"Mason, if you're just going to nod to everything I pick out then just go sit outside," I groan as I place the purple dress back on the rack.
"If you like the dress, then get the dress. It doesn't matter what you wear, you are going to be beautiful in whatever you pick," his voice does little to hide the boredom he feels while following me around the store. He moves forward until his front presses against my back and he leans down to my ear. I tilt my head slightly, waiting anxiously to see what he's going to do when he huskily whispers, "And you'll look even better when I get to take it off of you." I turn around and slam my lips against his. He's quick to react. His arms wrap around my waist as I bury my fingers into those blond locks. It's getting long, much longer than it was when I first met him, but it gives me more to hold onto and play with. I tug his hair, desperate to bring him closer to me. Any thought of where we are standing flees from my mind as nothing but him fills my senses.
He pulls away and runs his lips along my jaw until they settle just beneath my ear. "If you don't stop letting me kiss you like that, we'll never get your dress. And I don't think the humans would appreciate the show for much longer," he growls, desire dripping from each word. I can't stop the giggle as I lean forward and press a kiss against his chest. I linger for a few seconds, allowing more of his scent to waft over me, before turning back to the racks to continue my browsing.
"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, but I'll be damned if I don't like it," he whispers in my ear. I nudge him with my elbow as a smile spreads across my face. I look around the store to see a few of the humans staring at us with wide eyes, no doubt unsure of how to react to our sudden burst of affection. I give them a sheepish smile as a small blush coats my cheeks. I hear Mason's chuckle from behind me, no doubt knowing where my mind wandered but saying nothing.
We keep walking around to different stores as I search for something that catches my attention, but nothing seems to jump out at me. With a frustrated sigh, I head into one of the last stores in the mall that has nice clothes and start looking around. I know Mason is bored out of his mind, no doubt ready to be done with this, but he makes no complaint as he follows after me. I can't stop my smile when he tries his best to give his opinion on anything I grab from the racks. It's obvious he has no idea what to say, but the fact that he's trying to seem interested is sweet.
I walk over to one of the racks and see a teal-colored sundress that is strapless. The top is tighter, but then it flows outward down until the bottom. It's beautiful. I grab it off the rack and hold it up in front of me so I can see it better. I send a silent prayer that it looks as good on me as it does on the hanger because this is the dress I want. My eyes wander around the store for the dressing rooms. Mason is staring around, watching the people moving around the store. I walk closer to him and catch his attention. I smile as amber eyes snap to mine.
"Do you see the dressing room? I want to try on this dress," I explain as I continue to look around the store. His eyes rise and look around the room. The stop on the back wall and I follow his finger as he points toward it. "Thank you, sweetie," I whisper as I rise on my tiptoes to kiss his jaw before heading towards the back wall. The lady working in the back tells me I can go on inside with a soft smile. Her eyes dart behind me to Mason and widen in surprise. I fight back my jealousy at someone looking at my mate, but the fight quickly becomes unnecessary when her eyes dart away from him. She's human. Most humans can feel the power that comes from wolves, but they don't know what it means. This lady has clearly picked up on it, and I'm not surprised by the slight fear and intimidation lurking behind her eyes.
I head into one of the rooms. I peel my clothes off and quickly slip the dress over my head. After I adjust it like I like, it rests just below the middle of my thighs. It's tighter around my bust than I thought it would be, but the flow is beautiful. It's elegant and girly, but not overly showing. I smile at my reflection knowing I have found the dress I want to wear. It's pretty and youthful. Sometimes I forget that I'm only eighteen years old. The life of a werewolf means growing up faster than the humans. Here I am, eighteen years old, and partially in charge of an entire pack. Eighteen years old and working to prepare that pack for a war that could change their lives forever. I pull my thoughts away from anything dark and do my best to focus on the day at hand.
I step out of the room and see Mason standing with his arms crossed as he leans against the wall staring off into space. I can tell that he's mindlinking with someone from the pack as I watch his glazed-over look in his eyes. I stand in front of him with my hands behind my back as I wait for him to get done. As his eyes come back into focus, his attention shifts to me, and I watch as a wide smile spreads across his face.
"You look amazing, Red. That color does amazing things for your eyes and brings out the color of your hair," he says as he walks over and wraps a strand of my red hair around his fingers. I smile up at him before looking down at the dress again.
"This is the dress I want to wear. I have a jacket at the house that will look great with it and I can just wear my sandals," I explain as I look back up at him. He smiles softly as he rests his hand against the side of my neck.
