Chapter Thirteen

I'd wanted to experience The Mountain Climb for years, but we traveled so much that we were never able to get a reservation. Or rather, we were never home when one was available. There were a limited number allowed on it daily and only a few on the actual stairs at any given time. In addition, they were serious about the equipment and safety and required you to watch a short video on the topic before you could do it. If you didn't want to—the fact that they were even mentioned that told me some overconfident people had said no—then you had to choose between giving up your reservation and following the rules.

We'd done so many of the adrenaline junkie activities over the past few years when just traveling didn't hold enough interest for us, but somehow, I'd thought meeting our mate would end that. And this one was big. People backed out after getting an in-person look at them all the time, or so the online gossip claimed.

Ansel was currently on hold no doubt because his call was very important to them, but he was paying attention to my conversation with Monroe. Our mate came from a family that didn't appreciate her as they should. It wouldn't be an overstatement to call them misogynistic.

A small thing like spilling a little coffee on the counter had her ready to jump out of her skin. My bear was very unhappy to see that and ready to go find the people who made her feel like that.

She's here now,I reassured him while taking the stool next to hers and pushing the package of cookies toward her. "Eat."

She jerked back a little at my command. But she took one. "Okay."

"Come on. Let's dunk together." I had to soften my tone, although my bear and my alpha side both wanted to hurry things, get her to realize she was ours. It would take some time to build her confidence and show her we would never denigrate her. "Ready? On three."

"Really? Are you going to—"

"One. Two."

"Wait," she said, laughing. "That's not fair. I'm not ready."

"Three." I deliberately dunked overly hard and splashed coffee everywhere.

Monroe was more delicate this time, but her eyes widened at my move.

"Hey, you two, what are you up to?" Ansel sent us a stern look, and I leaned in to whisper to Monroe.

"He's a beast, isn't he?" I threw a cookie at him.

"Is he going to be mad?" She chewed her lip.

"Only that he didn't catch it. You toss him one."

"Yeah?"

"Hey, cookie please?" Ansel propped the phone on his shoulder and held a hand out. "I had to special order those, so try to aim for me?"

Monroe reached for one but then pulled back. I was going to have to help her.

"If you could catch, it would go better. Here you go." I tossed another of the biscotti, deliberately letting it fall short. "Hah!"

We'd never had a food fight in all the years we'd been friends, but the giggle we drew from our mate while making a mess of our kitchen made it worth it. I'd do a lot more than that to see her tense shoulders lower and the tension ease in her jaw. Monroe was far too young to be so stressed out.

Ansel scooped up the cookies that landed on the floor and threw them back at me. Each time, I did the same and soon, the crisp pastries we had first tasted in Italy and really did have to order through the local shop were crumbs scattered over the floor and counters and even the stovetop. It was a mess, and our mate was giggling like the young woman she was. My heart was so full. I could only pray she'd stay with us and let us show her how good life could be with mates who care about you. Who put your needs first and want you to be who you are and not what others intend for you.

After we managed to destroy most of the cookies, Monroe grabbed two and set them by her cup. "I'm not letting you waste all of them. Not without even getting a taste!"

Ansel winked at me. It was just a start, but we'd gotten her to let her guard down and be sassy with us. "Oh hello. Yes, I was inquiring about getting reservations for the Mountain Climb." He listened. "Right. I know it's usually a long wait. Six months? Wow." He nodded. "Could you do me a favor and check to see if there are any cancellations? Any openings sooner?" Listening again. "Appreciate that." A moment later, his eyes sparkled. "That's amazing. Yes, hang on. I need to grab my wallet." He gave us a thumbs-up and disappeared into the living room.

Monroe and I looked after him. "He must have gotten a reservation."

"Yeah." It was just a question of when. "He said ‘amazing' so must be less than six months."

"Far less." He returned, holding the phone over his head in triumph. "How does tomorrow sound?"

"A little terrifying," I joked. "Lucky we have our intrepid female here to encourage us to stretch our limits."

"Oh, you don't want to do it?" she piped up. "We could do something else like a hike? A movie?"

Ansel shook his head. "No, remember we said we'd wanted to go, but every other time, the reservations were so far out, we were afraid to commit to them with all our other travel and commitments. You are the best lucky charm ever."