“Still not mated? Man, it's taking you a long time compared to others. Do you need tips on how to flirt?” Erik teases as he sits on my desk. I give him a look that suggests he shuts it.
“It’s different for humans, and she was only human last week,” I tell him. Despite being my brother-in-law, we are right friends, but I wish he would sort out his relationship with my sister. He will end up losing her, and despite trying to give him advice, I can’t make him sort his life out like he really needs to.
“Maybe you should take her out on a date?” he suggests.
“With five days left before the Hogs attack? Or the new vampire coven that has moved into the pack, when most here have no experience with vampires. I’m spending all my time reassuring everyone that they don’t eat wolves or hunt humans,” I tell him sarcastically, and he nods.
“Don’t get grouchy with me brother, I get it. Being your mate and not mating makes you angry,” he tells me, and manage to make my wolf relax a little, which is getting harder to do. Difficult is an understatement of a word to describe being around my destined mate for so long without mating. Seeing Harper every morning at breakfast and around the pack is difficult; sleeping in the room next to her and not being able to touch her is torture. But I refuse to push her into a massive situation like this, just because we are pressed for time. I want to go into the fight with her at my side as my mate, but I can do it anyway for her. My wolf presses against my mind, imagining how sweet Harper smells and how beautiful she is, both in her human and wolf form.
“I don’t want to push her. I already kissed her a few times, and I’m waiting for her to come to me,” I tell him, and he laughs.
“You’re so tense and going into a fight not mated, isn’t safe. We don’t want to lose our alpha because his destined mate is waiting,” he tells me, and I give him another look. We aren’t meant to be talking about my mating or lack of; we are discussing where we are hiding wolves in the forest for when the Hogs attack. Erik is going to lead a pack of our best fighters, that we are going to hide in the woods, to attack them from behind. I will lead the rest of the wolves into a head-on attack, with Colton and his vampires hiding in the trees as the surprise.
“That’s not your issue,” I tell him firmly. The door opens, and Harper walks in.
“No, it’s mine,” she says, apparently hearing our conversation. She looks almost nervous as she watches me. I can’t help but take her tight jeans, little cami top, and cardigan. Her long hair is down, and shapes her beautiful face.
“Leave us, Erik,” I tell him, and he nods, sliding off the desk.
“They are going to come here and kill our people. The people you want to fight for you and the man who wants to be your mate. If you feel nothing for him, walk away. If you care at all about this pack, and us, mating is an option you need to think about. The same for your vampire; it’s a wonder he hasn’t lost his mind yet,” he tells her. I go to interrupt him, but Harper holds a hand up to stop me, wanting to hear him out.
“Like how you treat Snow? Wouldn’t you regret it if you go into the fight without speaking to her?”
“You have no right to speak to me about my relationship with Snow,” Erik snaps.
“Neither do you, about my relationship with Nikoli or Colton. But even if they aren’t my mates yet, I still wouldn’t ever treat them the way you treat Snow. Don’t you think she is hurting too? That she needs you?” she asks, and he steps forward, his head bowed down.
“I just can’t. She reminds me-” he starts to say and then stops, storming out the room.
“Should I have not said anything?” Harper says into the silence of the room, looking at the closed door.
“You’re an alpha female, and your wolf is protective of the females in the pack. It’s normal, and he is mistreating my sister,” I tell her. She nods before shutting the door and looking over at me.
“I like you,” she says softly, when neither of us has said anything for a while. I smile, getting up from my desk chair, and walk over to her. When I’m close, I pull her into my arms, loving how she feels against me.
“I don’t want you to mate with me because you feel pressured or for any other reason than the most important one,” I tell her honestly.
“Which is?” she asks.
“That you love me. That you want to spend forever with me, Harper. I don’t want to scare you by telling you how I feel, and what I want.” I whisper the last part.
“I just feel like I need to spend more time with you. Get to know you more, but I feel like there’s no way to do that with the little time we have,” she tells me, and I nod, kissing the top of her head.
“Okay… I have an idea. Come on,” I say, sliding my hand into hers and walking her over to the desk. I motion for her to sit in the chair, and then perch on the desk near her.
“I ask one question, you answer, and then you can ask me one,” I offer, and she smiles, leaning back in the chair.
“Okay, but I go first,” she says, with a slight challenge in her tone.
“Fine,” I reply, watching as she crosses her legs and looks me up and down.
“How old are you?” she asks, and I groan, hoping to avoid this one.
“Two hundred and thirty-eight,” I say, and she laughs.
“So, I’m crushing on an old man,” she says through laughs. I’m not that old compared to some of the wolves I know.
“Do I look like an old man to you?” I say, spreading my arms wide.
“Nope…you certainly do not,” she replies.
“My turn. How many guys have you dated?” I ask her, and she blushes slightly before answering.
“Two guys, and to answer your unsaid question, I’m a virgin,” she says.
“I never asked,” I smirk, trying to keep the happiness out of my face that I’m going to be the first and only one to touch her like that. Well, if she doesn’t mate with Colton first, that is. I don’t know what her plan is, or if she even has one. I also have no idea how I could share her for our mating.
“My turn.” She glares when she sees my big smile.
“How many women have you dated?” she asks, and I pull on the collar of my shirt a little before answering.
“A few, but none long-term, and no wolves,” I tell her, and she keeps eye contact with me for a while before nodding. I always felt sleeping with wolves was disrespectful to my future mate, and it would be weird to live with them around after. Not that I dated much; work has always been more important.
“If you could travel anywhere on holiday, where would you go?” she asks.
“To New York. I’ve always wanted to see the city that never sleeps. To try some of the unusual foods I’ve heard they have,” I reply. Running a pack means I haven’t had much time to travel and hopefully when things settle, I can take Harper somewhere.
“I want to go there too, and I know what you mean. I saw something on the news the other day about a cupcake vending machine. It gives you a choice of freshly-made cupcakes, and boxes them up. There is apparently a ten-minute wait to get one,” she tells me, and I smile. That’s exactly something I would want to take her to.
“Yes, things like that. Maybe we could go there one day,” I say, and she nods, a slight blush tingeing her cheeks.
“My turn,” she states, standing up and stepping closer to me. She stops when she is positioned between my open legs. She places her hands on my thighs and looks down.
“If I asked you to kiss me now, would you?” she asks, and I smirk, sliding my hand into her soft hair and leaning up.
“The answer to that is always yes,” I tell her, and place my lips on hers.