"I think it's perfect. You look very mature and elegant, yet you still look like the eighteen-year-old that you are." I lean up and kiss his jaw before heading back to the dressing room to change my clothes again. When I come back out, Mason takes the dress from my grasp and wraps an arm around my waist as we head towards the front counter. We bicker back and forth on who is going to pay for the dress. I want to pay for it myself, but he won't have it.
"You're my m…" he trails off with a quick glance at the cashier watching us closely, "my girlfriend and I'm going to pay for this dress," he explains, taking his card out of his wallet.
"Mason, I can pay for the dress myself…" he cuts me off by pressing his lips against mine, silencing me. I kiss him back, wrapping my arms around his waist to pull him closer, enjoying his affection. When he pulls away, I see him taking his card back from the girl. I look over at the girl who's looking at us with a small smile. I glare slightly at Mason before shaking my head. I can't fight off the smile on my face as I grab my bag and take Mason's hand. "I love you."
"As I love you," he says back and wraps his arm around my waist. I feel a small twinge in my leg with each step as he heads us towards a bench outside the store. I sit down gratefully and look up at him. "What do you want to do now?" he asks as he sits down beside me. I bite my lip and look at him sheepishly.
"My leg's actually starting to hurt a little bit," I mumble. His eyes harden slightly as he shakes his head.
"How long ago did it start hurting?" he asks knowingly. I smile shyly at him and think about his question. It's actually been hurting for a little bit now, but it started out as practically nothing. The more we walked on it, the worst it seemed to get. "Well?" he pushes.
"How mad are you going to get if I say about three stores ago?"
"Alaina," he groans and turns his eyes towards the ceiling. I bite my lip and lean closer to him.
"I know, I know. I was supposed to tell you." He gives me a pointed look. "But if I had you would have made us leave or you would have gone to get those dreaded crutches. Plus, it's not that bad anyway. It's more of a sore feeling than anything. But now that I've found my dress, we can go back home if you want to. I know you're really bored," I say as I slide until I'm pressed against his side. He sighs but doesn't say anything else. He stands up from the bench and turns to me.
"Stand up on the bench," he instructs as he helps me up. I stand on the wood and look around at the many people staring at me weirdly. Even some of the wolves have stopped to see what's going on with their Alphas. I turn my attention back to Mason to ask why I'm standing up when he turns around and helps me climb onto his back. I smile and hug his neck as I kiss his cheek as he makes our way out of the mall.
This day has been perfect – for the most part – and honestly, it was just what we needed. With everything going on with the pack, we need a day to ourselves where we can just be ourselves and not have to worry about wars or attacks or anything of the like. We needed to be a normal couple for just a little while, and I'm so happy we got the chance to do this. We walk in silence to the car, my arms hanging loosely around his neck with my chin resting on his shoulder.
"I'm not ready to go home just yet," he says as he eases me down off his back. I look up at him slightly, confused about what else he would want to do. There isn't much to do around this town besides the mall or going for a run, but I can't shift right now.
"Then what do you want to do?" He smiles and opens my door instead of answering. I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously as I lean against the car to watch him. "I'm not getting in that car until you tell me what we're doing and where you're taking me." I cross my arms over my chest and stare at him stubbornly. He smirks down at me before his eyes dart around quickly before scooping me up in his arms and placing me in the seat. He kisses my lips to stop my retort and smiles before shutting the door. I watch him jog around the car.
I can't stop my laugh as he climbs in beside me. His eyes are alight with happiness and that in itself fills me with joy. I buckle my seatbelt as he starts the car and pulls out of the parking spot with a huge grin plastered across his gorgeous face. I lean my head against the headrest and just watch him as he drives. It's seriously unfair how beautiful he is. It is not beyond me that I'm an attractive girl, but my beauty doesn't touch Mason's on his worst day. I smile at his profile and grab his free hand that's resting casually against my thigh.
"Are you enjoying staring at me over there?" A smirk is on his face as he glances over at me. I don't even bother to move my eyes away. He knows I'm looking, and I have no shame in doing so.
"I am, my love," I say with a squeeze of his hand. "You're mine, so I can stare at you all I want and there isn't anything anyone could possibly do about it." His smirk deepens the more I talk.
"Oh, there is something I could do about it," he says as he glances at me with a wicked gleam in his eyes. I laugh and swat his arm at his dirty mind, but I can't deny the swell of desire that courses through me. "But I won't because if looking at me makes you happy, then by all means look away, Red." I lean over and plant a chaste kiss against his shoulder before settling back in my seat. I turn my attention out my window and watch as little children run around playing with each other as their parents watch on from the many benches.
He's brought me to a park.
