Exile Empire, Exile The Second

Chapter 16 - Sorin

She's complicated, wolf said as we settled into the motel room our first night. Kairos had taken me around to enough places that I got the feeling she was avoiding being alone here with me.

I understood why there was that underlying tension between us that made things feel more intense than they should.

The fact of the matter was that she was meant to be my mate, and she would be my mate. It just might take her longer to figure out.

Complicated, wolf said with a definite pout in his tone. He pouted from time to time. Normally when I wouldn't let him take over a week before the moon time when he was craving deer meat.

But over the last couple days he'd been much more active and much more demanding. Ever since we'd gotten to Canada and found Kairos, he'd been unable to stay quiet. After what had happened back at the cabin, with the blackout and shredded deer, he would usually sleep for days and only start to wake up closer to his time.

There was something about Kairos that sparked with him, too. Something that had bonded her to me and wolf, which made this a much more entangled situation than most from what I could see. So yes, it was complicated.

Told you, he said, and I could feel his smug pride.

"Whatever," I mumbled and glanced at her to see if she'd noticed. Either she didn't hear me mumble to wolf, or she was being polite and ignoring it. Either way, I had to keep working on not talking to myself in front of her. It wasn't exactly my greatest feature.

We were walking from the SkyTrain station to the motel, and I could sense her reluctance in the slowing of her footsteps and the way she kept stopping to admire something insignificant, as if she could stall us long enough that our bond would lose all meaning.

"This tree has such pretty leaves," she said, stopping in front of the motel to rub one of them between her thumb and forefinger.

"I'm not going to jump on you the moment we're alone," I said, pulling the elephant in the room into the spotlight so we were forced to talk about it. "I know you're worried about my wolfish behavior."

"Not at all," she said, startled. She dropped her hand and a piece of leaf fluttered to the ground beside her, its green underside catching the light from the setting sun to flash like a signal the entire way down. "I know you're tired. I'm tired. We should get to sleep."

"Yes, sleep," I agreed.

Fuck, wolf whined inside.

"Okay, let's get up there," she said, again stalling, as if reluctant to be alone with me.

"Maybe I'm the one who should be worried about you," I chuckled. "I need sleep. I don't know if you have other plans again."

Referencing last night when she climbed down to sleep against me might not have been the smartest choice. Her face darkened and her vulnerable nervousness melted away, turning into a distant detachment once again.

"I'm fine about it," she said and sniffed. "Maybe you're the one who should keep his hands to himself."

She sauntered away, and I laughed with wolf over her flustered change in direction. It didn't even make sense, but it allowed her to regain her dignity, I supposed.

Once we got inside the room, I made sure to lock the door and pull the shades so we'd have privacy at least. Kairos went into the bathroom and got ready for bed, so I opened my duffel and changed into sleep pants and a tee shirt. I waited for her so I could brush my teeth and grab a quick shower. By the time I got out, she was already under her covers on her bed, so I slipped under mine.