Saving His Mate

Ch. 18: Shared Afternoon

"I have something to show you," Almec told Faustina and me as he passed by the art room.

I was already getting used to the new side of him, I even liked him much more than when he tried to hide from us. Regardless of whether it was because he already felt comfortable with us or because the absence of others made him open up, I enjoyed seeing him be genuine.

The only problem was that the more I saw about the real Almec the more I wanted to get closer to him.

I was becoming addicted to his presence.

"Why does the door have your name?" Faustina asked after we arrived at the place.

Almec took a key out of his pocket. "Because it's my special place."

"Like my art room?" My sister tilted her head.

"Something like that. I finished preparing the room a few days ago and I thought you might like to see it." Almec opened the door and moved to the side so we could get inside.

A memory of the dinner we had alone on the balcony came back to me. I smiled thinking about how insecure Almec had seemed talking about what he liked to do and months later he was showing us his blacksmith room.

"It's beautiful," I told Almec, approaching him. "I'm glad to know that you're not going to have to run away to town to do what you like to do anymore."

"I always wanted to have one in the mansion but I thought it would distract me from my obligations as an alpha. After these last few months I spent with you two I realized that it is possible for me to be happy too."

I wasn't sure I deserved those words, but they made me feel valuable. Knowing that somehow my presence was enough to help Almec be happy gave me back some of my confidence.

"You deserve to be happy as much as anyone else, being the alpha doesn't make you a machine without feelings." I put my hand on his chest and smiled at him. "We received a lot from you, I think it's time for you to make time for yourself."

Almec held my hand that was on his chest, brought it to his mouth, and placed a kiss on it.

"I would like to share my happiness with you, so, will you stay with me this afternoon?" he asked.

"With great pleasure." I moved my hand away before the heat spread to my face. "First, I think we should see what Faustina is doing, she is very quiet and that only means trouble."

Almec held my hand and guided me to the center of the room. Most of the objects in the room were unknown to me, my knowledge of blacksmithing was almost zero so I didn't understand what I had in front of me.

I wasn't the only one disoriented, Faustina had a tweezer in her hand and was looking at it as if she wanted to decipher an enigma.

"What are you doing?" I asked her from behind her without her seeing me.

She threw the tool on the table and hid her hands behind her back.

"Nothing, I was just looking around."

"You can look but don't touch anything without permission," I told her and looked towards Almec. "You could get hurt if you're not careful."

"Your sister is right," he commented, searching for something in the drawers on the shelf. "I figured you might get a little bored here so I brought some materials and food for you."

Faustina and I exchanged glances and she motioned for me to move first.

On a small table, next to some armchairs and beanbags, Almec had left art supplies and books of my favorite genres, there were also snacks and drinks. I was not surprised that he had taken those details into account anymore, it had become clear to me a long time ago that Almec was a caregiver and a protector by nature.