True mates Book Two of Ozark Wolves
Chapter 29: Progress

She smiled at that not sure what else to say. Quincy set down the bags and joined her on the bed as she put another bite of pancake in her mouth. He was staring at her. His wolf however, nuzzled hers in greeting. With affection even. "What?" She asked after she finished chewing and swallowing. He shook his head and smiled then got up. Walked down the stairs. She watched him leave wondering what was up with them today. Then Rick came up after a few minutes. She smiled at him in greeting. "These are good thank you."

"Your welcome, love." Rick smiled back and joined her on the bed. "Are you excited about today?"

"A little nervous." She admitted. He noted that her voice was not as much of a whisper as it had been yesterday. He was glad. With his mother it was a sign of a authority. With her it was uncertainty and apprehension.

"That is to be expected. They are gentle giants though. Good stock and breeding." He assured her.

"Why did you lose your temper with William last night?" She asked curiously. Rick sighed.

"I had been wanting to punch him since the lake. I just couldn't hold back anymore." Rick admitted. "I am sorry if that upset you."

"Shocked not upset." Alexandria replied. "I didn't know you had a temper too."

He grinned. "We all have that. Quincy is the best at keeping it in check. I try and succeed to be logical. Every once in a while though. Usually with William. And it usually ends up with me punching him and feeling a lot better."

Her heart fluttered and her blood heated at his grin. It was not fair that these three could turn her body to mush with just a look. Just a smile. She dropped her eyes. They were protective and obviously they cared but she doubted they saw her that way. She was so small. They probably seriously thought of her as a child. She took a few more bites of her breakfast. There was a lot here and she didn't honestly think she could finish it all.

"You three were up early today," she observed.

"Yes. William appointed himself alarm clock today." Rick said with a mixture of irritation and amusement. "Finish eating what you can. I do not expect you to eat all of that. Then get dressed." Rick rose to he feet and carefully leaned over to put a soft kiss on her lips. It was soft and lingering like all their other kisses but Rick seemed to savor it. "Mmm. Maple syrup." He said and then joined his brothers.

She powered through what she could. Her bladder screeching at her the whole time. Set the tray aside and padded to the bathroom with the bags. A pair of thick jeans and a yellow plaid shirt with a white tank were in the bags. Along with a pair of boots. She changed and was out of the bathroom with her pajamas in her hand. The tray was gone from the bed.

"If you upset her today I will push you off the roof." Rick told William in a hushed tone. After Alexandria was changing in the bathroom.

"I second that." Quincy added from his bed where he was reading a fantasy book.

"I thought you were with me on this?" William asked pulling on his cowboy boots.

"I am complacent because to be in either of your paths is liable to get me hit. But do not misunderstand that if you bring her back in tears today we will drown you in the shower." Quincy grinned.

"You could come with us." William offered.

"I have seen enough sun for a day or two." Quincy answered. Rick nodded.

They stopped talking when they heard the door to the bathroom open. Rick affirmed on more time that William was a dead male if he did anything to upset Alexandria and smiled broadly when she came down the stairs. The jeans looked so good on her. Clinging to her thighs and tight around her hips and ass. The corners of her flannel shirt were tied just below her high ample breasts. All of them sucked in a breath and looked away. She had been smiling her eyes bright. At their reaction she faltered in her step and her smile dropped as did her eyes. Misunderstanding their reactions. She seriously considered putting the boots down and going back to bed.

William held out a hand to her his eyes meeting hers. He led her to his bed so she could put the boots on. Rick shifted uncomfortably and Quincy escaped to the bathroom. Each of them affected in all the same way. Blood pumping to all the wrong areas. Their heads light and fuzzy with lack of blood and air.

Once her boots were on he helped her to her feet. Pulling her just a touch too hard so she landed perfectly against the length of his body. Her hands landed flat on his stomach. Moon that felt so good. What would her hands feel like on his skin? Would she be intuitive and inhibited or would she be shy and tentative. He felt a twitch in his jeans. Moon she was so delicious. He could not resist. He lowered his head to plant a small kiss on her mouth. Tender, lingering. Testing her. She tasted of minty toothpaste. He flashed a smile to Rick over her head and took her hand to lead her down the rest of the stairs.

Her legs were jelly and her head was light. Her body humming with desire. She was getting used to the feelings. Her wolf was trotting around tail in the air. She had to be mindful of where she stepped. Concentrating hard on putting one foot in front of the other.

"In one piece, brother." Rick called from his place on his bed. His laptop on his legs.

"Stop worrying, Rick." William called and the door below closed after them.

Rick winced at the souds coming from the bathroom. "You could not at least turn on the sink, dickhead?"

"How long do we have to keep holding our dicks?" Quincy asked when he stepped from the bathroom.

"I don't know." Rick replied and that was the truth. Trauma like hers was a difficult navigation. He pushed the white hot fury that rose whenever what she had gone through crossed his mind.

"How will we know?" Quincy asked. "Being an Omega and a virgin would she even know?"

"What makes you think I have all the answers?" Rick countered through gritted teeth. Then sighed. The frustration was eating at him too. "After she gets back tonight from the meeting with the moms. Assuming William is on board. We have to go slow though."

Quincy grinned. "William is watching that tight little ass bounce on a saddle. He will be ready to explode by the time they get back." Rick groaned envisioning that very thing but it was not the saddle she was on.

"Your father bought your mother horses?" Alexandria asked as she pet the muzzle of the gentle mare that she was going to be riding getting it used to her scent.

"Yep. A surprise after my brothers and I were born." William answered as he led his own horse to stand next to hers. The mare was a pretty little paint. His was a huge black gelding. A white patch in his muzzle.

