The Beast

Chapter 31 - Ultimatum

"Shut up." Maia slammed her flowery pink mug onto the island and rounded it with immense speed to reach me. Her hands almost immediately latched onto my shoulders and forced me to turn in her direction. "You bitch! When did this happen?"

Her eyes flashed from Arias' healed mark on my neck to my amused expression.

"Last night." I woke up before Arias, so I thought maybe I would make us breakfast. I wasn't expecting Maia to be up so early.

I'm almost as surprised as she is. I don't know what came over me yesterday, but I couldn't be more glad. I could feel our bond a lot stronger now, and it made it hard to be even this far away from him.

Maia scoffed and smacked my arm with the back of her hand. "Well it's about damn time. I thought it would never happen." She let go of me and gave me my much needed space, returning to her cup of coffee that was cooling from the chilly morning air. "So, anything else happen?" She peeked up over her mug as she took a sip of the steaming liquid, wiggling her eyes teasingly.

I couldn't fight the smile that lit up my face. "I don't know what you're talking about." She didn't believe me for a second, and my blush confirmed her suspicions.

"Liar." I rolled my eyes and joined her the rest of the way in the kitchen. I pulled a frying pan out of her cabinet and started cracking eggs, watching them sizzle as they spread out across the heating metal.

The familiar sound of the bedroom door clicking open made me giddy. Arias' bare feet padded against the wood floors, and the closer he got, the more excited my wolf yipped.

"Good morning." I shivered as his smokey voice rung in my ears, awakening the sparks that were at rest from the night before.
His chest was still bare, but he replaced his thin shorts with a long pair of black exercise joggers that showed off his muscular thighs.

Maia greeted him politely and watched as he came up behind me, grazing my hips with his strong hands and placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head.

"Good morning." I smiled to him over my shoulder, forcing myself to look away when his tanned chest tried to lure me in to my lewd thoughts.

'Behave.' I warned myself, swallowing my lust for his arms that wound around my waist, holding me tight against his front in a comforting hug.

I did my best to flip the eggs with shaky hands, my mind only focusing on the heat of his warm embrace. He brushed the hair off my shoulder to expose his mark, and I watched from the corner of my eye as he stared down at it proudly.

Now everyone would know I belonged to him. I'm not sure how my pack would react, and I tried to keep myself from thinking about it-at least for now.

We ate together on the round barstools, absorbed in small talk with Maia who was stuffing her face with a fresh batch of muffins she made earlier this morning. She threw her head back in laughter at something Arias said, and I watched as my best friend and mate got along, their conversations somewhat effortless.

Looking around, my heart seemed to warm at what I found. I had everything I could possibly hope for-an amazing best friend, a loving (ish) family, and the best mate I could have asked for. What else could I want?

All three of our heads snapped to the front door when a fist rapped on the solid wood, breaking through the peaceful banter we were exchanging.

"I wonder who that is." I mumbled, hesitant to open it.

Maia threw away her muffin liner and wiped her hands on her faded blue jeans.

"I'm not sure. It's not Marcus, he just walks right in." We shared a look, and I knew she felt just as confused as I was.

Arias pushed himself up off the barstool and gave my hand a comforting squeeze. "I'll open it."