The sound of a phone vibrating violently against wood began to stir me from my slumber. I softly grunted in protest, burrowing my face further into the toasty and firm pillow. The scent of a rainstorm flooded my lungs as I inhaled. I was nearly lulled back to sleep as the vibrations ceased, only for the incessant buzzing to spring back to life. My body twitched at the momentary shock. As it did, I realized that what my head, arm, and leg were resting on did not feel like a body pillow… It felt like an actual body—an extremely warm and large one at that. 

At the same instant as my brain was groggily struggling to process this information, a throat cleared lowly above my head, sending a different type of vibration through his body and into mine. I froze, except for my heavy eyelids attempting to flutter open against the brilliant blue-hued light that was filtering through the windows on the right side of the room. The phone continued to rattle aggressively against the wood. As I sluggishly blinked, I glimpsed a large hand dart out from underneath the blanket. The hand swayed left and right, unsuccessfully trying to locate the phone.

A deep, almost guttural growl sounded. I could feel the sensation of it hum through where my head still lay lazily upon his broad chest. The next thing I knew, his right arm, which was draped around me, shifted. His right hand gripped my bare thigh near where my knee was bent. I gasped at the sudden intensity with which Theory pressed me against him. In one swift motion, he scooted us both farther into his side of the bed. This time, he succeeded in swooping up the phone.

“Who the fuck keeps calling me so early?” The sound of Theory’s rumbling, gravelly morning voice cleared away the remaining brain fog caused by the sudden wake-up call and the leftover booze in my system. Even with all the confusion, vibrating, growling, and movement, I’d surprisingly felt pretty relaxed. I finally tilted my head back to take in the view of Theory’s sleepy appearance. His dark, thick eyebrows were furrowed as he blinked and squinted at his phone, then grimaced. He quickly lowered his phone’s volume, moved his thumb over the screen, and lifted the phone to his ear, “What?”

Even with the sound turned down, I could still make out his father’s booming voice on the other end. I guessed that he knew his father would lay into him immediately. Theory’s dark hair had been let down to barely brush his shoulders, and besides a few slightly flattened areas and rouge curls, it wasn’t all that bad. Seeing a flash of icy blue in my peripheral vision, my gaze swept up to his face. Even though he was obviously getting chewed out, his lips quirked up as he looked down at me, as I still rested my head on his chest. Something his father said caught his attention, making his eyes dart to the left toward the phone, and his smile dimmed. Theory lowered the phone from his ear, put it on speaker, and laid it on the left side of his chest.

“Since they were worried enough to come find me, I gave them both your phone number and told them where to find your room. Sigh… Of all the dumb shit you’ve done, Theory… On the first night of the festival, at that. I hope you had fun being swept away by your primal urges rather than prioritizing the tribe. As long as you didn’t knock her up-”

“Pft!” A short burst of shocked laughter escaped me before I covered my mouth and looked at Theory apologetically.

“Did she just laugh? Theory Rune Torben, tell me you didn’t-” Wyatt was cut off by Theory this time.

“I didn’t. I’m not an animal. We didn’t even have sex. You’re overreacting. All we did was drink until close to dawn, and then she realized she didn’t have her phone or remember where her room was. So, I let her crash in my suite. Simple as that.” Theory’s tone made it clear how done he was with this conversation. It seemed ironic for a shifter to say that he wasn’t an animal.

“Then why is she close enough to listen in on our call, and why did she laugh?” Wyatt pressed.

“You were mentioning her parents, so I put you on speaker, and then you randomly said some shit about her getting knocked up. People laugh when they hear ridiculous shit. Are we done? Is there anything else?” Theory let out a frustrated sigh.

“Watch that attitude, son,” Wyatt warned lowly.

“Sir, yes, sir.” Theory quipped before hanging up and tossing his phone back onto the nightstand.

“… I’m sorry, Theory. I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.” I swept my thumb soothingly across his chest since the call seemed to rile him up.

“It’s not your fault; he’s always like that. Plus, I’m partially to blame as well. I decided to ditch the ball with you, I blocked my tribe’s mind-link all night, and straight up refused to respond to Father’s questions and summons through the one-on-one mind-link… Honestly… It was worth it.” Theory flipped towards me, hugged me tight, and pressed his face close to the crown of my head. He inhaled deeply and slowly. As he exhaled, the warm air tickled my scalp. We stayed like that, content, for a few more moments. 

“Oh, yeah. Did he say when my parents plan to show up or call you?” I mumbled into his chest.

“Nope. But probably soon, and if they see how you’re dressed…” Theory trailed off.

“They’ll think you knocked me up, too, huh?” I jested, knowing full well that my parents would probably be worried and disappointed either way. “Also, why did your dad immediately jump to the idea of you getting me pregnant?”

“… Shifters can get… Caught up in their primal urges. It’s all too common to hear about shifters getting carried away and acting recklessly. It’s usually not too much of an issue between male and female werebears, since the ladies can’t get pregnant if they aren’t in heat. But it would be a different issue if something like that happened between you and me… So, it’s a valid concern.” Theory murmured into my hair.

Something about this topic was bothering me—a lot of somethings. Firstly, I shouldn’t be favorably considering what our child would look like if he did get me pregnant. But the thought of a chubby little cherub with my tan skin and freckles, plus his stormy eyes and dark hair, was entirely too enticing. Secondly, I was irked by the idea that he might prefer a female werebear over me. The fact that we were different species was something I couldn’t change. And lastly, I felt guilty that it was my fault we were being seen as reckless and rebellious. 

“I get it, but damn. You’d think we weren’t two grown-ass adults. It’s not like I haven’t had one-night stands before, but having our parents think we had one when we didn’t somehow feels worse. If I’m gonna be judged for getting laid anyway, I would rather just get laid.” I grumbled absentmindedly. 

