“I won’t ever allow any harm to come to any of you,” Liam said.
Jake sighed. “Why is it so hard to accept help?”
“It’s not hard.”
“Then why won’t you allow us to help you?”
He stared at his friend. He’d protected Jake a lot over the years. When they were little they’d been running out by the lake when a bear had stumbled onto them. Jake had a scar across his chest because the bear attacked before either of them could do anything. Liam recalled being scared. They’d only been nine at the time, but he’d attacked that bear and carried his friend back home where the pack nurse had healed him, and Jake made a full recovery. Just the sliver of an old scar remained on Jake now of that time.
It wasn’t that he was afraid to take help.
To him, being the alpha, he was the one that protected, that made sure all of his pack were safe. They couldn’t afford for him to be out of the loop.
“What do you suggest I do?” Liam asked.
“You know, pretending to take advice doesn’t cut it.”
“I’ve never had a mate before. I’m willing to take any advice that will help me with her. I don’t know what to expect. How to deal with what I’m feeling. It’s all new to me.”
“Then in that case, you need to relax, and you also need to spend some time with her,” Jake said.
“I will. When she calls.”
“If she’s your mate, your wolf won’t allow prolonged distance.”
This made Liam turn to Jake. He was the alpha, but being unmated, this was all new to him.
“How do you mean?”
“You said it’s been a couple of days since you last saw her, right?”
“Yes.”
“Your thoughts are about her? Have they diminished to nothing or are they getting stronger? Are you finding yourself thinking about her all the time? Those thoughts becoming more of a sexual nature? You want her more than anything else in the world?”
“What are you getting at?” Liam asked, feeling a little uncomfortable with how apt he was.
“Because if she’s your mate and if your wolf accepts that, it’s only going to get worse. Distance doesn’t help with a mated couple. You’re going to have to spend time with her, a lot of time. I don’t know if this is the same with human women. For us, me, Eli, and Ben, we’ve talked. We were all consumed with our need for our woman. It was like a fire burning beneath our skin, and we couldn’t put it out. Only when we were around our woman would it help. If you don’t visit this female soon, your wolf could snap, and make that decision for you. Last time I checked, one of us with our wolf in charge is not a pretty sight.”
“I’d never hurt her.”
“No, but seeing your wolf before she’s ready, could damage her for life. You know this.”
“She loves wolves.”
Jake laughed. “When they’re pretty, furry animals, not when they’re trying to mate you.” Jake slapped his shoulder. “Think about it.”
****
Rebecca glanced at her cell phone and gritted her teeth. She’d been wanting to call Liam several times now, but each time she was worried that she’d sound more like a stalker. Were women supposed to make the first move after a date? How did she know the date went well? Did it go well? Toward the end of the night, he seemed to want to end it quite quickly.
Was that normal?
“Shut up!” She pressed her hands to her face. The computer screen glared at her with the next edit she must complete, and still, she was dragging her ass. She couldn’t focus when all she could think about was Liam.
Tipping her head back, she took a deep breath, and tried to relax.
It was impossible to do.