Cobie’s stomach rumble. He gets off the bed and looked for his pants, he checks the pockets for his phone and tugs it out when he finds it. There were no missed calls, just a couple of texts and emails. He doesn’t bother to look through them, if there was a problem, Michel or the others would have let him know through the pack link. 

He orders a large pepperoni pizza, spicy chicken wings and two pints of Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry cheesecake. He has seen Cobie eat this a couple of times at the house. He walks back to the room and lays back down on the bed and resumes his watching. He knew Cobie was usually alert when he slept, so it warmed his heart that Cobie could let go, could let his guard down around Erik because he felt safe. 

Erik gets this intense feeling like something was moving within him, almost like something was crawling or pacing within him. He looks down at his fingers, expecting to see his claws. He wiggles his fingers for a bit and folds it into fists.  He still couldn’t believe he had been that stupid. He had practically attacked Cobie that Saturday and yet, this perfect, this ridiculously brave and sweet man, was here. Within arm’s reach. He didn’t run. He was right here, in front of him. 

He’s startled when a smaller hand wraps around his fist. He looks up to find Cobie awake and staring at him. Erik’s breath hitched in his throat when he sees Cobie’s eyes were still gold. 

“What are you thinking?” Cobie asks, his voice soft and sleepy. 

Erik moved closer and opens his palms so he could intertwine his fingers with Cobie’s. “I was thinking about you and this …feeling I’ve been getting lately.” 

“What feeling? Is everything alright?”

“Remember how I told you about my wolf awakening?” Erik asks. He had told Cobie about everyone’s hypothesis during their first date. He continues when Cobie nods. “I feel something moving within me, kinda like its either packing slowly or crawling and I don’t know what to do.” 

“Maybe your wolf really is awakening. It might take some time though. If you feel uncomfortable, you can call me and I’ll give you a good cuddle.” 

Cobie feels his cheeks heat up as Erik stared at him for a little while. He turns redder when Erik smirks and moved closer.

“There are other things we could do instead of cuddle.”

Cobie scoffs, despite his red cheeks. “Unless you want to go back to using your right hand, I suggest you rephrase that sentence.” 

Like Erik said, his little spitfire. 

“What I meant was, we could cuddle and maybe you could read to me. I found this app where people write books, it’s called Wattpad. I heard there are some good books on there.” Erik says with an air of innocence. Cobie couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He shakes his head at his mate and slides out of the bed, as naked as the day he was born. 

Erik leaned against his elbow and stared at his mate. His rakes his eyes from the back of Cobie’s head, to his shoulder, his lean waist that fanned out a bit –giving him a pleasing shape, his round pert ass, his thick thighs and – yeah, he better stop or he’d get hard again. 

He gets distracted when the bell goes off. He gets off the bed and pulls on his pants and grabbed his wallet.

“Did you call for someone or…?” Cobie asked as he moved towards one of the closed doors. 

“I ordered us dinner. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Erik quickly paid for the food and slammed the door shut before making his way back up, his hand stinging a bit. He should start wearing gloves whenever he wants to come over here, Erik thinks to himself.  When he gets back up he’s enveloped by the warmth of his and Cobie’s scent. It was a heady scent and Erik loved it. He finds Cobie seated on the couch, the tv on and what looked like an episode of New Girl was playing. 

“Baby, I got you pizza, chicken wings and ice cream.” Erik says as he sits beside Cobie. 

“Thank you.” Cobie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Erik’s lips before getting up.  “Can you open the box while I get two bottled water from the fridge. He sits back down on the couch and grabs a slice. He takes a huge bites and closed his eyes to savor the taste. He didn’t even know he was that hungry. 

“Fuck, I needed that. You really wore me out.” 

“That good, huh?” Erik smirked.

Cobie was half tempted to smack Erik with one of the throw pillows but that meant putting down his two slices of pizza, so instead he shoots the Alpha a sharp glare, earning a wink in return.  “It’s been a while, don’t feel too proud of yourself.” 

“You take that back right now!” 

”Nope.” Cobie replied before chomping on his slice of pizza. 

He doesn’t look at Erik but he’s sure Erik was looking at him, he could feel the intensity of Erik’s glare but he doesn’t move. Instead he reached for the box of chicken and grabs one. He was trying so hard to remain stoic, to not laugh but he was failing. Just as Erik lunged forward, Cobie stood up and ran, laughter spilling from his lips as he does. He ran to the kitchen and used the kitchen island to create space between himself and Erik. 

