Loving My Mate

Wolfing Around

I don’t like arguing with Brighton.  I’m sitting in my office going over all the scenarios in my head on how to make it right.  Mark isn’t helping in the least, throwing a ball against the wall as if he doesn’t have anything else to do.  

“Alpha Nathan confirmed his attendance to the alliance party, FYI.”  

Shit.  I completely forgot about that.  The neighboring packs are getting together to form one large alliance treaty.  It’s going to be beneficial for all packs with trade and assistance, should it be needed.  It’s one of my first proclamations as the alpha for our community to form stronger borders for the pack.  Mark and I have been discussing this for months. 

“When is this supposed to take place again?” 

“It’s over a month away, plenty of time to plan the gathering.” 

“That’s good.  The other four packs have agreed as well.  This is exactly what we need to get a shoe in on how strong our leadership can be.” 

“Agreed.  Think Brighton will be back in time to show off our luna?” 

I huff in frustration.  I told Mark about the situation as soon as we got to the office, but I’ve been avoiding talking about it any further.  Mark takes my silence as the go ahead to lead the discussion.

“She’s just not used to living in a pack house.  She lived in the neighborhoods growing up and has been living on her own since 19.  And in all fairness, she did live at the pack house recovering from depression- probably not the best memories for her.” 

I scrub my hand down my face.  I guess I never thought about that.  “Gah, so how am I supposed to get her to move in here then?”  My door opens suddenly.  

“You don’t,” Dustin says as he strolls into my office unannounced. 

“How did yo—” 

“I texted him earlier about the situation while you were crying on your desk.”  Mark is such an asshole.

“I wasn’t crying,” sending him a glare.  I look to Dustin who seems very entertained, and say to confirm, “I wasn’t crying.”

“Yea whatever.  Look, I have a pregnant shewolf at home, so if she asks, I’m at the grocery store.  Also, I’m raiding your fridge after this.”  I scrub my hands down my face.  Dustin probably is the best one to help me with this situation, but between him and Mark, the headache I’m already having is increasing. Especially since Mark decides to throw the ball against the door now, creating a damn echo.

“So, what’s your input?” I sigh out.   

“Mark is right. Not only does she not have good memories of this place, but she would never be comfortable here.  There’s too much space and it’s too lavish.” 

“I told her she could decorate however she wants.”  

“You’re forgetting who we are talking about here—Brighton- the girl who would rather wear a worn pair of shoes, even if they hurt her feet, than to waste money on a new pair.  How do you think she’ll feel if you hand her a credit card and say ‘go on baby, use my money to make this ridiculously huge place your own.’  You’ve seen her flat- it’s small and homey and she loves it.” 

“So what do you suggest I do?  It’s tradition that we live here in the apartments.”

Mark stops tossing the ball and looks in my direction.  “Is it really tradition?  Or has any other pairs just not cared enough to live somewhere else, since the apartments come with a lot of perks? No offense man, I love you, but I wasn’t looking forward to the day we all had to live in the apartments.  I love living at my house.” 

“And Brighton wants a place to call her own, with her own family.  She would want kids to run around in their own yard, and be able to tuck them into bed without interference of other people in the house.”

Dustin and Mark start bouncing the ball to each other while I sit and digest all the information.  Rubbing my temples, I try to think about what would be best.  Brighton’s happiness is all that matters to me. 

I smile, thinking of an idea.  “Alright boys.  I’ve got a plan, but I’ll need your help to accomplish it."

__________________________________________

Later that evening, I’m feeling better about everything I discussed with the guys.  I came to Brighton’s house unannounced because I don’t know if she would answer her phone.   Her mind link has been shut off all day as well, meaning she needed time to herself. 

I can hear music blaring from outside and I peek in through the windows and can see her painting on a large canvas.  It looks like she just started because there’s only smears of blues and greens on it.  She’s sitting on a stool with her hair mussed up, and I can see my mark on her from here.  A smile plays on my lips from the memories of last night.  Her kisses, her touch, her trust…  Everything was perfect. 

I knock on the door and she looks up suddenly, smiling as she sees me through the glass.  She puts down her paint brush and palette and turns down the music.  When she opens the door, I drag her to me, and as our lips crash together, she wraps her arms around me.  When I break the kiss, I smirk at her lust filled face and waltz into her studio, as if I didn’t set her body on fire. 

“What are you doing here?”  There’s a little snip to her tone from her frustration.  Instead of answering her question I walk to the canvas on display. 

“What are you working on?”  She huffs and walks behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist and propping her chin on my shoulder.  “I’m fiddling around with demo pieces- something that can be completed in a timely frame, but still look complete.”  She lets go and shrugs her shoulders, heading over to a table of canvases drying.  “I’ve tried working on several pieces but I’ve been getting flustered.” 

I know she works hard, and I can’t help but feel like her frustrations were about the discussion we had this afternoon.  “Feel like going on a run with me?”  Her eyes light up so I guess it’s a good thing I asked.  She nods her head and I take her hand heading out her back door. 

We start stripping our clothes, and I can’t help but admire my mates body.  Her skin is glowing in the moonlight, highlighting all the best aspects of her.  I absentmindedly licked my lips.  Her giggling brings me to the present, as I finish undressing.  “Really?  You asked me for a run, not hanky panky time.” 

I laugh and grab her waist, pulling her closer to me.  “Can’t help it babe.  You might as well get used to it, because there won’t be a day where I wouldn’t want to r****h you.”  She blushes, then jumps away, shifting in midair.  She lands on all fours and turns in my direction.  I haven’t seen her wolf since she was 16, and my wolf is jumping for joy seeing his mate.  “So gorgeous,” I say to myself, but her laughter through mind link tells me she heard.

“Come on Romeo, I’m ready for that run” 

I shift and trot to her side, and she places her muzzle to my neck, inhaling my scent. 

“Where do you want to run?” 

“The glade?” 

I step back and get into position.  I turn my head with a smirk.  “Race you.”

We run the 12 miles to the glade.  Since she has my mating mark, our playful racing turns into an actual contest.  The only one that could actually keep up with me on runs is Mark, and now Brighton is able to keep in stride with our bond.  We come into the clearing a mile away and I surprise her by zig zagging in front of her, then suddenly stopping, her running right into to me.  I take her stunned pause and take off full speed into the Glade, laughing at her through the mind link.  Once I get to there, I sit in front of the pond waiting on her.  When she comes through the clearing, she glares, walking up to me.

“Didn’t peg you for a cheater babe.” 

I shake my head at her, licking her ear.  “Only when I want to have fun.”  She nips at my feet.

We lay down, her wolf huddled on my side as we rest our heads on our paws, enjoying the night air.  The air is cool and the wind is soft.  We sit in silence, letting our wolves feel the connection we share.  “I didn’t want to argue with you earlier… I’m sorry” 

“Don’t be. You had a lot going on in the moment.”  I didn’t want to discuss this topic.  It’s irrelevant now and she doesn’t need to apologize.  I push my body more into her, rubbing my face into her neck.  She flips over onto her back, shimming into the grass, looking real cute.  She sighs and stares at the night sky.  

“Still… what you said were valid points.” 

“Let’s not talk about that tonight.  We’ll wait until you get back.” 

“You sure?”  She looks up at me confused.  Probably wondering why I conceded so quickly.  If she only knew my plans.  Instead of answering, I get up and start nipping at her, enjoying her laughs as we wrestle and play in our wolf forms.  This is how our life is going to be like from now on- happy and with each other.