A Grey Wolves Howliday (The Grey Wolves #14) by Quinn Loftis

Decebel’s wolf perked up even more at that last bit of information. Touch was essential to the wolf inside of them. Adam might not be Canis lupus, but his mate was, and her wolf would demand her mate be affectionate. “She won’t let you touch her? So, the shower joke the other day?”

Adam shook his head. “I knew if I teased her in front of everyone, she’d touch me. I didn’t care that it would just be her pushing or elbowing me. I’ll take anything. How pathetic is that?”

“I would have tied my mate to the bed and laid on top of her until she agreed to allow touching again,” Decebel said, and he meant it. “If you think teasing your mate is pathetic, then you need a lesson in Canis lupus nature and what it means when the wolf’s needs are not being met.”

When Adam straightened back up, he looked like a man who’d been gutted. How had Decebel missed this yesterday and all day today? Was it because Adam wasn’t a wolf? Or had he been so focused on keeping tabs on Jen through their bond that he just hadn’t paid attention? Jen’s emotions were all over the place, but she turned to Decebel, not away from him. She demanded he give her what he already wanted to give her, which was her right as his mate, just as he had rights to her because she was his. Then again, if Adam had been a wolf, he would have come to his alpha or beta to tell them what was going on. It would have been instinctual to reach out to his pack leaders.

“If she won’t let you touch her,” Lucian began. He pulled his shirt over his head and then continued, “Then it’s because of her wolf. She’s grieving the loss of her alphas. The bond between the alpha pair and the pack is as unique as the bond between true mates, though different, of course. Every member of the pack will grieve differently. You are pack, but you don’t have a wolf inside of you that is attached to its pack leaders.” He paused and seemed to look Adam over again. “But you do have that bond with your mate, and you are taking on the physical weight of her mourning. I didn’t notice it yesterday. But it’s more than that,” Lucian said softly, mostly to himself it seemed.

“I didn’t either,” Decebel admitted. As beta, he should have realized something was wrong. Over the past few months, the majority of the pack that didn’t live in the mansion had stayed in their own homes. Fane and Jacque had met with every pack member, checking on them, ensuring they were dealing with their grief in a healthy manner, especially for their wolves. Even now, Decebel could feel the bond to his new alpha. Fane loved their pack. He always had. Vasile had taught him from a very young age what it meant to be the alpha.

Since Fane had taken on the pack bonds, there had been a steady pulse of power being sent out through the bond to every wolf in their pack. As Decebel stared at Adam, he wondered if maybe the bond between him and Fane was different, perhaps not quite as strong because what tied Adam to the pack was Crina. There was no beast in Adam to be connected to Fane’s wolf. “Lucian,” he said, turning to look at him. “How is Peri doing?”

“She has good days and bad,” Lucian admitted.

“And you, your wolf?” Decebel asked.

“I think that sometimes, because we are so long lived, we forget we are all appointed an end to this life. My wolf and I have come to a place of peace about my brother’s death and the death of his mate. I will miss them, of course. But my main focus now is my mate and this pack. Peri doesn’t naturally turn to me for comfort or affection, but we’re working on that. Though she’s seen it with her own eyes and knows how vital touch is to our wolves, she sometimes has to be reminded.”

“How do you remind her?” Adam asked.

Lucian’s lips lifted in a crooked smile. “I bite her.”

Decebel nodded. “Good advice. But be warned, it could go one of two ways. She either submits, or she throws things at you.”

The fae looked more confused. Decebel sighed. It was hard to explain the nature of the dynamics of a true mate pair when both weren’t wolves. “Adam, can you flash and bring Fane here?” he asked the fae.

“Can he help her?” Adam asked as he lowered his head.

Decebel walked over to the fae and placed his hand on Adam’s shoulder. He squeezed tight so Adam would look at him. When he had the fae’s full attention, it was his wolf who spoke. “It does not make you any less of a mate to ask for help from your alpha. It makes you a wise mate.”

Adam shook his head. He seemed to wrestle with the wolf’s words. “I’m not a wolf. Am I enough for her? Because standing on this side of the supernatural line, I feel completely out of my depth.”

“You are her true mate, made for her and she for you. That doesn’t mean there won’t be times when you both need help. Jen has spent a lot of time with Jacque. Their bond has changed since Jacque has become the alpha female. She can give my mate something I cannot. That doesn’t make me any less essential to her,” Decebel explained, hoping he was getting through to Adam. It was obvious, now that the fae had removed his mask, that the man was hurting deeply.

“I’ll get Fane,” Adam said. Decebel dropped his arm, and the fae disappeared a second later.

“B, you okay?” Jen asked, her worry coming loud and clear through their bond.

“I’m fine, baby. We’ll talk later.”