With each turn Erik took, Cobie took another. The Alpha let out a growl and just climbed onto the counter, to Cobie’s partial mix of absolute delight and horror. Erik hasn’t stopped laughing since he got up to chase Cobie around his home, he’d have stopped a while ago but he couldn’t help it, he has never seen his mate smile and laugh so freely and it has become Erik’s favorite things about Cobie. 

Cobie makes a sharp turn, trying to get away from Erik as fast as possible, however, the Alpha had calculated Cobie’s next step and had jumped off the counter, his hands stretched out to grab Cobie’s waist as the man tried to run towards the couch. 

“Got you.” Erik laughed, Cobie’s back pressed to him. He wraps one hand around Cobie’s waist and the other around his shoulder, he leans down and pressed his nose against Cobie’s neck and just breathe him in.

“I know.” Cobie sighs, placing one hand over the hand Erik had on his waist. He strokes it with his thumb before turning, so he could look at Erik. His mate wasn’t wearing a shirt and Cobie let his eyes roam, his gaze drops from Erik’s face to his smooth chest, watching the subtle rise and fall on it, he was about to drop his gaze when he remembers something. 

“I bit you.” He says, reaching out to touch Erik’s shoulder where he had bitten him while he was fingered to the point of intense pleasure. 

“You did.” Erik replied and just to be clear, he added. “Before the wheels start turning here,” he points at his head, “we haven’t mated, you didn’t break my skin when you bit me. No blood, no bond.”

Cobie hadn’t even known he wanted to hear that but he still relaxes at those words. He slid his hand down Erik’s shoulder to his chest, right where his heart was. Erik’s heart was beating fast and Cobie looked at him with wide eyes.

“Why is it beating this hard?”

“It’s because of you.” Erik says, his cheeks colored pink. 

Cobie couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face. The one thing he knew he could count on was Erik always speaking the truth, the Alpha had not once lied to him. Yes, he might be keeping some things but all Cobie had to do was ask and Erik would spill. It’s the one thing about Erik that he really liked. So he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on Erik’s chest, right over his heart. When he pulls back the Alpha had this look in his eyes that Cobie couldn’t figure out. 

“Come on, let’s go and eat before the food gets cold.”

Erik quickly tightens his grip on Cobie’s waist. “Not until you give me a kiss.”

Cobie lets out a quiet laugh. He goes on his tip toes and pressed a kiss to Erik’s cheeks, earning a pout from the Alpha who had been expecting a kiss on the lip. 

“Let’s eat. The food is going to get cold and I’m too lazy to walk all the way to the microwave to heat it up.” 

Erik lets go. “Nah, you don’t have to. I’d happily do it.”

“Oh my god, you are such a sap. How did I not notice it earlier?” Cobie guffaws, shaking his head at Erik before turning back to the couch. He settles into the couch, Erik by his side. They watch New Girl and bicker as they eat the rest of the pizza and wings. Just as they got to the ice cream, Cobie finally speaks up.

“So what’s the deal between you, Gabriel and Michel?”

Cobie watched as Erik stills at the question. He was pretty sure the Alpha didn’t see that question coming up. Cobie holds Erik’s gaze as the Alpha stares at him, his eyes flashing red for a second. 

“Why do you ask?” 

“Because I need to know why you’re pushing the two of them apart.” Cobie says as he moves closer to Erik, his bowl of ice cream in his hand. 

“I am not pushing the two of them apart.” The Alpha growl and Cobie raised in brow, exuding sass as he stared at McStupid.

“Then what are you doing exactly?” Cobie asked as he shoves one spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. 

“I’m not doing anything.” 

Cobie rolled his eyes heavily as he stared at Erik. This man has to know what he is doing. According to what Gabriel had told him, he has been in love with Michel since he was sixteen. Fuck, was Michel the man who stood Gabriel at Dyce –the first time they met. 

“They are so in love with each other and I know you know.” Cobie spits out, glaring at Erik as harshly as he could. 

“I just…”

“You can tell me anything, Peaches. That’s what my ears are for, to listen to you.” Cobie says, his voice dripping with so much sincerity that it startles Erik a little. The Alpha stared at him mate, wondering if this was the right time to say it. But if he could not confide in this man, this man who had told him his life story despite the horrible memories that come with it, then Erik can voice out his fears.

“I don’t want him to leave me.” 

It was said so quietly, so gently, that Cobie almost thought he hallucinated it. He places his and Erik pint of ice cream on the floor and moved closer to the man, his gold eyes wide in surprise. 

“He’s not going to leave you.” 