“You do realize what that sounds like, right?” Theory pulled back, amusement obvious on his face as he examined mine.

“What?” I raised a brow, unsure of what I said wrong. My mind had been racing with various unnecessary thoughts.

“You said that you would rather get laid if people think you got laid anyway… But we’re in that situation now, so it sounded like a roundabout way of asking to-” Theory stopped talking when I frantically smacked my hand over his mouth.

“That is not what I was trying to say, and you know it! I was talking shit, like hypothetically.” My face burned as I noted the mischievous glint in his eyes as I spat out the weakest argument possible. My blush deepened when his tongue snaked out and slid lightly across my palm. The ticklish sensation led me to snatch my hand away from his face.

“You really should think before you speak, sweetheart.” Theory lifted my face until our eyes met. With our bodies pressed so close, his rainstorm scent seemed to amplify the intensity of his gaze. I was mesmerized by the long, thick lashes that framed and contrasted his pale, stormy irises.

“I have a feeling that you wouldn’t have done anything even if that was what I meant,” I whispered. It was a half-truth. Part of me believed it, since all my previous attempts to be flirty flopped. Yet another part couldn’t deny that a blue flame seemed to burn within his impassioned gaze. 

“Hm…” Theory’s eyes dipped to my mouth. His thumb softly traced my lips as he continued, “I think you might be right. It’s all too easy to beat around the bush. If you want something, there are a few ways to get it. You can be straightforward and ask for it… Or… You can be bold and make a move to take it for yourself… But even those methods aren’t foolproof.”

As he spoke, he slowly lowered his face toward mine. For a moment, it seemed like I forgot how to breathe. My eyes bounced from his eyes to the lips that seemed agonizingly close. I wanted a kiss, his kiss. I began to pout as he stopped just far enough away to give himself time to react. He was such a damned tease. Why couldn’t he close the gap? He knew I would kiss him back. Was this a test or just for shits and giggles? 

You know what? I didn’t care. If I wanted the kiss, I would have to take it. I mentally and physically prepared myself to overcome the space between us and claim my prize. Right as I pushed myself forward, his phone began to vibrate. For a split second, I saw his eyes light up, and a shit-eating grin bloom across his handsome face before he dodged my kiss and picked up the phone.

“Hello?” Theory’s smile at that moment was electric, as opposed to my mouth hanging open in disbelief. “Yes, that’s me… Mhm… Yes, ma’am… Juniper is with me, safe and sound… Sure thing. Oh, but could I mention something before I pass on the phone? … Thank you. Juniper didn’t intend to stay out all night. We were hanging out in the Eastern wing’s bar to escape the crowd and lost track of time while drinking and talking. Once we realized we should head in, the ball was already over, and no staff were around. I’m sure you’re aware of how terrible Juniper is with memorizing her surroundings, so you can imagine that she had absolutely no clue where her room was when I offered to walk her back. Then, when I asked if she could call Mrs. or Mr. Bellamy to find out, she said she hadn’t wanted to carry a purse, so she’d left her phone in her room. Mhm… Yes, ma’am… I wouldn’t say she’s an airhead, but she does seem to lack common sense-” 

The grin on Theory’s face widened as I cut in.

“HEY!” I snatched the phone from him, annoyed that he won my mom over as quickly as he’d dodged my kiss. She was supposed to think that he was an evil man trying to take advantage of her daughter, not carry on a full-blown conversation with him and pick on me together. “Momma, how could you not worry for your only child? You hadn’t even heard my voice to confirm if I was okay, and you jumped straight into name-calling!”

“You are the one who dragged that poor man off while you thought we weren’t paying attention, got drunk, and couldn’t find your way back to your suite. Frankly, what he told me about your night sounds all too familiar. I love you, Juni, but you have a habit of looking for trouble and asking for forgiveness instead of permission. I’m just glad you were with someone so patient and generous. Well, at least you’re a decent judge of character.” Mom sounded tired, which made my heart ache with guilt, since she most likely lost sleep worrying about me.

“…” My mouth flopped open once more. I sat up straight in bed, unsure what to do with myself. My mind scrambled to come up with something, anything to say back. “… You got me there. I’m sorry, Mama.”

“I want to hear, too. Put her on speaker.” Theory sat against the headboard, grabbed my waist, and drew me into his lap. At this point, Theory moving me around felt like second nature. I put the phone on speaker, set it on my bare thigh, and leaned into his embrace.

“Don’t forget your phone the rest of the time that we are here, you had us worried sick. Mainly your dad. He’s over in a dark corner, moping about how his little girl decided to share a room with a man she met a few hours before…” Mom trailed off, but we could make out her and Dad bickering about something. A beat later, and shuffling sounds were heard.

“To his credit, Theory set himself up to sleep on the couch-” I was interrupted by Dad.

“Thank the Moon and Stars!” Dad prematurely celebrated. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we still ended up sleeping in the same bed at my insistence. Some things are better left unsaid.

“Theory, can you hear me?” Mom called through the phone.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Theory promptly replied.

“You have my number now; make sure you save it. Call or message if you ever need anything, sugar.” Mom instructed sweetly. It seemed that she had gotten along with him far better than I could have expected.

“I will!” Theory smiled gently down at the phone over my shoulder. It was reassuring to know that they were on good terms, even though we’d ditched them at the ball.

“Juni, we’re about to head down to breakfast. If you want to know your room number and floor, or if you need a change of clothes and your phone, shoot me a message. Love you, Juni Bug.” Mom blew a kiss through the phone.

“Alright, I will. Love y’all too, see you soon. Mwah.” I echoed the sentiment before hanging up.

“… Juni Bug?” Theory’s chin settled on my shoulder with his lip quirked up to one side as he peered at me from the corner of his eye.