“I had chills when those spirits literally went into the light right in front of us like that, you know?” Peter looked around at all of us with wide eyes. “And what was up with the triplets and that whole Groot thing? Do you think those sprouts will become more trees? Like, there will be whole grove up there now? And if so, will they become more of those eternal life trees or just fruitless mulberries?”

“I don’t know, you’re supposed to be the intuitive one, manwhore. And, I really can’t believe you’re still trying to make that same tired Groot reference,” his mate Parker said with an exaggerated eye roll.

I laughed and took another swig of my beer. Mark was glowering at me from the other end of the table, like he’d been doing all night. He was supposedly talking with Cody and his mates, Ansh and Kontar, but his eyes had only been on me.

We’d been doing this odd dance of pretending we hadn’t caught each other’s scents ever since we left Nepal.

After returning to Dublin, those of us with babies had dropped them off with their various grandparents and come back here to have our private party. We’d all needed to regroup and have some time together after the pilgrimage we’d just made to the former G.o.D. compound up on that mountain top in Nepal.

The things we’d experienced there had been life-affirming for me, and had solidified my trust that things always work out in the end.

That was the secret of life, really. That things always work out as they’re meant to do, and it was best just to go with the flow and let winds carry you where they would.

Ignoring Mark’s stern expression, I amped up my best version of a don’t-give-a-damn smile and turned to Clark.

“So if you are guys are still leaving tonight for Belize, what the hell are you all still doing sitting here?”

Clark winced as he gave me a pained expression. “Right? It’s so frustrating. Our pilot couldn’t get clearance until two in the morning. We probably won’t get there in time for the ceremony, but we’ll probably make the reception. Kent and I hate being late for it, but what to do?”

I nodded with fake understanding. It wasn’t that I didn’t care, it was just that I’d never believed in living by a schedule or calendar. It was easier when you could do whatever felt right in the moment.

“Well, at least you can hang out with friends and have a few drinks to take the edge off, huh?”

“In theory. But, Kent and I have both been drinking soda pop since we’ll be traveling in a few hours, so that’s probably the wrong drink choice to take the edge off.” Clark grinned.

“Aye, but yer friends are what make the difference, boyo.” Sean said with an easy grin as he set a fresh round of drinks down on the table, then sat back down next to his mate, Heath.

Clark held his drink up in a toast. “To friends. Without you guys, I’d be a nervous wreck right now.”

Tau and Jun reached out to clink glasses with him while I shook my head and chided him.

“That’s because you’re a slave to the clock, man. You gotta lighten up and just go with the flow,” I said.

I heard Mark’s disapproved harrumph from the other end of the table. Enough was enough, I needed a moment’s peace to gather myself.

“Be back in a bit guys, I gotta hit the head.”

I stood and pushed my way through the tables to the small bathroom that stood at the end of a long hallway around the corner from the main tavern area. Being that it was after hours, Sean hadn’t turned on all the lights. After I passed the point where the main lights spread their glow down this hall, it was dimly lit and filled with pockets of shadows past the bathroom.

When I came out a few minutes later, a hand reached out from the dark and yanked me back into the dark corner beyond the bathroom. I caught a whiff of that delicious blackberry and thyme scent that had been haunting me since I’d first smelled it in Nepal.

Fucking Mark.

Before I could speak, Mark shoved me up up against the wall, his soft breath brushing over my lips as he spoke. “What the hell is your problem, River? Why are you playin’ coy with me?”

His thick Maine accent always made me want to smile at the way my name rolled off his tongue. The way he said River sounded more like Riv-ah... it was almost like having my own pet name.

Never mind that he probably said everyone else’s names differently too, this was special because this was just mine.

“Coy? Why, whatever do you mean, Mark?” I asked with feigned innocence.

“Ah, stuff it, River. You know. All these months you’ve been pantin’ after me sayin’ how it’s obvious we’re the next to be coupled up so let’s get cozy. I told you I wanted to wait for the fates to speak so we knew for sure. Now that we’ve both scented each other, you wanna give me the cold shoulder? What game are you fuckin’ playin’ at, River?”

My rarely-seen temper flashed, and I grabbed his arms and pushed him back, propelling him up against the wall on the opposite side of the narrow hall where I pinned him with a firm grip on his lower arms.

Mark and I were close in size, and stood almost eye to eye. Our breaths were coming in pants as we stared at each other. Without stopping to think, I lunged forward and sealed my mouth over his.

I don’t know who the kiss was meant to punish, but the moment our lips met, I was lost. I felt his rough lips under mine and sparks of electricity danced along my skin—and straight to my dick.

His tongue licked the seam of my lips, bringing me back to my senses. I broke away and ground my rock-hard dick up against his hard length—two steel bars only separated by our denim-clad prisons.

“Is that what you wanted to know, Mark? If I want you? Yes. Of course, I fucking want you. But the problem is, I wanted you to want me without the magical fated mate scent shit. I wanted you to go with your heart for probably the first time in your uptight life, instead of your head. I wanted you to want me, to see me for me—not for a pheromone based object of desire.”

My dick grew even harder when Mark fucking growled at me in response as his wolf tried to surface. His whiskey brown eyes glowed orange as his teeth elongated and the hair on his arms grew thick and coarse under my hands.

Mark clenched his jaw, and looked to the side while he regained control of his wolf. Once his arm hair and teeth had returned to normal, he turned back to me with a snarl.

“Did you seriously think I didn’t want you all these months, River? Of course, I did, you numbskull. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been entranced by your hippie-dippy little ass since the first time I set eyes on you. But I didn’t act because I’ve learned the hard way that it’s best to wait, River. It’s called having honor.”

He paused for a moment, jerking an arm free to push me back a step. “The fates are fickle bitches, River. Just because everyone else was neatly paired up didn’t mean shit for a guarantee that we would be. If the fates had decided to fuck with my life again, I wasn’t goin’ to have your future ruined too. Think, River. What if I’d given in and knocked you up in the process? Then, what if the next day, you’d walked outside and scented your real mate? Or vice versa, what then?”

His eyes were starting to pick up a hint of orange again, but he still seemed to be maintaining control over his wolf. “I had to be honorable, River. I had no right to do otherwise—not this time, not with you. Does my sacrifice and all the nights I went to bed with blue balls mean that I’m to be punished forever, and have watch you walk away when all this is over? Tell me, River, so I can figure out my next move.”

I pushed back up against him, rubbing up close until I was touching every bit of our bodies together as I possibly could.

“No, asshole. It means that I wanted to make you know how it felt to be the one waiting for a change. Fuck this... I have just one question for you, Mark. Are we getting the hell out of here or am I going to have to make you take me right here in this hallway?”