Chapter 97 MIND LINK
WILLA’S POV
Days passed in a blur, and before I knew it, days had turned into weeks, and the weeks bled into months.
In fact, three months had gone by, and I barely even felt it.
Perhaps it was due to the infectious bliss of the twins that had only doubled since the particular family talk that happened in the dining area. Or maybe it was because it just felt so ridiculously right to have Gallahan around that it got me a little spellbound.
In fact, it was terrifyingly fast and easy for him to meld himself into our home and into our lives. It was as if there had been a Gallahan-shaped void that existed all this time without our knowledge, and now he had reclaimed that void, rightfully slotting himself into place.
He had even unofficially moved into my home, his clothes and other personal belongings taking space here and there. He rarely went to Moonshire now, only leaving the house when he deemed it was truly necessary.
And while this setup was not what we had agreed on at first, I didn’t object to it anymore. After all, I found it great to have another constant helping hand around the house.
But I had put my foot down regarding the matter of the twins being forbidden to stray too far in the moorland. I was adamant that they would only be allowed to stay within two kilometers radius of the house. With supervision, of course.
“Hey,” Gallahan greeted, joining me on the bed and slipping beneath the duvet. “Kids are down now. Thank fuck.”
“Language,” I chided in jest.
“Loosen up,” he said playfully as he laid himself on his side, propping his head up with his hand. “It’s just the two of us now.”
A wide grin was plastered on his face, and I just knew he was up to no good.
“No,” I said sternly. “We’re supposed to work on your mind link.”
“Come on,” he said with a tone that was close to sounding whiny. “We always do that every night. Can’t we skip tonight?”
“Han, you know your parental blood link wouldn’t fully work right given the abysmal state of your mind link.”
Gallahan groaned, but he didn’t say anything else to argue.
He just shifted and moved closer towards me until he was sitting with his back against the headboard and his legs outstretched in front of him.
He was mirroring my position, so I took it as him conceding. But then he leaned forward, cupped my cheek and began peppering featherlight kisses on my face.
“Han,” I said in warning, but it fell in vain when my voice came out bubbling with laughter. “Seriously. Practice.”
Ignoring my words, and likely encouraged by the lack of firmness and bite in my tone, he pulled me towards him, guiding me until I was straddling his lap.
Letting him do as he pleased at the moment was probably not aligned to what I wanted us to do tonight.
But it was a little too hard to say no to his little kisses and warm touches.
“You know…” I said as I let him trail kisses down my neck. “You would feel it whenever the twins are in danger, whenever they need you.”
A long shaky sigh broke my spiel when Gallahan sucked and nipped at a particular spot below my ear. It made me tilt my head to the side, providing him more access to my neck.
Still, despite the distraction and the desire to give in, I stubbornly went on, saying, “But you wouldn’t be able to track them down and communicate with them without getting the hang of using the mind link. You know this, H-han.”
He groaned, letting his forehead rest on my shoulder. “But surely skipping one night of practice isn’t a big deal.”
“No,” I disagreed, gently scratching his scalp the way I knew he liked. “A dash of sand could tip the scale.”
He withdrew away from me, allowing us to look at each other. “We’ll add more sand tomorrow night then.”
A cheeky grin was etched on his lips, one I was only half-aware I was also wearing.
“You are so stubborn.”
“I know.”
“How about… How about you try to tap into our mind link and tell me what you want to do to me tonight? And if you’re able to do it, I might just let you have your way.”
“Do you have any idea of the number of filthy things I wish to do with you?”
“Just choose one. Just tell me one through the mind link, and you can have me all you want tonight.”
“You do know that with the shameful state of my ability, you’re basically asking for the impossible?”
“Take this as a motivation then. There’s a reward waiting for you once you succeed. So, go on. Try.”
Gallahan’s eyes fluttered close as he took a deep breath, readying himself for the task.
I watched him closely while I patiently waited for his voice to pierce through my mind and resonate within it.
His brows furrowed in concentration, and his lips were pressed together tightly, as if he could accomplish the task through sheer willpower alone.
“Relax,” I said, running my hands along the square of his stiff shoulders.
Slowly but surely, the tension left his frame. Still, I continued soothing his shoulders, pressing and squeezing every now and then.
“This is hopeless,” he muttered softly.
“Hush, and just concentrate,” I nagged immediately. “Breathe evenly as you mentally reach out to me. Look for our connection in your mind. It could be a string. A bridge. A rope. Anything that connects us. Once you see it, or even just feel it, pull it towards you.”
Gallahan nodded absentmindedly, assuring me that he was doing as I instructed.
Though, quite frankly, mental imagery was unnecessary since using the mind link was supposed to be innate to werewolves. But I was hoping that it could help Gallahan grasp the ability a tad bit easier.
Just then, I felt something subtly stir in my mind, a tell-tale sign of an incoming message through the mind link.
I was almost sure Gallahan was close to succeeding.
But I was proven wrong when I mentally heard Grandpa’s voice instead.
‘William will forfeit his search for his fated mate. Hence, our family must gather tomorrow for dinner. Bring your mate and your children. You and Gallahan are customarily allowed to contest his claim to the Alpha seat of Wolverham.’
“Oh.”