Mate

by Ali Hazelwood

His jaw tics. “Here’s the deal: you’re not an idiot.” “Wow. What a compliment.” “Sure. Keep that in mind when I ask you why the fuck you are acting like one. How. Long?”

HAHAHAHAH the blunt and grumpy alpha is just always gonna do it for me AHHHHH

so I shift my attention to the third thing. And I stop breathing. Because every single thing I glanced at, grazed, examined, eyed, or even considered when we were at the grocery store, every single thing I decided to walk past, every single thing I told myself I didn’t need— every single thing has somehow made it here, inside Koen’s house.

Shut the front door. This is what I mean when I say I want an attentive man whose love language is acts of service!!

He overhears her talking with Pavel. “Hey, is it true that Humans put gnomes in their gardens?” “Oh, yeah. It’s totally a thing.” “Spine-chilling.” Her laughter adjusts the spin of his atoms.

Gagged. Absolutely and positively gagged.

“Since you’re so sure that everyone here despises her, including me, let this be known: fuck with my mate, and I’m going to kill you so slowly, draw it out so long, tectonic plates will move and create whole new mountain ranges. And when the rest of your family comes to avenge you, I’ll do the same to them. And if your friends come, I’m not going to fucking stop. Not even if all that’s left of the pack is me and her. I will paint this entire territory green before I let anyone in the pack spill a single drop of red. Okay?”

Holy… 🤰🏽🤰🏽

Koen’s hand wraps around my hip, completely engulfing it. It’s a deceptively relaxed gesture, protective and lover-like. He pulls me into him, and the back of my head brushes against his chest.

That is SO attractive

But then he says, “Before I leave, I think I need to hold you for a minute.” I’m in his arms before I know how I got there. He bends down to scoop me up, and my forehead fits so perfectly into the valley of his already-prickly throat, this cannot be anything but fated. He lifts me higher, my feet no longer touching the ground, and hides his face in my neck. A long, deep inhale.

I AM OBSESSED

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning. If anything happens to me, what do you do?” “Buy a black veil, pretend I’m a widow, cash in on your life insurance.” “You call Lowe. Ask him to come get you.” “What about your seconds?” Koen’s jaw shifts. He seems to come to a bitter realization. “I trust them with my life, but apparently not with yours. Lowe can protect you better than anyone.”

STOP! Only the best for her 🥹

“Say it. After what?” I have to. Out loud. For the very first time. I have no choice but to make this real. “After I die.” The second the words are out, hanging heavy in the air between us, Koen . . . smiles. He bends further, and there isn’t a single trace of doubt on his face. He’s an immovable object and an unstoppable force. And he says, slowly, “If you think I’m going to let you die, Serena, you know fuck all.”

🫢🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

He easily resigned himself to a lifetime without her, but . . . Simply put, he is unwilling to contemplate a universe in which she no longer exists.

Oh my god!!

He is afraid— not only of what might happen to her, but also of what he might do to the world in retaliation.

🥰🥰🥰

“You . . . We talked about this.” I sound shrill. “The pack is too important to you. And you are necessary to the pack.” “Things have changed.” “Things— nothing has changed. You love the Northwest more than anything.” “Not more than anything, Serena.”

There’s WAYYY too many quotes im highlighting but I AM OBSESSED. Obsessed.

“Just a few days ago you listed several reasons why you had to choose the pack over me. What changed?” He roams the inside of his mouth with his tongue. Waits out the end of a particularly strong gust of breeze. “You told me that you loved me, Serena,” he says simply. His eyes are earnest, liquid. So profoundly good. “And while I’m willing to resign myself to an existence without the person I love, I refuse to condemn you to it.”

OMFG STFU STFU STFU!!!

She chatters and mumbles to herself and tells him things, all sorts of things, funny and serious, big and small, and the more she talks, the more he wants to do nothing but listen to her.

Omg stop! I’m actually going to throw up because this feels illegal. It feels illegal that he’s not mine and I can’t have him!!!!

Lowe, unfortunately, dares. “He’s mated now.” “I’ve heard.” Maddie smiles. “I hope you and Serena are very happy.” “At the moment I’m pretty fucking unhappy.” Because he’s here, and Serena is elsewhere.

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

It doesn’t help, that he doesn’t hear from her more often while he’s gone. He refuses to become the kind of person who sends little heart emoji texts every ten minutes, but by God, can’t Serena shoulder the burden of being the needy one? Can’t she blow up his fucking phone?

HAHAHAH he’s so needy and so cute

Just be fucking patient, he snarls at himself. You’re not the center of the fucking world. She is.

HAHAHAHAH STOPPPP