Reviving Bloom (21 page)

“You’re welcome. So
are we getting pizza?” She asks smiling as she looks
back and forth between Pike and me.

“Go o
utside now, Emily
,
” Pike growls
from behind me.

Laughing she walks
out of the room leaving me alone with
her brother. He waits
un
til
he hears
the door slam and then he sw
i
ng
s
me around
a
nd lifts
me up into his arms. M
y traitorous body nuzzles closer to him and I bury
my face into his neck.

“I
see
Emily told you about sealing our mating bond.” His v
oice s
till sounds
more wolf tha
n human and it
’
s causing butterflies to form in
my stomach. My own voice seems to have disappeared so I nod
my head against his neck.

Bending his head he nuzzles into my own neck and whispers
, “I wish I could mark you now, darlin’. It’s taking all my control not to, so please no more teasing me like that. I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold off if you keep sending me thoughts like that. Ok
ay
?”

“Ok
ay
,” I manage to agree as he places
me back on the floor in front of him.

Leani
ng in he places
a chaste kiss o
n my lips then grabs
my hand, “O
k
ay
, sugar, let’s go get some grub
.”

Billys is
packed but we f
in
d a
booth
in the back of the dining room that
g
i
ve
s
us some privacy.
We put in our drink order and I ask the waitress to sen
d Billy out, he
c
o
me
s
out promptly carrying a tray with our drinks. After settin
g them in front of us he scoots
into the b
ooth beside Emily and introduces
himself. Then turning h
is attention to me and Pike says
, “I spoke with Jim earlier and he said Bonni
e
’
s car w
as at his office when he got to work this morning. One of your
friends must have been nice enough to bring it back from the lake last night after the accident.”

Trace had taken Bonnie’s car last night after he attacked me, so it must have been him t
hat dropped it off. But I’m not
about to tell Billy that because he d
oes
n’t know Trace attacked me and I’d like to keep it that way.

“T
hat was nice of them
,
” Pike says
going along with it.

“And he said that Bonnie and he dropped Trace’s back at his place, but he wasn’t there. But I still don’t understand why Bonnie had Trace’s vehicle instead of her own.”
He looks
between the two of us waiting for one of
us to blurt out the truth. He’s
always been able to tell when I
’m not
telling him the full truth, but this time
I
’m not
backing down. He’s had to worry about me enough this past year I d
o
n
’t want to add this on top of it.

“Bonnie told you that her car was blocked in so Trace let
her borrow his jeep
,
” Pike tries
to explain.

“Ok
ay
, but how did she know
a
bout the wreck.” Billy continues
with his interrogation. I c
an
tell by the set of his shoulders he
i
sn’t planning
on giving up until we confess the truth. But thankfully I have
a stubborn wolf beside me who apparently
i
sn’t planning on giving in either.

“Billy, we went over all of this last night and honestly I think we’re tired of talking about it. It’s been a stressful 24
hours for all of us and we should just move on and try to enjoy the rest of this evening. Emily and I are both looking forward to tasting this pizza of yours that Bloom raved abou
t the whole way here.” I watch
the
two of them stare each o
ther down and when Billy slumps
back in the booth I kn
o
w he’
s giving
up, for the moment.

“You
’
r
e
right, I should be letting you guys enjoy your night.
So what would you like on your pizza?” We g
i
ve him our order and then he g
e
t
s up and leaves
the table
. Rubbing Pike’s arm I whisper
, “Please let me out, I need to go talk to him. He needs to know I’m leaving with you guys.”

He scoots
out a
nd helps
me out. Before I c
an
turn to head to the kitchen he grab
s
my hand, “Darlin’, this isn’t goodbye for you and Billy. We’ll be back to visit and he’s more than welcome to come visit us. So please don’t see it that way. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to separate you from the people that love you. I just
…
I need you with me, Bloom.” His confession rock
s
me on my heels. He need
s me.
C
an’t he
see I’m the one that needs him?

“I know, Pike. But it’s still going to be hard leaving this place. It
’s always been home.” I squeeze
his
hand reassuringly then release
it. “I’ll be right back.”

