“I believe you, but this with Alexa has to stop. The whole pack, not just us, or Alexa’s parents. The entire pack is fed up with this feud. No one knows how it started, and to be quite honest with you, Landon, I’m disappointed you would even ask for me to end this. You of all people know how important peace means within a pack. You’re learning from your father about how to help a pack.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” he said. His request was selfish. “I don’t think forcing us together is going to help this issue. What if we kill each other?”
“If you were going to kill each other, you’d have done it already. You’re going to be surprised. Please, trust in your father and us, that we know what we’re doing.”
He wanted to trust, but it was a little too hard to do, especially when it came to Alexa. Their constant prediction of how close he’d be with Alexa had never come to pass. Not even as kids.
Gripping the back of his neck, he tried to knead out the tension within his muscles, but that was pretty much useless. He was way too tense.
Two more mugs of hot chocolate were on the counter, and Alexa sat at one of the chairs. Landon moved to the opposite one, and together, they held out their hands.
“One of us will be by in the morning.” Gertie put a hand on both of their shoulders. Landon figured it was her way of her attempting to be comforting. He didn’t feel comforted. Far from it.
She stepped away from them. “Enjoy your night.” She got to the doorway before she stopped and turned toward them. “Try to embrace this with each other. See it as an opportunity to be together with no interference from the pack.”
Neither of them spoke as his mother left the house, closing the door behind her.
“No interference from the pack?” he asked.
Alexa chuckled. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”
They looked at each other, and he couldn’t help but smile. Then, realizing they were actually agreeing on something, he averted his gaze and grabbed the cup. He glanced inside, looking for any sign of sabotage.
“I haven’t spat in it,” Alexa said.
“I wasn’t even thinking that.” He cringed as he spoke.
“Liar.”
“Well, it’s not like you haven’t done it before.”
He looked at her and saw her roll her eyes. “That time doesn’t count. In fact, all the times in high school don’t count. You always stole my drink.”
“So you started to spit in it, so you got your own back.”
“It was gross, but the idea was that you didn’t steal my drink. If you knew I spat in it, then you wouldn’t take it. It seemed logical to me, but looking back, it was gross.”
He laughed. “I stopped stealing your drink, so I guess your logic won.”
“Yeah, I guess it did.”
Landon took a sip of the hot chocolate.
“At least it doesn’t hurt,” Alexa said, holding up her wrist and taking his with her.
“Yeah, it could have hurt.”
“We have to … go to bed,” Alexa said.
“Yeah, I know.”
He’d never slept with a woman. Landon didn’t even know if Alexa would believe him if he told her he’d never been with a woman, ever.
He was still a virgin.
Ben and Drew, his buddies, they’d enjoyed sex. Neither of them had found their true mate, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy fellow singletons within the pack, and they did. They’d told Landon to go and enjoy them. To explore. To learn how to fuck and please a woman.
He’d refused. Not that he’d ever admit it to Alexa, but being with any other woman felt like a betrayal to her because they were mated. There was no reason to deny it.