“I …I don’t know how to explain it. He’s my family. He was the only one who didn’t treat me differently when I first realized I had no wolf. I was seven and he just clung to me, he stared at me with those huge eyes of his and I just… I just want to give him the best. Before Michel realized he was in love with Gabby, he was sleeping around, he never wanted a relationship and I don’t know how to see past that.”

“You’ve got to learn how to, Erik. Who Michel was back then isn’t who he is now. The Michel I see is a Michel who wants to settle down with Gabriel and have a battalion of kids.” Cobie says as he briefly remembers one of the many occasion where he found Michel staring at Gabriel who was playing with the ups with this look of longing in his eyes. 

“I want the very best for him.”

“I know you do.” Cobie says, his hands finding Erik’s. 

“I’ve known Michel since I was a little pup and deep down I know he’s good for him but I just can’t see that.” 

Cobie let go of Erik’s hands and cupped the Alpha’s cheeks instead, lifting the man’s head up so they could lock eyes. “Then I’m going to ask you to trust my words. I’m going to ask you to trust me when I say you should give Michel a chance to prove himself. How would you feel if you were in his shoes? How would you feel if someone decides to judge you based on past mistakes? All he and Gabriel want is your blessing, just give him a chance and if he does anything wrong, I will personally shoot him in the dick then let you punch him till he’s within an inch of his life.” 

Erik laughed, his body shaking with it. “You are amazing.”

“I’ve been told.” 

“Really fucking amazing.” Erik says, leaning forward to press his lips against Cobie’s. “I will trust you and give him a chance but the moment he fucks up.”

“We’ll deal with him.”

--

It’s dark when Cobie wakes up the next day. He glances down at his phone and sighs when he sees no new messages. He turns around and faces Erik who was still asleep. Even as he was staring at the Alpha there was this sinking feeling he had in his stomach. The air was thick with something and the sky grey with gloom but Cobie couldn’t place his hand on it, all he knows is that he could feel a crippling fear climb up his body. 

Something was wrong. 

He moves closer to Erik and tucked his face into the Alpha’s chest. The Alpha immediately wraps his hands around Cobie and moved a bit closer. 

“You alright? Your heart is beating really fast.” Erik murmurs, his arms tightening a bit. 

“I don’t know. Something doesn’t feel right.”

This captures Erik’s attention and he moves back a little so he could see Cobie. Before he could speak though, Cobie went first. 

“Something is really not right. Can we go to the pack house and make sure everyone is alright?” Cobie asked. 

Erik stared at his mate, a small worried frown taking up his face. He wants to tell Cobie that everyone was fine but he doesn’t think Cobie would believe just his words.  So he nods. He sends a message to the pack link, asking if everyone was okay. 

He gets up as Cobie does and quickly slid on his jeans and shirt while Cobie did the same. His mate doesn’t talk and Erik doesn’t know what to do to help. Thanks to his heightened senses, he could see Cobie was shivering a little and that makes Erik’s frown deepen. It wasn’t cold, not in the slightest bit. Yeah, something was definitely not right. 

He leads Cobie down the stairs with a hand on the small of his back. He stands by and watched as Cobie locked the door, the backpack containing his guns was hanging off his shoulder. Once Cobie was done locking the door, he takes the car keys from him and opens the passenger door for him. Cobie goes in without shooting him an eye roll, he goes in without an argument. 

“What is going on?” Erik asks as he slides into the driver’s seat.

“I don’t know. I just feel… scared.” 

“Was it a bad dream?” Erik asked as he pulled out of the driveway. The Alpha receives collective replies through the pack link. Everyone was okay. 

“No, it’s just this feeling I have.” Cobie mutters as he stared out the window, his eyes searching. For the first time in days, his eyes were black, pure black and blending in with the pupils. Erik stepped on the gas and hurried home. He pulls into the driveway and Cobie practically leapt out of the car and ran into the house before Erik could put of the engine. 

Just then, the sky flashed red and Erik instantly goes still. Someone unwelcome had stepped onto the Astir soil. The whole point of lining the borders of Astir with Toby blood was for this. It was a safety percussion, a means of alerting everyone when something evil or bad steps onto their land. In the blink of an eye, Michel and Se Ju were beside him. 

They didn’t know what was heading for them. 

“Alpha, there are two black BMWs headed towards the main house. One is driven by a woman and the other contains two men.” One of the pack warrior announces through this mind link. 

“Make sure Cobie and the rest stay inside.” Erik growled at Se Ju who nods and goes back inside. Four Astir wolves quickly made their way out of the woods, to Erik who just growls. The wolves shift and standing in their place were two Alpha females and males. 

