Reviving Bloom (23 page)

“Exactly! Today, I started realizing that there is another side to me, my wolf side, and she’s probably always been there making me stronger and protecting me. I just never gave her any notice, but now I really want to know why she never came out. Why can’t I shift?”

“I’d like to know that too, darlin’, and I pr
omise as soon as we get home we’
ll talk to the Elders. One of them should be able to help us figure out what’s keeping her in.”

“Thank you.” She lightly kisses
my
chest and says
, “Good night, Tennessee.”

I kiss
the top of her head. “Good night, darlin’.”

Chapter 26 – Bloom

~
Till the good lord pulls the last breath from my body
~

When I
wa
ke up
I f
in
d myself tangled around Pike.
It fe
els so right to be there and I’m not
ready to move yet so I snuggle
back in and lay
my head back against his chest. His unique scent surround
s
me like a favorite blanket and I sigh at the familiarity. I
c
a
n’t believe how much my life ha
s changed in the past week. I’ve
gone
from being so depressed I c
an
barely get out of bed or stop crying to not wanting to get out of bed because I
’m
content wrapped in the arms of my half man/half wolf mate.

“Half man/half wolf?” Pike grumbles
still half asleep.

“I c
a
n’t think of a better wa
y to say it. How a
re you so in tune to my thoughts while you
’
re asleep?”
I playfully poke
his side.

“
Shifter
or just plain wolf, would work
darlin’. My wolf keeps an eye on you even when I’m asleep. He has to make sure you
’
r
e safe
,
”
h
e explains then kisses
the top of my head.

“
Tell him to relax, he needs to sleep too.”

“He’s a supernatural being, darlin’, as long as I get sleep he doesn’t have to.”

“Interesting
,
” I reply
honestly.

“So what do you have p
lanned for us today?” Pike asks as he stretches
his arms over his head. I fe
el
the loss of his touch and my wolf
screams
for me to pull him back to us. Instead of lis
tening to her I roll out of be
d and grab my robe.

“Well, Bonnie’s coming over and I need to talk to her about going with us. Then I
’ll
probably start packing.”

He props
hi
mself up on his side and watches
me for several moments. “
Are you going to be ok
ay
if
Bonnie says no to going?”

“She’ll say yes.” I hope.

“But say she doesn’t.” He
’
s still watching me closely. I c
an
tell he
’
s worried what my answer w
ill
be so to reassure him I climb back into bed
and se
t on my knees beside him. Placing my hands on each side of his face I look him in the eyes. It
’
s a dominant move but Emily told me that as his mate
,
and apparently an alpha in my own right,
I ha
ve
the right to look him in the eyes
this way
.
She also said a
nyone else who tries
w
ill
be dealt with, I’m not sure what that mean
s but I’m not
ready for the answer so I
did
n’t ask.

“Pike, I said I
’m
going. So if you’re worried I’ll back out because she doesn’t go then stop. If I give my word I keep it.”

He places his hands over mine to pull them away from his face,
t
a
k
es t
hem to his mouth and gently kisse
s
each palm. “That’s a b
ig worry off my shoulders, darlin’
. I need you with me.” I’ve been wanted before, I’ve even had people say they needed
me before, but those times mean
nothing compared to this lethal Alpha wolf whispering
it to me
like a prayer. He c
oul
d snap a man’s neck like a twig
and has a whole pack
at his beck and call, yet
he need
ed
me, and I c
an
tell he believe
s
it. Hell, I believe it because I kn
o
w how much I need him.

He release
s
my hands and s
i
t
s
up the rest of the way so he c
an
pre
ss his lips to mine. The kiss is
gentle
,
more about showing our feelings for each other than demanding what we want. I trail my finger tips along his jaw and enjoy the rough feeling of the stubble there. He caresse
s
the crook of my neck with one hand while the other
i
s fisted into the back of my tank top.

A knock
on the door
causes
us
to jump apart. We have
n’t done anything wrong but dang if we d
o
n’t look guilty at th
e
moment.

“Bloom, some
one just pulled in
,
” Emily speaks
through the door.

