Chapter 8 - Stephen

She probably thinks I’m blowing smoke up her ass with everything I’ve been saying. I kind of feel a bit foolish talking like this. I mean, who really says shit like this? Compares a girl to a sunflower.  

‘Apparently, you do. And it’s obviously working. Plus, it’s not like you don’t mean it. It would be different if you were just saying all this. But you mean it.’ Conway pointed out, trying to give me a pep talk. 

He’s right. He’s usually right. I mean what I’m saying, even if I feel self-conscious about saying it. Better than I’m the one feeling self-conscious than Amelia.  

I already don’t like the Madonie pack, or at least anyone who ever called her names. And I fucking hate Ignazio. I don’t use the word hate easily or often.  

But I hate the Syndicate rogues, and I hate Ignazio. These are the two incidents where I feel hate may not even be a strong enough word. What’s a stronger word for hate? Loathe? Detest? I’m not sure, but to my core, I feel it. 

I don’t know which rogue from the Syndicate killed Lexia. The bastard is still alive among the rogues that currently follow Noya, for all I know. And that keeps me up at night, wondering if her killer is still out there and knowing I’ll never know.  

‘It won’t be the same this time. Ignazio is going to die. We will know Ignazio is dead. This time the one responsible for hurting our mate will be dead.’ Conway assured me.  

This war will only end with Ignazio dead. So I will never have to worry that her fated mate is still out there. That’s at least one good thing. 

That he could still hurt her. She will reject him through their pack link, and we will sever that bond by marking her as mine. 

For now, I should focus on her. She has agreed to be my mate, but on the terms, we get to know each other first. And I’m okay with that. I have nothing to hide. So I settled back into my chair. 

Amelia sighed, blushing softly, which is really cute. Picking up the notepad again, she started writing. Looks like Amelia’s got many questions with how much she’s writing. 

I glanced at the clock, knowing it was getting late and she should sleep. I’ll answer some of her questions tonight then we can start again tomorrow. 

I smiled, taking the notepad back to read her questions. It was primarily ordinary things to start with. The same kind of ice breaker questions most would ask. So a good place to start. 

“Well, you know my name is Stephen. My full name is Stephen Rhett Walterson. I was born and raised in Oregon. I’m from the Bloodmoon pack. My parents are Maxton and Edith. I have a ten-year-old sister named Suzanne, but we just call her Suzie.” I started answering her questions. 

“My wolf, as I’ve mentioned, is named Conway. Our gift is the ability to sense malice. So I can smell hate and evil like most pick up someone’s scent. It’s how last night I knew the larger group weren’t enemies but a small group… the one meant to blow up the holding cells were.” I shrugged. 

“Um… let’s see. My favorite color is pine green. My favorite food is my mom’s jambalaya. She was from a pack in Louisiana, so it has been a recipe handed down through her family.” 

I was getting hungry just thinking about it. And based on the grumble of Amelia’s stomach, I wasn’t the only one. I chuckled as she blushed. 

“You have to be famished. Give me a minute, and I’ll see what this hospital has for grub.” I smiled, standing up. 

“Be right back, Amelia.” I assured her, placing a kiss on the top of her head. I glanced back as she seemed nervous to be left alone, fiddling with the blanket. “You’re safe here. Don’t worry.” I promised, stepping into the hall.  

Two incubi warriors were standing near the door with stern expressions. Both sort of glared at me. 

“I see you’re not as pleasant as your Alpha hier. Whatever. Is the hospital cafeteria still open? Wanted to get some grub for my mate and me.” I questioned, not thinking twice about calling her, my mate. 

One of the wolves snorted, earning him a glare from me. “You got a problem with my mate? I’ve got no problems putting you in your place then apologizing later on to my Captain and your Alpha heir.” I growled. 

“Don’t start trouble. Alpha Chesed would probably skin us both for your stupidity. I like to stay alive, thank you very much.” The one that didn’t snort sighed.  

“I’ll call down to the kitchens for a couple of meals.” He assured me as his eyes glazed over, linking someone in the pack. 

At least one of them isn’t a douchebag. I was about to ask when we might expect it to be brought up when I heard whimpers and cries of pain from inside Amelia’s room. That fucker is doing it again! 

“Get one of those smoothies.” I instructed as I rushed back into the room. It hurt me to see her withering in pain. Fucking asshole. I can’t wait till I break their bond and the Incubi Alpha kills him. 

I hurried to try and pin her arms down so she wouldn’t hurt herself. “Amelia… It’s okay. I’m here.” I tried to reassure her, but she thrashed as I tried to hold her down.  

The door burst open, and the two guards came in and moved to try and hold her down. I’m not sure why but Conway shoved forward and growled at them. “Touch her and lose your hands.” He snarled. 

“Get out. This is our mate. We will handle it.” Conway growled, glaring at the guards while practically leaning over Amelia to hold her down.  

“Suit yourself.” The rude one rolled his eyes. “A nurse is one her way with the smoothie.” The helpful one nodded, nudging his fellow guard out of the room.  

Other than holding her down, I don’t know what I can do. What can I do to stop the pain? To counter what he was doing to her. If he can make her hurt like this by cheating let’s counter it. It was like a lightbulb suddenly flickered on. 

