“If she left you, what would you do?” Fane asked.
“I’d follow her,” Adam said without shame. “I would be glued to her side. She would never be free of me because I never want to be free of her.”
“You wouldn’t let her go even if it was what she wanted? If she told you it’s what would make her happy?” Decebel asked, a hint of ridiculousness in his question.
Flames danced in Adam’s eyes, and his body hummed with power. “She’s mine. My mate. The other half of my soul. Why would I let the other half of my soul leave me when it would hurt us both?”
“I hear what you’re saying,” Costin said. “But let me put it in wolf terms for you. Words that Crina would understand. If Sally came to me and said she wanted to leave, if she said ‘Costin, I just think I’d be happier without you.’” His voice rose as he tried to sound like his female. “‘I don’t know if I love you anymore. I need you to give me some time.’” He stopped, and his eyes glowed with his wolf. “My response would be, ‘Sally-mine, I hear you. I believe your feelings are valid. But the only way you’re getting rid of me is by killing me, and baby, even then you’re stuck with me.’ I’ve done it before. She thought she couldn’t be with me after…” He cleared his throat as his voice tightened. Fane placed a hand on his shoulder. “After she was taken from me. She thought she was going to leave me. I’m not ashamed to say that I did everything I could to make her see that by my side is where she belongs. Did that include forcing her to accept my touch? Yes. I would hold her even when she struggled, because I could feel her soul crying out for me. Even when she told me to go away, I was ruthless in my pursuit of her.
“The way you crave Crina? She craves you just as badly. You need to exploit the shi—” He stopped and looked at Decebel.
“You need to exploit the shit out of that,” Decebel continued for Costin. If Decebel was cursing, then he was emotional indeed.
Adam turned to look at Fane. What did his alpha think? Fane could see the question in his eyes. “I’ve done the same with Jacquelyn,” Fane admitted. And he felt his wolf agreeing with him when he said, “I’d do it again. I’d do anything to keep her with me.” Fane felt his teeth sharpen as his wolf pushed at him. “Even now, I want to be with her. I want to watch her, touch her, kiss her, and I will, even if she decides she’s pissed at me for some reason. Because she needs me like I need her. My wolf understands that, and her wolf responds to the dominance in me.” He smiled. “She likes to push back. But in the end, she wants to be caught. She wants me to growl at her and chase her. But what she likes most is when I catch her.”
“What if she pushes me away?” Adam asked, allowing his vulnerability to come through. Being rejected by your mate was excruciating.
“You push back,” Fane said. “With your words, your actions, your love. With every breath, you endeavor to make her see she belongs with you.”
Long after Fane had finished speaking, the five males continued to sit in silence. Fane could feel the tension pushing at Adam, but he could also feel the fae’s fear. He continued to lean against Adam’s side, as did Decebel opposite him, so they could let him feel through their touch and through the pack bonds that he wasn’t alone. They would sit there with him for as long as it took for him to be ready to take the next step. It was one of their wolves’ better qualities—patience. It wasn’t until long after the sun had set and the moon was beginning to make its appearance that Adam spoke again. “Thank you,” he said simply.
“No thanks is needed, Adam,” Fane assured him.
“I don’t know about you guys, but this whole waiting til Thursday thing just got tossed out the window. No offense to your mate, Decebel,” Costin said, “but I think Adam needs to go get his mate and make things right between them. I need to make things right between me and Sally, too.”
Fane frowned. “There’s something wrong with you and Sally?”
“Yes.” Costin snarled. “I haven’t bedded my mate in over a day, and I’ve been told I cannot for another four days. Our child is being looked after, so I’m about to have some Daddy-Momma time, and if she complains, I’ll just kiss her until she sees things my way.” He frowned and then glanced at the rest of them. “Sally hasn’t spoken to me in a while. Anyone else’s mate, with the exception of Adam, no offense, been radio silent?”
“That usually means they’re up to something.” Fane frowned, wondering why Jacquelyn hadn’t spoken to him through their bond in quite a long time. He’d been so focused on Adam that he’d not considered how long it had been since he’d heard from his Luna.
“A few hours ago,” Lucian said. “Peri told me she was with Jen and Elle shopping for, and I quote, ‘too damn many cakes’.”
“Jen checked in a couple of times.” Decebel pulled out his phone and looked at the time, then retrieved a bundle of folded papers. The dreaded schedule, Fane noted.
“We missed lunch time, and some bathroom breaks, but dinner is about to start,” Fane’s beta said.
“Dinner isn’t supposed to be until…” Costin glanced at his phone, “...midnight?”
Decebel shrugged. “You know how she gets when she’s on a mission. But the point is that everyone will be in the kitchen, and by everyone I mean our mates. I think we’ve worked hard enough for today. Alpha?”
Fane grinned, and he knew his wolf was making his eyes glow. “We’ve been busting our haunches on the holiday celebration stuff. But I think we’ve got some other kind of work to do. Let’s call it relationship enhancement time. It’s crucial for us to be able to perform our Christmas duties effectively and efficiently.”
Lucian nodded. “I’m sure Jen would like us to be as effective and efficient as possible. Nothing motivates a male like the promise of his female warming his bed.”
“Amen.” Costin stood up.
Fane followed suit and pulled Adam to his feet. “You need to throw Crina over your shoulder and take her to your suite and sort this out.”
“And by sorting it out, he means seducing her, biting her, and letting her claw you to death. Once she’s good and tired, then you can talk,” Costin said without the hint of a joke in his voice.
“You meant all of that literally, didn’t you?” Adam asked.
Costin nodded. “In that order.”
“She needs your touch, Adam,” Fane said. “Crina is being stubborn. She’s hurt. Make it right.”
Adam nodded.
“Let’s go get our females.” Costin turned to Adam. “Do you mind making the trip a little faster?”
Adam held out his arms, and the four males placed their hands on him. He flashed them to the kitchen. It buzzed with activity.
“Can I have your attention?” Fane said, ensuring his voice was loud and deep. Immediately everyone stopped and turned to look at him. He noted that Gavril and Rachel weren’t present, nor were any of the children, which meant they must have been keeping watch over the sleeping pups. Perfect.
“We’re taking a break,” Fane said as he looked at everyone. Jen started to speak, but he met her eyes and growled. She immediately dropped her eyes, her mouth snapping shut. He could feel that he was radiating power. Fane hadn’t realized how worked up he’d been getting while talking to Adam. He wanted Crina and Adam to have some time to fix things. They needed it. And Fane missed his mate. She’d come to bed late the night before, exhausted, and had kissed him, then rolled over and fell asleep a minute later. His eyes met hers, and the minute she picked up on his thoughts, her face flushed. He forced himself not to smile. “During this break, we will all be engaging in some relationship enhancement time.”