Remember Me, Mate

Chapter 6

TYRONE

Only a few minutes had gone by after my brother left with our hybrid friend, naturally leading me to believe it was them at the door again. It didn’t take long for me to realize my assumption was wrong though. The light, almost ethereally floral fragrance, warm and green as the breath of Spring, but also cooling and refreshing like the first drops of rain, quickly invaded my nostrils. I hadn’t yet had the luxury to discover how calming and intoxicating a mate’s scent was, but that specific smell always eased my tension.

Although right now, I knew seeing her meant diving deeper into the recently-developed problems I was eagerly trying to avoid.

“Tyrone? Are you alone in there?” The gentle voice sounded from the other side after my long silence.

I blinked a few times to force myself to come to my senses. “Yeah. Come in, Zahra.”

At my invitation, the beautiful woman slowly stepped into the room. She carefully closed the door behind her before walking towards me. As the dim light shone onto her features, I took a moment to analyze them. Concern stained her expression; alertness was evident in her every step and in her eyes as she scanned the room. Then, her full attention fell on me.

“Did Circe-”

“Yes.” My response prevented her from finishing her sentence. I already knew what she wanted to ask.

“And is it true? Is that man really Tristan?” There was doubt in her tone, but it relieved me to notice she clearly didn’t know what my brother had once meant to her. It was proof that her pain was still buried deep beneath her memories, unable to harm her.

“He’s really Tristan,” I confessed with a heavy sigh.

“This is insane.” She shook her head. “Did he say where he had been all this time? Or explain how he managed to cheat death?”

“Not yet. He’s been through a lot, and he needs to recover. Circe took him to his old room so he could rest…” and stay away from you until we figure out this mess.

She nodded silently. “And how are you feeling?”

The sympathy in her eyes made it impossible for me to lie. “I am happy that he’s back, and safe. A huge part of me was broken when he left. But at the same time, so much has changed in his absence. I became Alpha, and you-” I quickly held back my words. My eyes fell on her for a brief moment before I looked away again. “It’s just a lot to take in.”

“You’ll figure it out. You’re Tyrone Wolfgang, Alpha of Scarlet Meadows Pack. There’s nothing you can’t do.” She smiled sweetly as she delicately sat sideways on my chair, right between my legs. A chuckle escaped her soft lips as her fingers moved to my neck, tugging on the tie I had undone earlier in a fit of distress. “Except tie a tie.”

Caught off guard, I let out a small laugh, and just like that, all of my troubles vanished - at least for the moment. I expected Zahra to use her skilled fingers to fix my tie, but instead, she finished undoing it. Carelessly, she let the delicate ribbon serpentine all the way down to the floor. I barely had time to understand her intentions before her lips pressed against mine.

My eyes closed instinctively as I embraced the daze brought by her velvety texture. When her tongue gently asked for passage, delicately tracing my lips, I quickly obliged. If the building wasn’t protected against magic, I would suspect she was putting a spell on me. She muffled my groan as I dwelled in her sweetness. It broke my haze, sending me into a sugar rush that filled me with excitement. As lust awoke within me, I could feel my member pushing against the fabric of my trousers as it hardened. It had been a while since Zahra started having that pleasant effect on me.

Wait…

Zahra.

With a reluctant grunt, I fought to break our kiss. She made me happy like no one else. She knew me better than anyone else. In time, she became the remedy to my pain. When we were together before, I never felt anything other than relaxed; safe. But this time, I was suddenly consumed by guilt.

My brother was back after going through Moon knows what kind of hell, and here I was, relishing the taste of his Luna after wiping every memory she had of him.

“Did I do something wrong?” the woman flashed me a puzzled expression, slightly pulling away to look into my eyes.

You? I thought to myself. No…But what I’ve been doing is definitely wrong.

“Is it really?” my animal conscience retorted. “Tristan was the one who walked out on his Luna. On you. Why should you so kindly return to him everything he gave up when he left?”

“I don’t approve of my brother’s decision, Nevan. You know that,” I replied thoughtfully. “But Zahra is not my fated partner. We should have never happened. The thought that my brother had most likely perished made it easier for me to live in this fantasy, but now that I know he’s alive, and here… How can I face him after allowing his Luna-”

“His rejected Luna,” he corrected me. “Look, I still haven’t given up on finding our mate. But until then, Zahra makes you happy, so she makes me happy. Besides, I can’t stand seeing you bow your head to your brother anymore. You’re as much of an Alpha as he is; you weren’t born to serve him. You fixed the mess he made, why would you let him take your prize?”

“Zahra is not a prize to be won.”

“You know what I mean.”

I shook my head. “It’s-”

“Ty?” The sweet voice, poisoned with worry, sucked me back into reality. When my gaze landed on her beautiful eyes again, I could only stare at her as I tried to organize my thoughts.

“No. No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” My hand searched for hers, my thumb slowly rubbing circles against her skin. I showed her a comforting smile before it was undone by a sigh that broke through my lips. “There’s just a lot on my mind right now.”

“Perhaps I can help you with that.” She lowered her voice, her vixen stare focused on me as if I was her next prey. Her fingers moved to the collar of my shirt, eager to undo its buttons. Instinct took over and I wrapped my hand around her wrist to stop her, earning yet another confused look from her.

“I don’t think we should keep doing this.” I couldn’t hide the worry in my tone. “Your mate is- What if your mate comes along?” I quickly changed my sentence. “I don’t want you to regret anything, Zahra.”

“You're sweet, Ty. It’s one of the things I like about you. You’re tender and caring despite your bloodline. But we’ve talked about this.” She caressed one of my cheeks, making me melt under her touch. “I don’t have a mate now, and neither do you.”

“She’s technically right,” Nevan observed smugly.

“You like me, and I like you. Until our mates come along, we don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying each other’s company. There’s no need to complicate it, okay?”

By the time she finished her sentence, I could only nod. My mind was telling me I would regret this later, but at the moment, all I could think about was…well, her. She was bringing out the wolf in me, and it was hungry. When her lips crashed against mine again, she had me completely under her spell.

Zahra took her time to get rid of my button-up shirt. As soon as she was done, my hands gripped the hem of her dress, and she shifted in my lap to allow me to remove it. A grunt left my mouth as my fingers touched her bare skin, tracing her every curve. She pulled away briefly to take my belt off, but before she could free my aching erection, she let out a gasp. My heart almost stopped, and I could only breathe again when I looked behind me, fearing we had been caught. Relief washed over me as I understood what had shocked her.

“What happened here?” She pointed at the broken desk with her nose.

“Tristan was…a little angry due to his exhaustion,” I blurted out.

“It’s a shame. I liked that desk.” She pouted before her attention fell on me again, mischief playing on her lips. “We made some pretty interesting memories on it.”

“Think this chair will do for now?” I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist, pulling her closer to me. She nodded in agreement before continuing from where she had left off.

What happened next was bliss; a single second of peace amidst the chaos.