“We got here as soon as we could.” Alpha Genevieve says with a small bow before moving to stand beside Erik, the other wolves following her lead after giving Erik a bow. Erik didn’t even care about the fact that they were naked, all he wanted was for Cobie to be safe. Maybe this was what was making his mate scared? Maybe Cobie could feel the person coming? If Cobi was this scared then something really wasn’t right. 

He lets out a snarl as two black BMWs pull into the driveway. He steps forward as a woman got out of the car. She had long white hair that was packed up into a high ponytail, a white shirt that was tucked into a pair of brown shorts and matching heels. She walks up to Erik with all the confidence in the world, two men flagging her. 

She stops right in front of him and smiles. 

“Alpha Erik Tomlinson.” She says and Erik steps forward, anger pooling within him. 

“What the fuck do you want?” Erik spits, struggling to remain calm. 

This girl had white hair. Was this the girlgirl there when Cobie’s family was being killed? Erik thinks to himself as he stared at her. She looked normal but then again, one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. 

“I’m Melissa Johnson from the BlackThorn pack and I’m here to talk to you about someone.” She says, not even the slightest bit bothered by Erik’s tone or his words. “His name is Cobie Deckard, we know he's here and he belongs to us.” 

Erik growled at this. Cobie belonged to no one. He takes a step forward, a slight pain growing around his fingertips. 

“You need to leave.” Michel speaks up, moving closer to Erik who was seconds away from reaching out. 

Mel lets out a loud laughter, her teeth on display. Her laugh sounded so cold and empty. “You really shouldn’t upset me. The little bitch I killed told me he was here.”

“Alpha Kaye was not a little bitch.” Genevieve growled, her fangs pushing through her gum.

“I’m going to give you three minutes to tell me where he is or you’ll regret it.” Mel snarks, a scowl on her face. Erik almost laughed in her face but he couldn’t give anything away. However, before he could speak, the door to the pack house was pulled open and Cobie’s scent filled his nose. 

“Get back in.” Erik snapped at Cobie. 

But it was too late because Melissa had seen him. “Well, well, well. Long time no see, little lamb.” Mel smiles and gives Cobie a little wave. Cobie’s eyes widened in fear as he stared at her. His heart felt like it was going to burst through his chest and he felt stuck, like his bones were made of lead. She was here.

“You don’t speak to him that way.”

“And you are you to tell me that? Everyone knows you are a fucking useless Alpha who can’t even shift.“ Mel spits, stepping closer to Erik, her eyes flashing Beta yellow. “Now, leave so I can take what I came here for.” 

“You aren’t taking Cobie anywhere.” 

“I’d like to see you try!” Mel screams. “Your pack is the smallest I have ever seen. Who the hell has ten people in a pack and the cherry on the cake is you being too weak to shift!” She screams. Her words tugged Cobie out of his thoughts. He quickly made his way towards Erik, the need to protect him as strong as ever but he was stopped by Se Ju who appeared from behind him. 

“Leave him alone, Mel!”

“I was going to make this peaceful but you’ve forced my hand.” Mel steps back and motioned for the two men behind her. Cobie couldn’t understand what was going on. What had she meant when she said Erik had the smallest pack? Didn’t she know he was commanding thousands of wolves? Does she even know how big Astir wolves are? 

His thoughts were proved right when the two men shift and drop onto their paws. They were just averaged sized. Cobie knew that Erik could take them even in his human state and he couldn’t help but snort. It was so loud it captured the attention of everyone, including Erik who was standing between him and Mel. 

“Get him inside Se Ju!” Erik commanded. He had promised Cobie he was going to be safe and he would damn well keep that promise. 

“He is coming with me!” She screams and lunged forward. Erik lets out a howl as his claws slid out and fangs cutting through his gums as he glared at her. He runs forward, ready to rip out Mel’s throat when a gunshot rings out. 

The noise startles everyone. Lying on the ground beside Mel was one of her wolves. Mel herself was startled, her eyes darting around to find who had done that. 

Erik’s chest rose and fell as he looked around, searching for who had shot the wolf. His ears pick up a sound from with the woods, he turns towards that direction and watched as someone emerged from it, a long rifle beside him. To Erik everything happened in slow motion. The man who had walked out of the woods looked really familiar. The man who had walked out of the woods had a scowl on his face, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. 

The man who walked out of the woods looked exactly like Cobie. 

Everything went still.

Everyone went silent. 

Everyone except Cobie who let out a quiet gasp.

“Colson.”