Chapter 31

Noah:

Mate ran much faster than me. Pups couldn’t keep up, but they tried. We all ran after her, leaping over rocks and roots, blue light burning above us. Didn’t know before, but now, seemed obvious. Watching Reagan, it made sense. Meant to be a wolf. Always had been wolf, but the wolf was too tired to wake up before. Without other half locked in a different body, the wolf could run. The moon told us.

Growled at mate. Wanted her to know we could play now. Didn’t have to hold back with her. Could be rough and knew she could take it. She heard the growl, stopping when I stopped. We faced each other, the pups gathered around and howling.

Tail shook in the air, eyes narrowed at me as if in a dare. Oh, my mate wanted me to prove I could win. Fine with me. Finally, she would be impressed.

I leapt forward, landing on her. Bit lightly at her shoulder. Always liked when I did that in other form. Would gasp and grab at me, asking for more. Could do more now, but didn’t feel the same. Different playing.

Reagan turned on me, snapping in the air before she knocked into me. Both went backward, tumbling to the ground. Many teeth and bites. Liked all of them. Wanted much more.

Went back and forth like that for a while, running and biting and playing. Even played with the pups, teaching them how to fight. Simon was the best. Came from a place of anger that would never go away. Always wanted to be in this form. Strong. Could protect more like this, but too convinced he could make up for what he couldn’t do before. Too little to worry this much. Couldn’t stop it.

Would have run forever, but the sun started to come up. Most of the pack already headed back, wanting to sleep. All of them knew by now. They would have felt the power, knowing their other alpha was exactly what they needed. Had seen her too, watching her run with all the elegance my mate had in her. Lovely. Wanted to spend the rest of my life watching her run.

Needed the pups to go home. Signaled for them to turn around, all of them unhappy to leave. Nudged Allison along, nipping at air when she growled at me. Nudged harder, pushing along.

Got back to our clothes, the pack already there. Many walking home, sleepy eyes but peace on their face. Saw Adam, and he looked back at me with relief. Hadn’t failed the pack. Found a wolf, even if we didn’t know she was a wolf. Moon gave us what we needed. Always knew it would.

I changed into my clothes after shifting back into human form. The kids hurried to get dressed, yawning and rubbing their eyes. They would sleep for half a day before waking up even once.

I felt Reagan’s arms come around me from behind. I reached around and pulled her in front of me, getting a giggle out of Reagan when I lifted her up in my arms. I cradled her there, getting my throat kissed and my jaw nibbled on.

“Well, holy shit,” Pippa said when we all started walking. “How the hell did all that happen?”

“I’d like to know too,” Reagan mumbled against my skin.

It seemed obvious to me. “I told you that the moon gives you what you need, as long as you give back.”

“The moon made Reagan a wolf?” Jamie asked. He was covered in dirt, much like Lizzie. They’d been rolling around as wolves, playing as if they hadn’t gotten the chance in ages. It would be different now. They could shift when they wanted and not even get tired. They could have freedom.

“No,” Reagan said in my arms. “I think I was a wolf already.”

I’d never heard of that happening before. Reagan had wolf blood in her, but two generations back. If one of her parents had been a wolf, then it would have seemed less insane.

“So, you’re like Noah,” Pippa observed. “How can that be? He’s not supposed to even exist, and there’s two of you now.”

Reagan looked at me, concern on her face. “I wish I could write it off, but it makes me wonder how we found each other, these two abnormalities.”

“We’re Mends,” I said. “We were meant to find each other.”

She cracked a smile. “As romantic as that sounds, I still want to know what’s going on. I keep getting new magic I didn’t have before.”

“You and Elena were born as halves,” I said as the house appeared in the distance. “Maybe like the other magic, you both weren’t enough wolf to be a whole one. When she died, you got all her magic. Or maybe you were too sick and weak to shift before.”

“Not when I was little,” she reminded me.

I had no answers for her.

