Chapter 91
Chapter 91
Chapter Ninety-One: Stubborn mate
Jason
Tillie was tucked against Ryan’s side as we made our way down the stairs and into the foyer. I knew
she had to be exhausted despite the sleep she had gotten. Her legs trembled and I bit back a laugh. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
She was so stubborn,
When I had offered to carry her down the flights of stairs, she had scoffed at me before stomping off in
front of Ryan and I
It was cute and I had been unable to tear my eyes away from the swell of her shapely ass and hips as
she made her way down the hallway. She stopped in front of the stairs, worrying her lower lip as she
looked back at us.
Ryan smirked back at me, his blue eyes sparkling with laughter. He knew that she was rethinking her
decision, too. “She’ s still got her fire.”
“She’s feisty. I think it will take a lot to tame our mate.” I said, watching him turn away from me to stroll
over to Tillie. He looped an arm around her waist, steadying her as they made their way down the
steps.
Ryan’s smirk turned to a grin as she leaned her body against him, letting him help her.
I wanted that I wanted her to trust me the same way she did Ryan. It was a jealous thought and I knew
it, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted her to be able to trust me to take care of her. I had hoped that this
morning would show her that. Or at least let her know that I was worthy of her love.
Last night, I knew that I had gone too far and if she needed me to, I would spend the rest of our lives
making it up to her. I would show Tillie that I could do soft and sweet. That I wasn’t always hard and
demanding. That she could trust me to take care of her needs.
“You coming?” She asked as they stopped at the first landing, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Nodding, I jogged down the steps. Joining them as we made our way downstairs. The house was
abuzz with life. Members of the pack passed us, many of them stopping to wish us a good morning or
giving Tillie a once over. I knew that we must have been a sight for them. Tillie was coated in our scent.
She bore our marks around her pretty little throat. They knew that she was mine.
Later, I would formally announce it to the pack and they would meet her as my mate. For now, though, I
was going to let her warm up to the idea of being ours.
A group of female shifters passed us, hungry eyes moving over Ryan and I. Landing on Tillie, with
darkened eyes. Jealousy and anger were clear on their faces. A growl slipped from my lips and they
scurried away.
I had never seen this many women in the hallways this early and I knew that word must have spread
about our mate fast. That, combined with the fact that Ryan, Travis, and I were sharing a mate, would
drive the gossip faster.
It wasn’t common to share a mate, yes it happened. Mostly in dragon thralls, but no one had expected
that when I found my mate that I would have to share her. I doubted that Ryan and Travis had thought
they would have to share, either.
But the other option was going feral. That wasn’t really an option that worked for any of us,
Thad worried that seeing her with the others would make me jealous and it did. But not as much as I
thought that it would.
Mostly, it made me want to join them.
Tillie stopped walking and Ryan looked down at her. “Baby?”
She didn’t look at him, her eyes were pinned on the person in front of her. Her back went ramrod
straight and I looked up
at the man in front of her.
“Jake.” She gasped and I felt nervousness swirl into me through the bond. That and the painful tug at
my heart. “What are you… What are you doing here?” She stammered out the feeling of anxiety grew
stronger along with the pain.
Ryan’s fingers tightened around her waist and I moved closer to the two of them.
Fuck, I had fucked up again. I should have told her about him being mated to my sister, but I had
forgotten about it this morning. Now, she was having that bomb dropped in front of her.
“Tillie, hey,” Jake said, moving a hand up to grip the back of his neck. He looked down at the hardwood
floor before glancing up again at my mate. His eyes went to the marks on her neck as he swallowed
hard. “I um, I spent the night here last night.”
“Me too,” Tillie said. The tops of her ears turned red and she shook her head. “I thought that you would
be with.”
“Nicole, yeah. This is her pack.” Jake said, his eyes moving over to me.
I stepped closer to my mate, taking her hand in mine. Threading our fingers together, I tried to lend her
some of my strength and soothe her frayed nerves.
“Her pack?” Tillie asked, her voice growing strangely quiet.
“Yes, Jake mated to my sister.”
Tillie looked over at me, hurt flashing in her blue eyes. It was so quick that if I hadn’t been watching her
so closely, I would have missed it. She looked back at Jake and I knew that I had fucked up with her.
She pulled her fingers from mine and I wanted to grab her hand back. To not let her pull away from me
anymore.
I wanted to demand things from her that I knew I couldn’t. She wasn’t a shifter. She didn’t know how
things worked for us. That Jake wouldn’t have been able to avoid the pull to my sister any better than I
would have been able to stay away from her.
Tillie was mine and so was her pain.