Chapter 90

Selene

"Loki!" I storm out of my room, heat still coursing through my veins. My steps are heavy as I march into the living room where Makayla, Loki, and Sam are sitting on the couch, the TV blaring obnoxiously loud. The realization makes me want to die of embarrassment—they were drowning out the very loud sex Phoenix and I were having.

As their gazes snap to me, the evidence of my embarrassment travels up my neck and I wish the floor would up and swallow me whole. They're werewolves, of course they heard everything. And instead of leaving and pretending this never happened, they stayed and listened to the entire thing.

Kill. Me. Now.

Pushing away the humiliation that's still burning my skin, I turn my attention to my original target.

Mr. Noncommittal.

"Loki!" I shout, my eyes zeroing on him.

He looks at me with that blank, unreadable expression he has perfected. But I'm not backing down. Even if he scares the shit out of me, and probably crush me like a bug if he wanted to.

"I don't care how big and scary you are. I won't let you sneak around with my best friend like its some secret. She deserves better than that. Either claim her, or let another man that will do it have her." My arms cross over my chest, daring him to challenge me.

Loki's face remains impassive, but his eyes flicker to Makayla, who's biting her lip nervously.

"Selene, it's okay," she says, her voice small, "We have an understanding. We talked about while you were....being punished...and he told me why he didn't want me knowing that we were mates."

Embarrassment threatens to consume me again, but I swallow it down. "An understanding?" I repeat, looking between the two of them.

Makayla glances at him for reassurance. "Loki says he has a lot of enemies. It's safer that no one outside of this house knows we're mates, or he's afraid that what happened to you....might happen to me."

Her words knock the wind out of me. I couldn't imagine Makayla going through what I went through. I wouldn't even wish that on my worst enemy. That's why I even tried to help Kate after what she did. I take a breath, my irritation melting into concern.

I give Loki a look. "Loki, you have a psycho ex we need to be worried about?"

He chuckles, though his eyes are dead serious. "Not at all. But Makayla's safety means everything to me. There are people in my past—dangerous ones. I won't risk them targeting her to get to me."

I blink. Damn. Just how dangerous is he?

"And your grand plan to keep her safe is to hide the bond?" I ask, though I can already sense the weight behind his decision. He doesn't want to hide it, but it's necessary.

He nods, his voice steady. "If I stay by her side as her bodyguard, it raises less suspicion. I can protect her without drawing attention."

I can't help but snort. "Maybe you need to work on the way you look at her then, because the way you looked at her earlier and growled like you wanted to eat my face off? That's how I figured it out. It was like you were seeing the sun for the first time."

Makayla's face flushes a deep red. "He was not," she mumbles.

"He so was." I smirk. "And you didn't do much better, staring back like a lovesick puppy."

Sam suddenly bursts out laughing. "I'm sorry...are you really talking right now? After we all just heard Phoenix back there wrecking you?"

I cover my face with my hands, the mortification back full force. "Oh, Goddess, please stop!"

Laugher fills the room, even Loki chuckles.

"What's so funny?" Phoenix's voice cuts through the room as he appears, shirtless, in nothing but a pair of sweatpants.

I swallow hard, trying to keep my thoughts clean. "Uh, where is your shirt?" I ask telepathically, not trusting myself to say it out loud.

A corner of his mouth twitches into a devious smirk. "Baby, what do you want to eat? I'm starving," he announces to the entire room.

Yep. I'm just going to die of embarrassment tonight.

"I'm down for pizza," Sam chimes in casually, making it worse. "I mean, I'm sure everyone is hungry after everything we heard coming from back there."

I groan loudly. "Shut up, Sam!"

"Pizza actually sounds great. What do you think, Loki?" Makayla asks him. Loki nods curtly in agreement.

Phoenix's grin stretches wider. "Pizza it is. I'll have it delivered."

"I hate you guys," I mutter under my breath.

Phoenix plops down beside me, his weight shifting the couch. He moves my legs so they're draped over his lap, then presses a slow, lingering kiss on my lips. "No, you don't, baby," he whispers, his lips teasing mine for just a second longer than necessary.

As we settle into the couch, waiting for the pizza Phoenix just ordered, I glance over at Loki and Makayla. She leans against his arm, a small but intimate gesture. I can see how much it means to him. Someone who has lived such a lonely and guarded life such as his needs this.

It tugs at something in my chest. I know they came to an agreement, but I hope one day they won't have to hide. Maybe with Phoenix and I as Alpha and Luna, we could make the pack safe enough that they could openly be together. We could get rid of Loki's enemies, or any threat to us and our friends and family.

That's a future I want to fight for.

Sensing my shift in mood, Phoenix squeezes my thigh gently, grounding me back in the present. Then, he turns to Loki, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Loki, I need to ask something of you."

Loki's dark eyebrows lift slightly, obviously intrigued. "What is it?"

"When I become Alpha on Friday, I want you to be my Beta. I've thought it though, and I believe it's best for the pack." Phoenix's voice is steady, confident. One of a future Alpha. "You don't have to give me an answer right now, but just mull it over, okay?"

Loki glances at Makayla, his expression unreadable. "What about Makayla?"

"You'll both live in the packhouse with us. There will be round-the-clock security. I don't want you to think you have to hide your bond with Makayla forever. It's not fair to either of you." Phoenix pauses, his gaze softening slightly. "Trust me, man, being able to openly hold and kiss your mated...it's everything."

Luke stares at him for a long moment, the weight of the offer heavy in the air. Finally, he nods slowly. "I'll think about it."