When we got inside, Reagan insisted I set her down again. The kids barely said goodbye before they shuffled off to their rooms, all yawning and half alive. For once, I didn’t feel tired. I walked with Reagan up to our room, more awake than I had been in a long time.

I went into the bathroom, leaving the door open as I turned the shower on hot. My body had dirt all over it, as did Reagan’s. I hadn’t been expecting her to walk into the bathroom with me, but she did.

“Are we supposed to sleep?” Reagan asked me, drawing on the glass door of the shower. The steam was already thick enough to make the kitten picture clear.

“Well… we could,” I said, pulling my sweater over my head. “I’d want to get the dirt off me first.”

Reagan looked down at herself, rubbing at a patch on her arm. “Hmm. I wouldn’t want to get into bed dirty either. I could… sit in here and wait for you to finish showering. If you want. Or I could take a bath while you shower…”

Did she really think she needed to wait for an invitation?

I pushed the shower door open for her, and she smiled.

Our clothes hit the floor to be dealt with later. She stepped inside first, and I went right behind her. She offered me the warm water, but I was happy to stand in the cold while she cleaned up. The shower was big enough that she took my arm and pulled me into the water.

I knew I needed to be getting dirt out of my hair, but found it quite distracting to have my mate naked beside me. She must have known that, because she kept looking up at me with the same eyes she had when she’d dragged me into Leon’s office for a little fun. Now, we didn’t have anyone around to interrupt us.

Reagan kissed me, water hitting my shoulder and filling the room with steam to the point where I couldn’t see anymore. That bond between us burned just as hot.

One of us pushed the door open and neither of us bothered to turn the water off. I was busy, my mouth locked with Reagan’s. We stumbled out of the shower and I worried we would slip and fall on our way down. We didn’t, and I thanked the fact that I hadn’t picked up the old towels from the floor yet.

Reagan’s nails scraped up my back as I settled on top of her. I wanted so badly to connect us, but in the back of my mind I wanted to go slower. Just this time, if we could manage it. Judging by how Reagan locked her leg around me, I didn’t think we could pull it off.

I bought myself time, sliding down her body and leaving a trail of kisses everywhere I went. She muffled her moan when I dipped my head between her legs. No one would wake up, but she covered her mouth anyway.

When the time came, I was eternally grateful I’d taken ten minutes to visit medical and pick up what I needed. I grabbed the box of condoms from the bathroom drawer, listening to Reagan laugh at me when I tried to open it. She gasped when it tore, the contents flying out. While I fumbled for them, she managed to grab one.

Over her again, I couldn’t hide my nerves. She noticed, putting her hand on my cheek and kissing me.

“Do you want to move to the bed?” I asked, breathy. “We can. Anything you want.”

She smiled, shaking her head. “Nah, I like this better.”

I still hesitated until she pulled me back down to her, her leg going over me again. Reagan let out another gasp when I pushed forward, her teeth biting into her lower lip. I waited until she nodded me along before I moved again.

I felt that wolf strength when Reagan’s fingernails bit into me again. I still didn’t mind the little stings on my shoulder or back, and I had something else to distract me from that anyway. The bond between us hummed with power, but it felt like a warning. It was more than the bond between mates, because it was also that Mend that we weren’t meant to take this far. We could worry about it later, but I felt it looming over us.

When it ended, I laid with Reagan on the soaking wet bathroom floor. Her hair had made a puddle around us and I never turned the shower off. To be fair, I felt bad about the wasted water.

We panted, lying side by side on the floor. I had no intention of getting back up again. Ever.

“We should have done that days ago,” Reagan said. “Like, twenty days ago.”

I smiled, reaching out for her hand. “We could do it again if you want.”

“Oh, we will,” she promised. “We’ll do that lots. I bet I could go again right now. I mean… if that was okay with you.”

I got up from the floor in a heartbeat, grabbing Reagan and carrying her to our room before I dropped her on the bed. She giggled, sitting up only to pull me back onto her.