"Why?" She asked. Though she think she knew. Marcus was very devoted to Margarette. Loved Margarette with a fierceness Alexandria could only imagine. Having never known love.

William explained that before she had caught the scent of his father. Their mother had written off having a family. Being mated. All of it. Finding contentment in her solitude. She had been really upset when Marcus had pushed the calling. His own loneliness and broken heart from the loss of his first mate making it difficult for him to walk away. In a fit after she found out she was pregnant she had told their father she had been wanting to get a horse. Riding it on the weekends and evenings after work. "I guess she had wanted one since childhood but had been told no." William helped her into the saddle. She planted a foot in the stirrup. His large hand warm against her hip and leg. "That was pretty good."

"Thanks. Television was not a huge recreational thing but every so often we would have a western night or something." She said with a laugh.

He mounted his own horse and led the way slowly from the stable his father owned that housed six horses. To a trail that led up a small foothill and back around. The trail was two hours at a trot. At a walk it was four. His gelding nickered and blew at the slow pace. Usually William ran him hellbent over the trails. Being a more high spirited animal than the mare Alexandria was on.

She watched him guide his horse. The reins loose in his hands. His legs doing all the work. Flexing and relaxing his thigh muscles. Her mouth was dry and her blood was thick. This was hell. The soft kisses that he and Rick had given her. The tender look in Quincy's eyes at the top of the stairs.

He stopped suddenly on the trail and waiting for her to catch up. "Midnight is having trouble taking commands. Perhaps if we walked together he will be a little more well behaved."

"He is not used to you being with someone?" She asked. Had he not brought Maria here?

"No." William replied. "I usually just run him on my own. Rick and Quincy come out on their own time but mostly just to do the chores required to keep the horse. I am not even sure if they even like them." He thought about that question. The tone she had used has been cautiously curious. His eyes hardened and his body tensed which made Midnight speed up a bit. He had to relax. "Just ask whatever is really on your mind, Alexandria."

Her heart rose a little at no mention of his former love. What had that relationship been if he had not spent time with her like this? His statement caught her off guard. "I am not sure what you mean." She replied cautiously. He could not know what she was thinking about.

"Bullshit. That explains more than you just being upset with me losing my temper yesterday." He closed his eyes and thought about his next words carefully. "No. She and I were strictly what I showed you. That is we did not really date." He opened his eyes again and looked at her. "Yes I cared for her. As was expected of me in the role I played with her. But that was all it was."

"I understand." She said though she was even more confused. He had cared for that other female. A lot. He tried to play it off but she could see otherwise in his eyes when he spoke of her now that she was paying attention and knew him better. So Alexandria got his time and that other female got his heart. She supposed she got the better end of the deal.

He gritted his teeth. She was going to make him say it. She was not even close to ready to take this to the next level but she was going to force it out of him. "I thought I loved her. But I was wrong."

"How do you know that?" Alexandria asked surprised by his admission. He looked over at her. His eyes yellow green pools of emotions she did not understand.

"Because of you." He said softly. Don't make me say it first, he thought. Because if Rick is wrong I will kill him.

"Me?" She asked confused. He barely tolerated her. He watched her like a hawk. He was doing it now. Watching her carefully. "You barely tolerate me. I get it, though. I have not earned your trust." She said softly. "Truthfully I was terrified when you said horseback riding. I thought you wanted to push me off the damn thing and make it look like an accident."

He stopped Midnight with a soft touch of the reins. The horse complained but William ignored it. "How many times do I have apologize for yesterday." He growled. "I am sorry."

"That has nothing to do with it." She said. "I said I forgive you for that and I do." She took a deep breath and forced her heart to stop hurting. Why did it have to hurt so much to know he will never love her? To know that she will never be what he wanted.

"Then why the hell would you think I would want to hurt you?" He asked. Had he really put that much fear in her? He knew he had taken things a bit far on Saturday. But did she really think he was capable of such a thing.

"Better a dead female than a useless child, I suppose." She said softly.

"Better a?" He mulled the words over and the pieces starting falling into place. "Oh for fuck's sake." He dismounted and tied his reins to a nearby tree then marched to her and practically pulled her off her horse. He kissed her. Deep, meaningfully. Every drop of his want for her. His passion for her went into it. His mouth moved and coaxed hers. His hands around her back, holding her firm against him. The feel of her breasts against his chest was sublime. Her small, narrow back under his hands.

Her arms went around his neck holding him closer. She opened her mouth to his coaxing and he groaned as he slid his tongue into her mouth. Tasting her toothpaste. He took a deep breath through his nose inhaling her scent. She moaned when his tongue slid over hers. He tasted sweet and minty. Her brain was fuzzy. Her body was liquid. He moved his mouth from hers to her jaw and then down her neck. To her the top of her shirts. Then back up.

One of his hands moved to the small of her back and pushed her hips more firmly to his. His mouth near her ear. "I have wanted to do that for days. You feel that against you?" She nodded at the hardness of him against her. "That has been an ongoing issue for all three of us for days." He loosened his hold on her but did not let her go. "Say something stupid like that again and I will spank your ass. You are not a useless child. A beautiful, smart, sexy female yes. Infuriating at times. Gentle and soft. Just what the three of us need." He stepped back cautiously. Making sure she had her bearings. "Now get back on that horse before something happens that will cause Rick and Quincy to kill me over." She nodded and swung back into the saddle of her horse.

William's balls hurt and the bounce of the horse did not help. He could still smell her arousal and it was doing nothing to lessen the erection he was sporting. This was going to be a very long day.