Chapter 9

Myles stays the night after we mate, because we need to give the bond time to solidify between us. I’m not ready to share a bed with him yet though, and I’ve pushed my limits and been brave enough today, so when Myles suggests he sleeps on the sofa, I don’t disagree with him.

“Sorry, I- I want to share a bed someday, but I just- not yet, I’m sorry,” I mumble, feeling guilty. Myles shakes his head, gently wrapping me up in a hug and stroking my back reassuringly. “There’s nothing to apologise for, my love. You’ve been so brave today already, now get some sleep and I’ll see you in the morning,” he says softly. Reluctantly stepping back from the hug, I turn to go to my room, fiddling with my hands awkwardly. I kind of really want to kiss him again, because we’ve still only kissed once, but maybe I’m being too forward if I ask him again? I mean I’m the one who asked the first time, so shouldn’t he ask this time? But no, because Myles probably won’t ask, in case it makes me uncomfortable. I’m still getting used to asking for affection, although Myles has become really good at generally telling when I want to hold hands or be near him. In the end, I just go to my room, feeling too awkward to ask Myles for a goodnight kiss. I’ll be more adventurous tomorrow; for now, I need to sleep. Snuggling down in bed, I let out a long and happy sigh.

Today was a really good day. And with Myles as my mate, I’m sure there will be many, many more good days.

—————

After a few weeks of being mated, I asked Myles if I could meet his alpha. They are best friends, and this alpha is a friend of Ceyden’s too, so I’m sure he’s a nice person, and I’m hoping that with Myles by my side, I’ll be alright to meet a male wolf who has the potential to be pretty intimidating. I just…I want to be a part of Myles’ life more, and currently although we manage to see each other a few times a week, it isn’t enough for me.

I just want to be with Myles all the time.

And recently he gave me advance warning that things are a bit busy in his pack currently, so he might not be able to come see me as much as usual, so…I want to come see him, instead. But first, I want to meet his alpha, and then I’ll try meeting the rest of his pack. I hope that one day I’ll be able to join Myles’ pack, but I don’t want to push myself too much. There’s no rush, other than my strong desire to see Myles more. 

We thought that it would be best if I meet alpha Xabien in the human town, where I’m fairly comfortable, so we decided to invite Atti and Ceyden too, so that it is less awkward. This way, if I don’t feel like talking (which I probably won’t) then Ceyden, Myles and Xabien can talk and I can focus on Atti. Myles said he hasn’t told anyone about my past, but that he explained to Xabien that I find it difficult being around male wolves. So hopefully, me acting weird and shy won’t make Xabien think I’m a freak or anything. It’s not really that I want to impress him, but he is one of my mate’s best friends so I do want to make a good impression, nonetheless.

Once we’ve finally managed to set a date and time up where we’re all free, Atti and I pick the place to meet. 

“This is the place?” I ask, holding Atti’s hand as he leads me up to a cute little café that does nice soup specials, apparently. Atti and I came together because we live near to each other, and then obviously Myles and Xabien will be arriving together. Ceyden is coming alone, but everyone should be here soon anyway, so hopefully no one will be left waiting for anyone else.

As it turns out though when we make it inside, Atti and I aren’t the first to arrive: Myles and Xabien are already here. Taking a deep breath, I let my friend lead me over to the table. It’s nice to see Myles with someone who I know is so important to him though - I’ve never met anyone who Myles knows other than Ceyden, who I already know, so this is kind of a big deal for me. And probably for Myles too, considering that Atti is my best friend, and he and Atti have only met once, when Atti and Blake came to mine for dinner and to finally meet my mate.

“Hi!” Atticus says enthusiastically, waving at Myles and Xabien. He told me that he and Xabien have briefly met before, so at least this won’t be crazy stressful for Atti too - then again though, he’s always been more outgoing than me anyway.

“Atticus! Nice to see you again,” Xabien says warmly, his expression inviting and friendly. He isn’t as intimidating as I’d assumed he’d be, but that was also what I thought about Myles when I learned he is a beta.

“You too, Xabien! How’re you both?” He asks brightly, sitting down next to me, where I’ve taken a seat next to Myles. 

“Well this one is great, aren’t you,” Xabien teases, elbowing Myles in the ribs. Myles just grins, his knee touching mine ever so slightly beneath the table.

“Yes, I am great actually - and whenever you find your mate, Xabien, just know that I’m going to be as obnoxious as possible about you two. You deserve it,” Myles jokes, elbowing Xabien back. The alpha just laughs, resting his cheek on his palm. 

“Sure sure, whatever you want. You know I’m not too fussed about that anyway, I’m too busy running the pack.”

“You haven’t met your mate yet?” Ceyden asks, apparently having arrived shortly after us. He sits down next to Xabien and gives me a warm and encouraging smile. I do my best to smile back at him. Myles gently rests his hand on my leg, and a small smile appears on my lips as I take his hand in mine.

“Nope, not everyone is lucky enough to meet their mate instantly, Ceyden,” Xabien raises one eyebrow at his friend, and the other alpha just laughs. 

“Ok well take it from me - when you do meet your mate, don’t take years to complete the bond. Such a waste of time.”

Atti sighs next to me, leaning forwards in his seat. “Yeah I truly had no idea you and Riya were sneaking around behind my back that whole time, I mean you both really should’ve just said something instead of holding onto some dumb promise I made Riya make when I was a kid,” he groans, shaking his head. 

“Oh trust me, when I meet my mate,” Xabien begins, “we’ll be mating that very day, if she wants to.” 

Myles snickers in his seat, smoothing his thumb across the back of my hand. “Someone’s eager, huh.”

Xabien glares at my mate playfully, before smiling. “Of course. I just know she’s going to be beautiful, so why would I want to wait? Unless she’s some kind of horrible creep, I guess.”

Mustering up all my courage, I open my mouth for the first time since Atti and I arrived here. “What would your ideal mate be like, in that case?”

Everyone looks at me. And then they all look at Xabien, and he shrugs. 

“Hm…I don’t really know. Maybe someone independent and headstrong? She would be luna if she wanted, so someone good at leadership, I suppose. Probably someone intelligent and intellectual, as well as feisty. And I’d want to- y’know, be able to protect her, but I’d also want her to be a good fighter.”

“I hope your mate is a badass who kicks your ass in fights,” Ceyden sits back in his seat, crossing his arms and looking smug. 

“What, like your mate? We all know Riya wipes the floor with you,” Xabien laughs.

“Too right,” Atti giggles, meeting Ceyden’s eye. The alpha just smiles warmly at his brother, his expression fond as he goes “yep, and I love that about her.”

After that, we talk a bit more about what kind of mate Xabien wants, which ends up being pretty entertaining - he doesn’t seem to mind too much that he hasn’t met his mate yet, as he has pretty high standards. But I hope Xabien gets to meet his mate fairly soon, because as happy as he seems now…he looks really tired. And Myles always talks about Xabien is basically married to the alpha role, forever running the pack house and never actually taking some time to relax for himself. So hopefully, when Xabien finally meets his mate…hopefully he’ll get some rest, and a chance to take it slow for a while.

By the time we decide to call our get-together to a close, it’s pretty late in the afternoon. Myles comes home with me to stay the night, since we want to spend more time together, but also because I want to get more accustomed to sleeping with him in my home. Eventually, I want to share a bed with him. That’s my next goal, since we’ve kind of got the hang of holding hands and hugging, and we occasionally kiss, too. Although I wish we did that more, but I’m still finding it awkward to ask Myles for that. But it’s going really well. 

I’ve made a lot of progress.