Morlie sashayed by him toward the bedroom.
Lush.Her swaying ass drew his attention and he let himself admire the natural sexuality of her.
He gritted his teeth as he noted that there was hesitation in each step she took and a slight limp.His mate was still pushing through a great deal of pain.
She went around the room, flicking on lights, and he understood it was more out of habit than a need to see.Their canine vision made the extra light unnecessary.
“Talk to me.”
“When I was younger and ill, Kai did everything for me.Even her decision to leave the Wall territory was because she wanted to protect me from what was killing me and whatever plans our government had for me.Even when I was better, she mothered me among the Drahks, where it was safe.”She met his gaze from across the bed, still laden with breeding furs, and he couldn’t help but wonder how soon his mate would carry his child.
He focused back on her words.“And me?”
“You.But as soon as Minsi became a threat to me, you did exactly what Kai always did.”Her arms waved around as she spoke.“You put bumpers, by way of guards, around me, ensuring nothing could come near me.”
Chanin stepped toward her, his shins touching the bed that sat large between them, a barrier.“I wanted to keep you safe—” He lifted a hand to forestall her when she started to speak.“Not in the way you think.You needed time to become stronger and merge with every level of your wolf.We all need that.It wouldn’t have been fair for me as your mate or Alpha to give Minsi such an unfair advantage.She could have killed you.”He set his hands on his hips.“And I would have killed her.”
She nodded.“I know.”She shoved a hand through her hair, wincing.
When her pink tongue darted out and swept over her lower lip, he stifled a groan at the small sight.He’d missed his mate in the long hours he’d been away, and there was an insistent desire to taste her and reconnect.
“But that shield, even if it had been necessary...”She folded her arms over her small breasts.“It still didn’t give me the space to figure out how to keep myself safe or get my ass kicked.”
He growled.“I’ll never allow that.”
She pointed a finger at him as she gingerly stomped around the foot of the bed toward him.“See.Right there.That’s what I’m talking about.That's why I waited until you were gone to do this.I’ve heard from you, Rieka, and Lovel, about what it means to have the respect of the Pack as the Alpha female.Your mate.”
“Yes, mate,” he growled, taking two long strides toward her.“You have to prove that you’re bad-ass and strong, but you also need to know like every wolf in this Pack that I’m Alpha and I won’t fucking tolerate my mate being hunted and attacked when she is not one hundred percent at her best.”
“And I’m the Alpha’s claimed-mate...”She closed the distance between them and shoved into his face, not letting the fact that she was practically two feet shorter than him stop her.She let that statement hang in the air between them.“I won't cower from anyone or anything.Minsi and everyone needed to know I can protect myself and stand on my own without your shadow.I’m the Alpha Bitch of the Omega Pack because I earned it.”
That was true now because of her actions, which she left unsaid.
Whether he liked her methods or not, Chanin understood why Morlie chose to do it the way she did.She was making points on multiple levels, and he was now damn sure their Pack received them loud and clear.So did he.
He smiled, pride filling his chest as he took in the pint-sized spitfire.“You’re right.I wish I had been here towitnessyour brilliance.”
Morlie’s full lips curled into a smile.She hissed in pain as the split in her lip reopened, but joy at his words still lit her eyes.
When he gripped her side below one of her breasts and she winced, he sighed.
“Shift, mate,” he commanded.
Her brows furrowed.“What?”
“Shift,” he ordered.
“Why?”
Chanin spotted the slight flexing of her muscles as her wolf fought to obey his directive, even as the human female before him stood her ground, waiting for explanations.
“I can tell you want me, Alpha.”She pressed her palm over his heart, then slowly began to drag it down, down, down.
He caught her wrist, an inch from his hard cock, twitching, begging for her touch.
“I always want you, little bunny,” he whispered.He lowered his lips to her temple, then placed light kisses along the side of her face, finally hovering over her mouth.“But you need to heal.”
She whimpered as she brushed her lips over his.“I’m fine.I’ll let my wolf out after—”
