Chapter 9 - Cliff

Security was a pain in the ass at the wall. Every time the floodlight passed over the gate, I ducked Robyn into the bushes, ignoring her irritated chuffing sounds and the tiny pinches she gave me on my side. Even through the thickness of the flannel sweater, they still hurt. She had nails, and she wasn't afraid to use them.

Right as the shadows engulfed the area again, I flung Robyn over the gate, laughing quietly when she landed with a loud oof into the brush on the other side. I sailed over the gate, scooped her up, and sprinted out of the way of the searching spotlight. Gruff voices discussed possibly hearing something. We were long gone when they broke out the flashlights.

Since their pack territory was tucked away from the main road, I hid my car in the woods and hiked my way in. This way was easier—I could slip in and out without being noticed. Hopefully, without the influencing voices of her pack, I could convince her to marry me before the sun rose.

I slowed my pace near the car. As soon as I got her safely inside with her belt over her lap, I hopped into the driver's seat, popped the parking brake, and started the vehicle. The headlights splashed the trees with blinding white for a split second. After that, I maneuvered the car out of the spot and turned right, heading into town. However, we weren't going in to town. I had a special spot picked out for our conversation.

It was sure to be a walk down memory lane.

Several minutes went by in silence as my Mazda chugged along the two-lane road. I kept my hand resting on the gear shift. Every so often, I checked on Robyn, trying to read her expression through my peripheral vision. No luck there without streetlights. She kept wiping her cheeks and feeling her forehead. It made me wonder if she was worrying about Sydney or something.

"You okay?" I reached for her thigh. "Talk to me."

She swatted my hand playfully. "Be a gentleman."

"You mean tell you what to do? Got it." I pulled her hand away from her forehead. "Stop touching your face. You'll make it break out with pimples, and I'll never hear the end of it."

"I did that one time , Cliff."

I laughed. "You did it all the time . You never believed me. You smeared grease on your face at the diner and had acne for a whole month. Never heard of the end of it."

"I'll give you an ending." She jokingly held up a fist at me. "Don't tempt me."

"I'll pull this car over and kiss you wherever we stop."

She whimpered as her fist crumbled in her lap.

I chortled. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Why are you so mean to me?"

"Because I like you."

Though her responding silence made me nervous, I found it endearing. Robyn was a complicated woman with intense feelings. She was gifted at researching for professional debates and could probably convince anyone of anything—and while she could use that power for evil, she didn't. She refused to give the forces of darkness a chance.

That made her intensely beautiful.

Ahead of us, the road forked. I slowed to a halt, flipped my blinker to turn left, and paused. "I'm not just saying that because you should mate with me, Robyn. I'm saying that because I never got to say it before."

"You said it with your actions."

"And then I left."

She hissed and turned to look out the window. I took that opportunity to turn and follow the road at a brisk fifteen miles per hour to get to the water tower. After parking on the dirt road's curb, I hopped out of the vehicle and rounded the front to get to the passenger side.

The door clicked as I opened it. "And this is me making up for that."

"So, this is all a ploy to win my favor."

"Is it working?"

She stepped onto the cement walkway and hovered next to the passenger door. I didn't move my arm to allow her passage—and she didn't complain about it. We just stood there staring at each other.

Until a smile curved her lips. "Let's not get carried away again." She blinked once, hard. "I lose again. There."

"I wasn't starting anything."

She traced my chin to my throat. "Cliff, you always start something."

Then, she ducked under my arm and walked over the gravel to the water tower's ladder. The rhythmic crunch of her sneakers sounded behind me as I shut the car door. I shoved the keys into my pocket as I turned around, immediately thrown back into a core memory from several years ago.

Back then, the sun was shimmering brilliantly above the tower, haloing the structure like it was a spectacular futuristic building. Robyn stood with her right foot perched on the first step of the ladder and her left hand on her hip. She peeked back at me with a confident grin that shined as bright as the star above our heads.

"You coming?"

I blinked, and the memory dissipated, revealing the shadowy night blanketed around her shoulders as she mimicked that same position. Her hand was on her hip. Her smile was radiant. Her eyes were sparkling like miniature crystals illuminated with candlelight. I wandered over the gravel toward her, listening to the distinct crunch that splashed through the night.

Here, under the stars, everything felt natural with her. Everything felt right.

Why was she fighting me so hard about it?

I touched her cheek. "You remember the diner, right?"

"I remember everything."

My heart quivered. "Yeah, I was afraid of that."

She licked her lips, smiled, and then scaled the ladder, leaving me in the dust on the ground as her voluptuous ass teased me. Those flared jeans were taut enough to enhance her bottom, giving me something truly magnificent to observe as I tried to gather my thoughts.

Well, the view wasn't helping much.