“Please forgive me and don’t hit me.” I asked forgiveness as I did the one thing I could think of.  

I pressed my lips to hers. This was not the scenario I thought my first kiss would be. Certainly not how I wanted our first kiss to go. But desperate times call for desperate measures.  

It took a moment, but her thrashing stopped as the surprise registered. Her body stiffened for a moment, and I prepared to be pushed away. Even if she had agreed to be chosen mates, we were still on the ‘getting to know you questions.’  

Her hands reached up, gripping my head, and again I was ready to get pushed away or worse. I won’t blame her if she does. But she didn’t. Her fingers dug into my hair, and she tentatively kissed me back.  

Her body relaxed into the kiss. She wasn’t struggling, and her whimpers were softer, becoming something different. So it’s working. Kissing her is taking away the pain Ignazio was causing. Good. I hope the shithead is feeling the pain of me kissing her. 

As the kiss started to deepen, my tongue tentatively brushing against her lips, a knock at the door broke us apart. Amelia was quick to pull away, sitting up more in the bed, bringing her legs to her chest like a shield as her eyes focused on the door. 

I sighed, rubbing my lips together. This lingering taste of Rainier cherries, like my family grows back home, intense and sweet, still clung to my lips. I could get used to that taste. Rainier are my favorites, so much so I’m not allowed to work the farm as I’ll eat most of what I harvest.

“Come in.” I called, not looking away from her face. Even her bright blush made me think of the rainier cherry. It’s adorable.  

“I brought the smoothie and your dinners.” A nurse announced herself as she pushed in a cart. I moved from my chair to bring a table over for Amelia to use.  

“Here, you can set it all on this.” I gestured. The nurse quickly put the two covered plates and the smoothie down. Her eyes darted from the embarrassed Amelia to me.  

“Just let us know if you need anything. You can either press the red call button or hit nine on the phone.” She instructed, pointing to both. 

“Thanks.” I nodded. I waited till the door closed to dare say anything to Amelia. 

“I… um. If you’re mad that I kissed you….” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “I’ll understand. I mean, not really how I wanted our first kiss to happen. But I don’t regret it. I liked it. And it did work. Right? You didn’t feel the pain?” I asked nervously. 

Amelia sighed, rubbing her lips together. Does she taste me on her lips? Does Amelia like the taste? Does she regret kissing me back? Crap, so many possibilities. 

Slowly she stretched her legs back out, pulling the table closer as she uncovered our dinners. It looked good and smelled good too. They had sent us what looked a lot like clam chowder from its looks.  

She didn’t look at me as she carefully took a few bites of her soup. I sighed, pulling my chair over, taking my bowl digging in. It’s better than clam chowder but certainly has a lot of similarities. Probably because it’s not from a can like I’m used to. 

After eating in silence, Amelia picked up the notepad again and wrote. I nervously waited for her to finish. I was worried about what she was going to say.  

“I’m not mad you kissed me. Embarrassed but not mad. It took away the pain better than the smoothie. And… I liked it. You taste like a cinnamon roll.” I read her words and knew I was blushing.  

She giggled, and it’s the first time I’ve heard her make a sound that wasn’t from pain or annoyance. I smiled, leaning closer. 

“You taste like Rainier cherries.” I whispered before kissing her again. She gasped as I caught her by surprise, but her lips matched mine. 

I sighed, pulling back, placing a kiss on her forehead. “It’s late. We can pick up the whole getting to know each other tomorrow. You should rest.”  

I saw her eyes widen, and worry started to fill them, looking from me to the door. “Oh, I’m not leaving. I’m staying with you. I’m not leaving your side. The chair folds out.” I nodded to the chair. “So I’ll sleep there. And don’t worry, I’ve slept in worse places.” I assured her.  

She sighed, relief evident in her eyes. She looked at the chair, then at me, frowning. She moved over slightly on the bed and retook the paper. She quickly got her thoughts out and held the paper up.

“You can sleep in the bed. There is room, or you can sleep as your wolf if that would be easier. I know I take up most of the space.” I sighed, reading her note. Taking the paper from her, I set it aside.  

‘I’ll sleep in the bed with her. I’d take up less real estate than you.’ Conway quickly volunteered.  

“You take up just the right amount of space. And if you insist, fine. I’ll share the bed. Conway is more than happy to share the bed with you.” I assured, starting to tug my workout shirt off.  

Amelia eeped, turning her head, blushing. I chuckled. “You can look, Amelia. You’re going to see me naked eventually. I didn’t want to rip my clothes since I’ll need to wear them tomorrow.” I assured her. 

She kept her head turned. I sighed, shrugging putting my shirt aside. I smirked as I stripped down, seeing her stealing glances. Before jumping onto the hospital bed, I shifted to Conway’s tawny with a reddish highlight wolf.  

Amelia smiled at Conway as he nuzzled against her. She couldn’t use words, but her touch was enough as she gently stroked his fur around his neck. 

Lowering the upper half of the bed, Amelia settled in. Shifting to her side, she snuggled Conway like he was a stuffed animal. 

‘I don’t mind. Our mate can cuddle me all she wants.’ Conway scoffed at me. We remained awake and alert a bit longer before the sound of her softly snoring lulled me to sleep.