8. Nolan

Chapter 8

Nolan

A fter the greenhouse, I make up my mind.

I’m going to ask Coral to be my mate.

She’s perfect. I love who I am around her. I love the unique way that she sees the world, and the way that she makes me look at everything in a new light. I love the joy she takes in every moment, and I don’t want to be without her. Ever.

The only problem is that interspecies mating is very, very rare. Most alphas don’t approve of that type of mate bond, because so much could go wrong.

I don’t know anything about the fae, really, other than what Coral has offered. I’ve seen her magic in action, and it leaves me absolutely stunned every time. She is magic like I’ve never seen. She’s so different from what I’m used to as a shifter. But I love it all the same.

I don’t want anyone to be my mate… except Coral. Which is good, because my thirtieth birthday is on the horizon, and I can already feel some of my power fading.

It started when I fought the jaguar shifter. Normally, I can take care of other shifters pretty handily. I’m big, I’m strong, and there are very few who can walk away from a fight with me. But that jaguar shifter almost killed me.

I haven’t told Coral how close it was, but… I was fuckin’ nervous at the time. I can feel it in other ways, too. My wolf feels distant. I’m not filled with energy. It’s harder to shift.

The weird part, though, is that no one has asked about me. Not even my sister. Amara hasn’t checked in, hasn’t said anything about the fact that now, my thirtieth birthday is less than a month away.

It feels… shitty. If I’m always the one who’s there for everyone, why is no one there for me?

“Nolan?” I hear Coral call. She’s been in the garden for a while now.

I need to go tell Thorne what I’m asking for. I hope he’ll give it to me.

Walking over to the garden, I pause.

Coral is staring at the pumpkins. One of them has a giant, squirrel-sized hole chewed out of it. When Coral glances back, she’s frowning. “For some reason, the pumpkin didn’t tell me that it was being chewed through.”

“Maybe it was happy to be food?”

“Maybe. I don’t know…”

I lean over and kiss her. Coral smiles into the kiss, relaxing slightly. “What was that for?”

“No reason. Just because I like you.” I smile.

Coral grins. “I like you, too!”

“Good. Coral…”

She’s blinking up at me, listening intently.

“I like what we have here. Together,” I clarify.

“Me too,” she agrees.

“How would you feel about… staying here? For longer than just… like, moving in with me?”

Coral’s eyes widen. “Like, forever?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Yes!” she cries. “I need to get some things, but?—”

I cut her off with another kiss. “Good. Let me go talk to Thorne, and we’ll go to the cottage to get your stuff.”

“Okay!” She pecks a kiss on my cheek and goes to the pumpkins, fingers outstretched to heal the squirrel damage.

I watch her before turning to leave.

Coral’s perfect. Now, I just have to talk Thorne into realizing she’s perfect for me.

I have to wait for a minute when I get to Thorne’s office. He’s got some teenage pups in with him, and he’s giving them a hell of a dressing down. It makes me cringe, but he’s a good alpha. One day, he might have to talk to my kids like that…

I freeze.

Could Coral and I even have children? I’m not sure. I don’t know. Even if we couldn’t, I would want her. End of story.

When the pups finally slink out, Thorne is visibly in a bad mood. I’m nervous about what that means, but I also know that I need to ask him about this. And it has to be today.

“Alpha,” I say, nodding at him. “Hard day?”

“I swear, those pups are going to be the death of me,” he groans. “This time, they were at the mall. In Silverthorne.”

I wince. That’s nearly a two-hour drive away. “That’s rough.”

“Yeah. One of them was in wolf form, and the others were trying to sell tickets to pet them. As part of a ‘save the wolves’ charity,” Thorne says, knocking his head back against his desk chair. “Evander happened to find them when he was buying his mate a present.”

“That is both inventive and embarrassing,” I respond.

“Yeah. Well. I would really like to have neither one of those problems,” he sighs. “What can I help you with, Nolan?”

“I want to ask you about Coral.”

Thorne hardens. His eyes narrow. “That’s interesting as well.”

“Why?”

He leans forward, his hands flat on the desk. “Tell me what you wanted to tell me.”

Alarm bells are ringing in my head. But this is Thorne. He’s fair, he’s a great alpha, and I’ve always done anything that he’s asked me to do.

There’s no way that he’s going to say no. He owes me.

“I want to ask Coral to be my mate,” I say. No point in beating around the bush.

It’s a direct question. And I’m expecting a direct answer.

What I’m not expecting, however, is for Thorne to slap his hands on the desk and growl.

“You have to be fucking kidding me.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“I heard rumors, but I didn’t think they would be true. Nolan—reliable, dependable Nolan—would never take advantage of someone who was in a vulnerable position like Coral is. He wouldn’t try anything, because he’s Nolan,” Thorne sneers.

Anger rises in me.

“I didn’t believe them. But now you’re here, and you’re asking me to approve Coral as your mate? No fucking way.”

I can barely contain the snarl in my throat. “It’s not like that. Coral and I care about each other.”

“And you just thought you’d waltz in here and tell me that you’re going to ask her to be your mate?”

“Yes, Thorne. I like her. She likes me. I’m about to turn thirty in a month?—”

“That’s not her fucking problem,” Thorne snaps. “She’s being hunted. She’s a faerie. She’s not one of us, Nolan, and I don’t give a shit that you left it until the last minute to find a mate. Coral doesn’t deserve someone who would take advantage of her?—”

“Take advantage?” I bark. “I didn’t take advantage of her, asshole. We care about each other.”

“She can’t care about you! She’s vulnerable, and your job was to protect her, not fuck her!” Thorne roars.

We stare at each other. Chest heaving, I search his eyes for some hint of understanding. My wolf is itching to fight him. It’s taking all of my restraint to keep myself from shifting.

“Find another mate to make up for your stupid fucking mistake, Nolan. It’s not Coral’s problem that you didn’t find one in time, and you are not going to take advantage of her.”

“Thorne—”

“Point. Blank. Period. Would you defy your alpha?”

Shit. Shit. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t fight Thorne. Not when I’m weak like this.

I hold his gaze for a few more seconds, then I look to the side.

“You’ll take her back to her place. I’ll find someone else to guard her,” Thorne barks.

I don’t argue.

Leaving his office, I stomp out. I decide to run home instead of drive.

Taking two steps, I freeze. I have to tell Coral that we’re…

There’s no fucking way I can do that. Telling her that it’s over between us? It’s not true.

Coral can’t lie. I can. But I never want to. She’s been so honest and open with me. I can’t tell her that I’m going to mate someone else. I don’t care if I lose all my power. If I have to choose between living as a shifter and living without her, I’ll pick Coral.

Every time.