Hers for the Holidays

Chapter Ten

“Mate,” Vincent whispered as he stared at his phone, the word ringing through his head.  How could he have missed it? Sure, he and his wolf weren’t as in touch with each other as other alphas he had seen in the past, but he always figured he would know when he finally met his mate.

Thinking back to the night he met her, he knew though.  Her smell was one he fancied already, and he hated the idea of not spending time with her.  Even in the manner she looked at him, he craved her presence in a way he had never wanted someone before.  Vincent slipped his phone into his back pocket as he placed his hands on the railing of his balcony.

He had called his cousin Dev, and the man had linked him to his bandmate, Eli.  He had talked to the wolf about what had happened with Emily and he could almost hear the smirk that the other wolf had on his own face as he told him about meeting his own mate Abby, whom he shared with his alpha.  It shocked Vincent. It was very rare for a wolf to share a fated mate and it must mean that the moon goddess had something special in the future for the three of them. He had heard rumors about her being mated to two others as well, but he didn’t feel like it was his place to ask about that.  

After all Eli was helping him to put the puzzle together with Emily, he sighed as he looked up at the waning moon.  She was his mate, how was he going to tell her. He had seen nothing in her apartment to hint at her knowing anything about the supernatural.  The only clue he had been her silence earlier as she held the door open for him, did she know about vampires?

His parents would be excited, well his dad would.  He had the feeling that it would upset his mother that Emily wasn’t a shifter.  He let out a long sigh as he looked out over the forest; he had chosen this accommodation for the view of the small wooded area.  It had soothed his wolf, being able to weave through the woods when he shifted.  

Vincent turned around and headed into his apartment, he made his way towards his bedroom his computer already booted up and ready for him to play.  He knew Emily would be on; he had so much he wanted to say to her. How was he going to pretend to be her boyfriend when he now knew that he wanted more?

He sat down at his computer and logged into the game; he slipped on his headphones and her laugh filled his ears.  He couldn’t help but smile at the happy, carefree sound.

“I’d hide you from my sisters if I were bringing you home too.”  She replied with a snort.

“All I’m saying is he warned me to stay away from his youngest sister.”  CJ said with a chuckle.  

“What did I miss?”  Vincent asked, joining the conversation.

“Just me telling Emily about the warning I got from my roommate to stay away from his sisters.”  CJ said as he ran his character through the blue flaming portal.  

“Going to steal some hearts?”  Emily teased as she followed the group’s healer with her warrior.

“Just call me Bowser, because I’m about to steal the princess.”  He said trying to sound smooth.

“Oh my god, that was so cheesy.  Does that type of line actually work?”  Emily replied with a laugh.

“It’s a new one I was working on, I’ll let you know how it works out after Thursday.”  CJ said.

“Are we doing this battle or not?  I’m ready to try out these new bracers.”  Vincent said chasing the other two through the portal.

“We are, anyone heard from Commander?”  Emily asked as they started clearing the room of the monsters.

“I talked to him earlier, I think he has two wives or a wife and girlfriend.”  CJ said.

“What makes you say that?”  Vincent inquired.

“I could hear someone yelling at him over his microphone, saying our wife is in labor.”  CJ said, “Then she yelled at him to get off his computer or she’d never do something that he really likes with her mouth ever again.  I’m not repeating what she said by the way, not appropriate.”

“Poor dude, I hope his girlfriend or wife is okay.”  Emily said before she started focusing back on the game and the room they were clearing.  She could only imagine what it would be like to have multiple lovers and how tiring that would be.

Vincent was concentrating on the game and quieter than normal, his mind filled with thoughts on what Emily was to him and how he would have to eventually tell her his secret.   He hoped she wouldn’t freak out about him being a shifter; he hoped she wouldn’t reject him. His wolf didn’t like the idea of that happening either, she was theirs even if she didn’t know it yet.  He nodded to himself. He would get to know her better. Vincent wanted her to fall in love with him and he wanted to fall for her as well.  

***

“Thanks for the run guys,” Emily said as the group finished their raid and she let out a happy sigh, she had gotten some fantastic loot from this run and couldn’t wait to equip it to her character.  

“Anytime, hey did you want to work on leveling your alchemy tonight?”  Vincent asked, looking for another reason to keep talking to Emily.

“I didn’t know Emily was working on leveling her herbs, that exciting news.”  CJ said.

“Yeah, we talked about it earlier over dinner, I’m planning to go take a shower then log back on later.  I’ll talk to you guys then.” Emily said before logging off. She stood and headed towards the bath. She turned on the shower and let the water heat up, the steam filling up the small bathroom.  She had a lot on her mind, she couldn’t get the feel of Vincent’s arms around her earlier from her mind. 

It was getting harder for her to pretend that what they were doing was just for the holidays.