The kitchen is busy but I fi
nd in
Billy in
his usual spot making our order personally. I sn
ea
k up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist and la
y
my head on his back. He pat
s my hand and continues to
put the toppings on. “Wha
t’s wrong, doll?” Of course, he
know
s
it
’
s me behind him. I’m the only one who’d been in his kitchen hugging him like this, we may not be family
by
blood but we’ve been family in heart eve
r since I was born. This man has
been there and raised me right along with my father. And now that he
’s gone, Billy’
s the
only link I have to that part of my life.

I release
him and walk
to the other side of the counter, “I’m moving to Tennessee.” Better to get it over with quick, like a band aid.

“I
figured you would,” he finishes
placing
the pepperonis and then starts
on the
cheese
. “So when are you leaving?”

“In a couple of days, but we’ll come back to visit and you
’
r
e
more than welcome to come see me there.”

“I’d like that, doll. What are you going to do about the cabin?”

“Well, I was hoping you’
ll
keep an eye on it for me. I don’t want to sell it
and we could stay there when we come back to visit.”

“So you
’
r
e
already a
we
?” He as
ks
still focusing on the pizza.

By agreeing to go with Pike
to Tennessee I guess I’m
also agreeing to become a
we
. The thought frightens the day lights out of me. What does it really mean to be a
we
with an Alpha wolf? Ugh! This is all happening so fast, but I’ve already comm
itted myself to the move
so
I won’t
let my insecurities make me back out on my word.

“Yeah, I guess we are
,
” I answer watching his expression, which
i
s giving nothing away.

He d
oesn’t
answer for s
everal minutes while he finishes
topping my pizza with
extra cheese. I watch h
im turn and pla
ce it in the oven then he turns back to me and says
, “Bloom, I’m going to miss you fiercely, but as much as I hate to admit it, I believe this is going to be good for you.
That man out there has brought the light back to your eyes and I can’t fault him for that. If he can make you happy I won’t try to stop you from leaving.”

Walking around the counter
I thr
o
w myself back in
to his arms, “Billy,
I needed you to understand. I love you so much.”

He has
one arm wrapped a
round me while the other strokes
my hair. “I love you too, Bloom Michael. And I promise I
’
ll be coming to see you. I have to come and make sure those wolves are treating my girl right.”

“Like I’d let them treat me any other w
ay
,
” I reply
,
grinning up at him.

“No
, I guess you wouldn’t.” He releases me then says
, “Go back out to your guests so I can finish up your order. Or else I’m gonna put you to work.”

Chapter 25 – Pike

~
Right beside my mate
~

My mate wasn’t
lying when she said Billy
s
had the best pizza, dang I
ate two larges by myself and
three
slice
s
of
his
homemade apple pie. Thank goodness my
shifter
genes g
i
ve me a fast metabolism or I’d be well over
500
pounds. When we finished, Billy came out and told us all bye
, he pulled me aside and told me to keep Bloom safe. Which of course I
plan on doing
, but I d
o
n’t need to be rude so I agree I w
ill
. He ask
s
if
he c
an
visit once we g
et settled
in Tennessee
and I let him know he’
s always
welcome. I underst
an
d what he
i
s to my mate and like I told her
,
I d
o
n’t want to keep her from the people she love
s
.

On the drive home Emily tells
Bloom more about living in a pack and I let myself enjoy the feel of her beside me. Last night I almost lost her to some psyc
ho stalker and the thought rocks
me to
my
core. My wolf want
s
nothing more but to hunt him down and honestly my human side
i
sn’t fighting him
on it too much. The only thing stopping me
is Bloom.
I c
an
’t leave her unprotec
ted while I
go
after revenge. She need
s
my
protection though I doubt she’ll admit it and I need
to know she
’
s close so my wolf
will
stay calm. Eventually, we’ll be able to be apart but that won’t happen till I know Trace is no longer a threat and we’re safely back with my pack. I ha
ve
Tucker t
racking Trace down, Bloom figures
he’
s
skip
ped
town after what he did last night, but the predator in me kn
o
w
s
he
hasn’t given
up. If anything he
’
ll
be
more determined to get his hands on my mate.