Page 48 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
Glaring at him while my irritation continues to swirl inside me, I step away from the spare room and move back down the hall before heading upstairs.
He doesn’t follow me at first, at least giving me that chance to breathe through the anger. I pretend not to feel the relief coming from his end of the connection, or how my inner wolf almost preens from it.
The bed looks about the same as it did this morning, and that alone almost makes it worse. Pushing the thought aside, I change quickly, fixing the covers like it’ll make the reality of it disappear, then I slide beneath them and keep to the far side.
A bit later, Luke enters the room. I hear the shuffle of fabric while he removes his shirt and bottoms, then the mattress dips as he climbs into bed. True to his word, he keeps to his side, maintaining a healthy distance between us. Still, it isn’t enough to stop me from feeling his warmth as it spreads over to me.
We lie there in silence for a long stretch, but I feel his every breath and movement, and the space between us still feels full of so much left unsaid. Somehow, it feels even worse.
Then, Luke clears his throat. “The Salt Mother’s Vigil is in three days. It’s an important festival for the pack when the full moon overlaps with the spring equinox. Everyone will be there.”
I tense at the mention of it, not looking back at him. “And?”
“And I need you to be there.”
My stomach sinks, and a spark of anxiety tangles with my irritation. “You need me to perform.”
Luke releases a quiet breath. “I need you to be present. You’re my mate, and that means being visible.”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter under my breath, tightening the blankets around me.
“I’m not asking you to smile and pretend like everything is perfect. I just need you there, and to not undermine our traditions.”
“I never agreed to this.”
“I know,” Luke says softly, leaving out everything he means to say.
Silence settles between us again, and despite my frustration, the link between us feels even stronger when we’re this close. It curls and twists from the tension, but it persists anyway.
Beneath it all, there’s warmth in it, and I hate that it feels good.
More so, I hate that my body remembers his touch, and I hate how badly I want to roll over and close that space. I want his arm on my waist again, and the heat of him pressed against me.
But I can’t let one night undo everything, even as the desire in my gut wants me to turn toward his heat.
Chapter 16 - Luke
The waves are tall and restless today, almost like the ocean is reflecting Sera’s mood.
After enduring her irritated glances and silent treatment for most of the day, we make our way toward the cliffside. A clearing just past the cove is where most of our gatherings take place, since it’s out of the way enough for any humans in town to avoid.
“It will only be a few hours,” I tell Sera, glancing at her. “We’ll stay for the feast, the usual blessings, and after that, we can leave.”
She throws me another look of barely-restrained annoyance. “You’re the Alpha, you can leave whenever you want.”
She still sees a divide between us, regardless of how hard I try to shrink it.
“Where I go, you go. Vice versa.”
Sera’s jaw tightens, but regardless of her anger, she still looks beautiful with her hair wind-swept and that light blue dress tangling around her legs in the breeze. She looks like she was born from the sea itself, just like she had the day of our mating ceremony, and it twists something inside me.
Without warning, I see the memory of her from a few nights ago in my mind, with her in my arms. It sends a rush of heat through me, almost blinding and unwelcome. The bond flickers in response, but I keep it down, trying to block how quickly it hits me.
Today is about gratitude and asking for blessings from the sea, not about me losing my mind all over again.
I need to focus. While I’m not naive enough to think one festival will unite everyone and solve every problem, I hope it’s a place to start.
With a vaguely possessive pride stirring in me when I take another look at her, I push forward, allowing myself to soak in the fact that she’s here with me, regardless of her reluctance.
