I awoke to find myself in the same situation I had been in the day before. For a while, I just enjoyed the sensation of all the sparks erupting around me. Others in the house began to stir and get up at some point, sensing their presence moving around the pack house.
I focused my attention on Nix, I want to lick his hair again but nope, not again. I tried to break free, but he simply drew me closer to his chest, as he had done before. It was time to bring out the big guns. Or, at the very least, the biggest guns I had in this form against my mate.
"Nix, Nix, Nix, wake up,” I called him via mindlink.
In his sleep, he groaned and buried his face in my fur. My intuition told me that he was still not awake. "Nix," I said over the mindlink again, "come on, the cooks have already started the pancakes." There was still no response and I need to help with the kitchen duties.
I grinned as a memory flashed to my head. In that memory, there are two people smil
I couldn't tell you how long I sat there watching Nix train them and fight with the other fighters. They never saw me, despite the fact that I wasn't hiding. Nix kept glancing towards the forest to the east as if he was getting worked up. Something or someone must’ve been lingering in the east direction. I took a deep breath but didn't detect any strange odors. My senses didn't pick up on anything in that part of the forest either, despite the fact that my range wasn't all that great.Nix took a break and walked to the field's edge, looking towards the forest. Even from this distance, I could sense growing anxiety and tension.His voice entered my mind, and his calm words contradicted what I could sense from my seat. "How are things going?"I smiled as I realized he had no idea I had been within earshot the whole time. "Pretty good," I remarked. "I got a lot of mushrooms, and the bag Tiffany lent me is almost empty.""Are you going back?""No
Tony led us to the back of the room and down some stairs after we entered an enclosed training room. As the heavy metal door closed behind me, I took a look around the large basement room. The entire room was lined with some kind of metal plate, which was covered in dents and scratches."This is a room usually used for training Enforcers, and the steel plates can usually handle any damage that may result from a slip in control when we are learning or trying something out," Nix said quietly.I nodded in agreement. "If you don't mind, I'd like to try a few things just to gauge Nix's reaction," Tony said, looking around."What exactly do you want me to do?" I asked, a little bit worried about this experiment."Can you please go to the far side of the room? We'll just try some basic stuff at first." I nodded and walked to the far side of the room.Tony observed Nix's expression as he walked into the space between us. "Nix?" he asked.Nix remaine
"Be careful, it would be best if you just stayed there until he regains control. I didn't expect his reaction to be quite severe. If he feels that the mate bond is in jeopardy, there is a chance he may mark you by force if you try anything at the moment. He isn't thinking straight. We'll just wait it out," Tony said.I nodded and remained standing. Tony moved back until he was against the far wall, then leaned against it to wait. Nix's growling gradually became quieter as the seconds passed. I could sense his emotions fading. When he began to struggle for control again, I felt it. I walked forward to hold his hand and lean my head against his arm once he had the upper hand. The direct contact gave him the strength he needed to regain full control.Nix grabbed my hand and drew me to his chest for a bear hug. He buried his face in my neck, calming himself with my scent. I could sense his emotions returning to normal. He finally lifted his head and turned to look at Tony,
Nix had no problems the rest of the evening. With a groan, he flopped back onto the bed. I chuckled and transformed into a wolf before leaping onto his chest and staring down at him. "You have no idea how difficult it was not to feed you that dessert," he said as he opened his eyes and smiled at me.I gave him a wolf grin and waggled my tail in amusement. I had sensed his internal struggle during supper, but it hadn't worried me because it was just the mate bond being its usual pushy self. As he linked his hands behind his head, he smiled at my expression.He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, completely relaxed now that we were alone. I knelt and slid halfway off his chest before reverting to human form. I was now leaning on Nix's chest, with the rest of my body on the bed.His eyes widened in surprise, and I smiled at his expression. "Yeah, I felt it while I was eating. I didn't pry, but it was quite clearly reflected in your surface emotions, even if you
Thankfully, my headache had subsided by the time we returned to the pack house. It hadn't given up much, though, and my defenses were still up because my senses were battered and sensitive. Nix didn't say anything throughout our morning run, I guess he must have realized that the headache hadn't gone away yet. We decided to head into the dining hall first and eat our morning meal. As we filled our plates, I noticed he stayed very close to my side. I couldn’t sense his emotion but I am sure he was worried for me.We went to find Chloe and Greg and they were sitting at our usual table. I placed my plate on the table, but before I could sit, Nix drew me onto his lap and drew my plate in front of me. "This is a much better position in my opinion," he said, gently resting his chin on top of my head.When I blushed slightly, Greg chuckled as he looked at Chloe. "You can accuse me of being bad when we first experienced the mate bond, but you have to admit that I never d
Before bending down to pick a mushroom, the black-haired lady paused once more to carefully inspect the surrounding forest. I should have known Nix would be able to find actual fighters to accompany me. The black-haired lady was reserved and quiet, and her stance practically screamed that she was a formidable fighter. She was the distant type, which made me uneasy. If I had seen her when I was a rogue, I would have hidden so she wouldn't have even realized I was in the area.The brown-haired lady was more laid-back and easygoing, and she seemed to enjoy picking mushrooms. I could tell by her slight limp that it wasn't anything serious enough to keep her away from the training sessions. The overprotective mate bond appears to have taken will for another loop around the block.I trotted through the space between them, my nose close to the ground, looking for the scent of a deeply buried truffle. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find another of the rare and coveted objects
I observed how Sylvia took care of the mushroom and truffles. I kept smiling at her because she knows the value of these plants. The other cooks as well were very careful. We were about halfway through cleaning the mushrooms when Nix mindlinked me, "Where are you, Etheral?"He had been mindlinking me every hour or so throughout the day, checking in to see how I was doing. His calmness indicated that he had not yet been informed of the two rogues that passed us by during our mushroom hunting – and I was not about to tell him."In the kitchen, helping clean the mushrooms," I replied via mindlink.I could feel his relief that I was back in the pack house. "Did you find a lot of mushrooms and truffles?"I sent my amusement along with the image of the two fighters walking carefully to avoid spilling their overloaded bags of mushrooms down the link. "Quite a haul, in fact. You should expect mushrooms for supper,” I heard him chuckle, “And we e
After supper, we sat outside under a tree, watching the sun go down. Nix wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned against him. Nix practically doubled as a heater as the air cooled down, and I was comfortable.“I am afraid that feral wolves are nearby our pack borders,” Nix blurted out.“The dead rogue. That wasn’t the feral wolf’s doing,” I whispered, inhaling deeply. “Because most rogues would avoid a fight with a feral,” Nix growled, he must have been imagining how I had survived outside, in no man’s land, where feral wolves are unpredictable and abundant.“Calm down, Nix,” I whispered, “I know how to survive out there. And I am safe now. I have you.”Nix's finger swirled absently along my arm, leaving trails of sparks and heat in its wake. He leaned his chin against the top of my head. I raised my head to plant a timid kiss on his cheek.He turned his head qu