“
I’ll be right there
,
” I answer
back not taking my eyes off
of
Pik
e. I lean in and kiss his lips one more time then climb
off the bed. He ge
t
s up also and heads toward
the door.

“Go get ready darlin’, I’ll see who’s here.”

“I won’t take long. It’s probably Bonnie; she said she’d be over early.”

He sniffs the air
then smile
s
, “Yep,
it’s
her
.”

“Seriously Tennessee, that is just wrong.
If you don’t want me to start cracking jokes then stop acting like a freaking
coon dog.”

“
It
can help me keep you safe, so I won’t be stopping, but don’t worry darlin’ you’ll get use to my wolfish ways.” He wink
s
at me then walk
s
out
the door closing it behind him. There seem
s
to be a lot of things I’
ll
have to get use to; his enhanced sense of smell
i
s just the tip of a very large iceberg that
’
s quickly crashing into my life.
I figure I
’ll
have to wait and see if I
can
survive the changes or not. Though I can honestly say I
’m
darn determined to make it work.

“Iceberg?” Pike asks
cutting into my thoughts.

“Yes, an iceberg. I th
ink
it
sounds
like a good example, if you’re going to question my inner rants you know you can pull yourself right on out of my thoughts
,
” I snap at him.

“Calm down, darlin’, I’m not
questioning your rant. I th
ink
it
’s
a cute description.”

“Uh-huh. Is there a reason you broke into my mind, Tennessee.”

“I just want to reassure you that you’ll survive the changes and I’m glad to hear you want this to work, though there isn’t really a question whether it will or not. We’re mates, which makes us perfect for one another.”

“I’ll try to take your word on it, but I’m the type that has to see it to believe it Pike.”

“That sounds like a challenge, darlin’.”

“Not a challenge, just the way I am.”

“Oh no, it was a challenge and now I’m determined to prove it to ya.”

I c
an
practically hear the wheels turning in his mind as he
’
s formulating his plan
to win our so called challenge.

“So are you keeping Bonnie company while you talk to me or are you ignoring my friend?” I ask figuring it best to change the subject.

If I ke
ep
going on about him proving stuff to me he’
ll
be back in the bedroom to start doing just that.

“Emily and her are talking. They don’t even realize I’m not in the conversation.”

“Are they getting along?”

“Oh yeah, they keep going on about shoes or something. If I didn’t know better I’d say they’ve been friends forever.”

I should’ve known
,
Bonnie’s never met a stranger and in the
few hours I’ve known Emily she
seem
s
the same way.

“That’s good to here. If Bonnie agrees to go with us they’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

“Yeah they will. Emily’s offered to make breakfast. Is French Toast ok
ay
with you?”

“Yes, that’s my favorite.”

“Good, hurry up and get ready
, so you can join us.”

“Alright, I’ll make it quick. Save me some, Tennessee.”

“Of course I will, darlin’.”

Twenty minutes later I
’m
freshly showered and dressed in a pair of jean short
s
and an old Cincinnati Reds t-shirt. I f
in
d Pike and Bonnie sitting at the kitchen table eating while Emily
’
s at the stove making French toast.
I t
a
k
e
a seat and t
ell
Bonnie and Emily good morning.

“So I hear I’m invited to
go to Tennessee with ya,” Bonnie says
after swallowing a mouthful of food.

Glaring at Pike I answer, “Yes, you are. I planned on talking to you about it myself.”

“Sorry, it just popped out.”
Pike shru
gs
, a
grin on his face as he continues
eating his breakfast watching me and Bonnie.

Turning my attention back to my best friend, “So what do you think, Bon?”

“Living in a town full
of
men who can shift into wolves
? Sounds like an adventure, and you know I’m always up for that.” I jump up and hug her.

“Thank you, Bon!”

“It’s not problem, Blu. The only thing I need to know is where I
’m going to live and work.
” She
says hugging me back. I si
t back down and look over at Pike for the answer. He t
a
k
es
a drink of milk to wash down his food then replie
s
, “
We’ll set you up with an apartment in the pack house and I’ll make a couple calls about finding you a job. I know a couple people have been in need of some office help.”