I glance over at him and smile before turning my attention back out the window. He parks the car on the side of the road and turns the car off. He climbs out first before moving around to help me out. I lean against the car as he pulls the crutches from the back. I pout at him, but nevertheless place them beneath my arms as we head towards a vacant picnic table farther away from the people. I smile as we sit down on the top and let the sun bathe over us.
"Why a park?" I ask, my eyes still closed.
"I figured why not? We could just sit and enjoy ourselves. I'm not ready to share you with the rest of the pack just yet. I want to spend more time with you alone where I know we can relax and talk without having to worry about everything else going on right now." I look around at the people surrounding us. I don't smell any wolves, but that's not surprising. Wolves have no need to spend time at a human park when their pups are free to run on the territory.
"What if the pack needs us?" I ask as I look back at him. He furs his eyebrows and looks around. "Since we're further away from the territory, it'll take longer to get back if something happens. I just don't want to leave them unprotected right now, you know?"
"I left Jason in charge while we're away. If anything happens he'll let me know and we'll hurry back." He sighs and brings my hand to his mouth. "I know you're worried about Brandon and I thought maybe coming here and letting you see these people relaxing and having fun would help take your mind off it for a while." I nod my head and move to where I'm sitting in the seat in front of him. I press back against him and watch as the kids play.
I smile as the sounds of children's giggles fill the air. One day Mason and I will sit somewhere just like this and listen to the sounds of our own children laughing and playing. A little old lady walks by and smiles at us. I return her gesture as she stops walking and comes closer to us. "You two are a lovely couple," she speaks softly, her voice frail. I thank her with another smile and a quiet thank you. It's strange to hear someone comment on the two of us together. Among packs, when you see mates together, it is what it is. It's obvious that they are good together because they are meant to be together. Humans, since they do not understand the concept of mates or have them themselves, are always commenting on the likeness of the couples. "Are you two expecting? Or just a day out together?"
My eyes widen at her question and I open my mouth to answer, but I'm at a loss for words. That's a very personal question for a stranger to be asking.
"We just wanted to come here and relax," Mason answers for me. "It was too nice a day to stay inside." The lady smiles at us and bids us a good day before walking off. "Well, that was random," he laughs out when she's out of earshot. I join him as I watch her retreating form. "Alaina, I know we already talked about this… but when we do have pups, what do you want?" he asks shyly. It's so rare to hear the uncertainty in his voice. I look over my shoulder and up at him. He lifts one hand and rubs the back of his neck as he waits for my answer.
"Well, honestly I don't care as long as they're healthy and happy. What do you want them to be?"
"I want a boy, so we'll have an heir to pass on the Alpha title to." I roll my eyes at that. The need for the heir to be a son is a ridiculously outdated philosophy. A woman could run a pack just as well as a man. It would have its difficulties of course, but not impossible. "But I also want a little girl." Images of Mason holding our daughter warms my heart. I can see him carrying her around on his shoulders and chasing her around the house as their laughter fills the halls and rooms. Mason's going to be an amazing father, I just know it. "I want her to look just like her beautiful mother. Long red hair and breathtakingly beautiful blue eyes. I can only imagine one thing to rival your beauty in my eyes and that will be the beauty of our daughter."
I smile at him as a lump in my throat clogs my throat. I don't want to cry again, but if he doesn't stop talking soon. I can see her now. My hair, but instead of my eyes like Mason wants, I see her father's amber eyes burning bright as she takes in the world around her. He leans down and connects our lips in a sweet kiss that has me sighing in contempt. Suddenly, something hits my arm causing me to pull away and look down at the ground. A ball rolls to a stop not far from my foot. I look in the direction the ball seemed to come from to see a small child, a girl with a big goofy grin on her face waddling over to me, her eyes on her ball. I smile and pick up the ball.
"Is this your ball?" I ask when she gets close enough to hear me. She giggles and nods her head. She reaches out her little arms and takes the ball from my outstretched hand. Her eyes wander behind me to Mason, and I can't help but chuckle as I watch her eyes widen as she looks at him. I glance back at him to see him smiling down at her.
"Hi there," he speaks with a soft voice. One he usually reserves for me and his mother. I can't wait to see how he is with our children.
A blush quickly covers her little cheeks as she raises her little hand to cover her mouth as she giggles again. "Hi," she whispers back quietly. Someone starts calling out a name, which I'm guessing is the little girl's because she turns and looks at the lady. She glances back at the two of us and gives a small wave and one more smile before waddling back with her ball in hand. I watch her mother scoop her up into her arms and hug her close to her chest as the girl squeals in happiness.
"I can't wait for the day that we have a family of our own," I whisper as I lean further back into Mason's hold. "I can't wait to start my family with you."
"I can't wait either, Red. I love you."