Page 19 of Lonely Alpha
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad to see everything worked out.”
I laughed. “I have to admit, I had my doubts.”
“Hmm, never doubt the master.” Franklin chuckled. “The rumors are true this time.”
We finished breakfast and helped our host clean up the mess. We also put some of the leftovers into his freezer in individual serving sizes so he would have easy meals when there weren’t guests around.
“Have you ever thought of finding another mate?” William asked the owner while leaning against me.
“It’s occurred to me, of course, but I haven’t met the right person. But for now, I’m content with the memory of my omega. What we had was enough to fill my heart for a lifetime.”
He said the words, but they didn’t seem as sincere as he usually did. Maybe I didn’t know him well enough, or maybe he longed for a mate as I had.
“I think we’ll go take a run. Is that okay here?” I asked.
“Of course. That was the main reason we bought this place away from everything, so we could run as we wished. Now get out of my hair, I have books to read.”
William and I went outside, hand in hand and walked to the back of the property until we were under the cover of trees. We stopped and my mate blushed.
“Are you shy all of a sudden?” I teased, unbuttoning the top of his shirt.
“No. Maybe. I don’t know why after last night, but this seems equally as intimate.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I promise you, William, you won’t lose me. This is it for me. You are it for me. Letting our wolves bond will help you. Don’t you believe me?”
“I do,” he said, leaning in so I could kiss his forehead. “I believe you.”
Chapter Seventeen
William
Our wolves were acquainted. In our short time together before my enlistment, we had shifted and run together more than once, and it had been a precious thing. This morning, we went out the back door and headed across the yard toward the trees at the far end. Franklin had told us we could run out there without anyone bothering us, and I could already tell it was going to be a pleasure. My wolf was hopping and yipping inside me, ready to get out and play with Lars’ beast. On the back porch, we paused for a long kiss before the shift took away our ability to mesh lips. Arms around one another, we stood together in the cool morning air.
It was going to be fun to see how our wolves had changed over time—if indeed they had. Wolves tended to age even slower than the shifters they hung out with. I stepped back and smiled at my mate before pulling my shirt over my head. And then kicked off my shoes and pushed down my shorts. Lars made not a single move while I stripped, watching me in a way that would be less-than polite among anyone but mates. I was proud of how I looked, having kept up my workouts even when my job in the military didn’t really require it. And the look on my mate’s face was the payoff. His admiration had me preening and promising myself to join a gym soon.
Then my fur burst out, my skeletal structure and muscles reshaped into the form of the wolf who didn’t need to lift weights or pound the treadmill to be in shape. He was always magnificent.
Lars didn’t wait after that, just stripped efficiently, folding his clothes as he went, and within a second, his wolf fully emerged. He was gorgeous, with lush fur and bright eyes, and he nipped at my flanks before racing off past the tree line. Caught off guard, I lingered a moment before following and the only reason I could find him was his scent trail. He smelled like citrus and fresh green grass usually, but his wolf had a deeper green to his scent, one I’d remembered so well from long ago.
We ran together for a couple of hours, chasing one another back and forth, fording streams, and tumbling down one grassy slope before drinking from a spring and lying side by side in the sun for a bit. He was warm against me, and I rested my snout on his shoulder and blew out a breath. This moment was magical and would stay in my memory forever.
Finally, we started back to the inn because Lars had a flight in the afternoon, and then he’d be in his town and I’d be in mine, and we’d have to work out how to get together. Until we shifted back, the thoughts were at the back of my mind, most of it taken up with wolfy things like four-legged prey and the breeze and wondering if the fish in the stream were big enough to try to catch one for a snack.
We didn’t run on the way back, just paced along the forest floor, lingering, making our time together last as long as we possibly could. Spring was a beautiful time here, not as gaudy as a cultivated garden but filled with small and gorgeous blossoms, light-green leaves, and mushrooms growing under tree canopies.
On Franklin’s back porch, we shifted back and dressed then sat down on the top step, holding hands and sharing kisses. “The airport car will be here soon,” he said finally. “I need to get my bags down here.”
“Me too.” I wasn’t going to stick around after he left. And even though we’d agreed to make arrangements to be together soon, it wasn’t enough. He had a house and a job and a life in the city he’d moved to, but I had been floating around since I got back, albeit a short time ago. I was planning to open an online computer security business but hadn’t made any great effort with that idea yet. I’d been wallowing in the misery of losing my mate.
One excuse down the drain. He’d occupied so much of my mind, missing him, and now everything was different. I had no excuses for not living life and the only life I wanted to live was with my mate.
So I said something to change everything. “What if I fly home with you?”
Chapter Eighteen
Lars
