Everlasting

Chapter 30

Wulfric

Had I truly once thought my siblings were insane for jumping into their relationships so quickly, forgoing their immortality and the lives they'd led before? It was especially ironic, given I was now the person who wanted to eagerly dive into a relationship – even quicker than my werewolf partner seemed to.

Griffin had undergone some kind of transformation once he made the decision to keep me from feeling our bond for a while longer. He had gained confidence, both in us and in himself. I wasn't sure what to make of it. On the one hand, I was relieved he was feeling better. On the other, shouldn't he have been able to flourish even with a complete, reciprocated mate bond?

It only served as a reminder that he still didn't want to mark me, and I still had no idea why.

I tried not to think about it or worry about it overly much, but it wasn't always easy. It helped that I had the ongoing distraction of house hunting. Edmund and I had gone through all of the for-sale houses near to Griffin's pack lands, and had found nothing that felt like a home. Edmund said it was because I was being too picky, and maybe he was right. But the fact remained that none of these places felt right to me, and even if I couldn't figure out why, I wasn't willing to settle.

"You know," Edmund pointed out as we walked out of the last for-sale house that fit my constraints, "Griffin might appreciate having a say about where he lives, too."

My steps faltered and stopped while I considered that. It wasn't the first time I debated whether to get Griffin involved in house hunting, of course, but Edmund's tone indicated he thought I was making a misstep. So, it was worth reconsidering.

The truth was, though I had never been particularly afflicted by insecurities, I had a hard time not feeling cast aside by Griffin, even though he was everything a soulmate should be: warm, affectionate, attentive. I thought I'd feel unsettled as long as I lacked some tangible connection to him, be it Fen restoring my bond sense or Griffin finally claiming me as his mate. And some foolish, overly sentimental part of myself had this fantasy of presenting him with the perfect home for us, a tangible part of our future together instead of the fears and insecurities I knew Griffin felt when he looked forward. In that fantasy, he'd thaw toward future planning and any doubts he harbored about me would melt away.

It was childish, I knew. There was a decent chance that, even if I did find what I was looking for, it wouldn't be what Griffin wanted. Yet still, I searched.

I shrugged headed for my car. Edmund's exasperated sigh reached me seconds before he stepped into stride with me. "If you're so determined for this to be a surprise, did you at least consider what to do if Griffin wants to live with his pack?"

Yes, and it was a source of frustration because I didn't have a good way of getting around that. "There's not much I can do if that's the case," I pointed out.

"Perhaps not, but I know who can help," Edmund said, his tone taking on a teasing quality. "You know, Griffin's parents? They would also know how to go about securing a house or land within the pack's territory."

I opened my mouth to argue, but it was hard to combat good sense when I heard it. Though Griffin's parents had only ever been supportive of me, both in words and in actions, I still had a hard time facing them after everything I put Griffin through. "I'll think about it," I conceded. Though now that I'd exhausted my last option outside of pack territory, I was left with either waiting in the hope that something better would come along or accepting that I needed help.

"Great. Enough of all that. How about some burgers?" Edmund asked hopefully, and when I glanced over, I had to smile at how eager he looked for something we'd already had several times this week. Burgers hadn't existed in our time, and now that he'd discovered them, Edmund was obsessed.