About halfway, I stared after her, watching the flannel jacket she wore billow slightly in the breeze. The higher we got, the windier it felt until we were climbing under those domed safety bars installed for tower workers. Near the top, a big gust of wind slapped the side of my face. It felt like the universe sucker- punched me for not doing this sooner. Maybe I could have stopped Bill from getting possessed.

Maybe I could have ended up being Sydney's father instead of some deadbeat jerk-off who was probably a criminal.

Robyn disappeared over the last bar. She reappeared with her hair in her face, red-auburn hair like fire in the yellow floodlight from the tower's sign. She stuck out her hand. "Come on, loser."

"I thought you were the one who lost." I clutched her hand. "Didn't we say we can't afford another staring match?"

She stuck out her tongue while she helped me up the rest of the way. "We did."

"Ah, then it's settled."

"Nothing is ever settled between us, Cliff. Don't you know that by now?"

I stood next to her with spaghetti legs for a second as I adjusted to my new height in the world. Around me was Bangor, a magnificent little town with sprightly lights and an admirable population of generous humans. I didn't make it a habit of getting familiar with human towns, but Bangor had been different. People here were just nice.

"You know, this place isn't bad," I commented, "for being human-centered."

"Guys in town love sharing their goods."

I laughed. "Goddess, that just sounds filthy."

"Eh, it could be filthy. Could just be cigarettes.'

"I'd much rather focus on you than some filthy dudes offering their goods ."

She peered up at me, lightly kissing her cheeks and enhancing her smile. "Do you remember when you ditched me up here?"

My heart sank. "I'm afraid I don't, no."

She got a faraway look in her eyes as she looked out at the city with her arms snug across her chest. Flannel cotton fluttered around her pockets as her hair splashed across her face. She shoved it out of the way. "I waited all night for you."

"I can't believe anyone would do that."

"You were worth doing it for at the time."

I snickered awkwardly. "Hard to believe that, too."

She grabbed my hand. "Why? Do you think you're hard to love?"

Thoughts raced through my brain as my heart chugged ahead of me like a train speeding off the tracks. I was sure to crash if I kept staring down at Robyn with such an abjectly sorrowful frown. "No, it's not that."

"Then, why did you leave me for so long?"

"I just couldn't be with one person."

She snorted while releasing my hand. "Yeah, that tracks for you."

"Listen, Robyn," I said while capturing her hand. She fought to take it back, but I doubled down on my grip, keeping her locked to my side. "Stop pushing me away. Stop fighting me. I'm not leaving you this time ."

She halted with tears in her eyes, the droplets like diamonds decorating her eyelids with how the light illuminated her face. I cupped her cheeks and held her tenderly, ignoring the voice in the back of my head that tried to convince me to run away from her. I did it before. I could easily do it again. This time, I could stay away for four or five years. And what would bring me back? The news of her falling ill? Hitting her head? Getting hospitalized?

I closed my eyes while resting my forehead against hers. "No, I can't. I won't. I'm not going anywhere, Robyn. You can't push me away."

"I'm not pushing you away." She shoved her hands against my chest as she sniffled. "I don't…I can't…"

I hugged her. "I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot for leaving you so long. Goddess, Robyn, forgive me for doing that. I'm never doing it again. I promise."

"How do I know you mean it this time?"

"Because I'm going to challenge your Alpha," I stated proudly, "and I'm going to win. I'm going to become your next Alpha. I'll make you proud to be my mate."

Her next shuddering breath nearly shattered me. As I held her tight against the biting breeze, I observed the city, the place that I could call home if I gave up my place back in West Virginia. I didn't blame her for doubting my intentions. Three years had passed without a word, without any sign of me caring for her well-being.

"I should have called," I told her, "and I should have told Bill to shove it."

She laughed. "He would have punched you."

"You're worth taking a punch for."

"Why now?"

My heart stuttered in my chest. "The universe is telling me to do it."

"Why do it out of obligation?" She leaned back to look up at me. "Why not do it out of love?"

A softness entered her gaze like she was a lush sipping a glass of red wine. That wonder in her expression led to my lips grazing hers, to my fingers sliding over her arms, to my hand cradling her head so I could tilt her back.

And then I kissed her.

Doubt crept in as always, but there was something else inside me that clawed its way to the surface, something that told me to keep going.

Hope .

It had been in her face when I agreed to the Alpha plan. It was in her touch now, so obvious in her eager kiss that it drove me to clutch her flush to my chest. Every inch of her touched every inch of me. This was as it should be. This was what forever looked like.

How did I make sure it was permanent?

On cue, my canines sharpened. My gums ached as my body began to shift without my permission. I stumbled back and covered my mouth, chuckling nervously as I staved off my wolf. "Sorry, I just—"

"I think you bit my lip."

No other sentence could have sharpened my senses. I smelled the coppery scent next, that familiar aroma doubling the saliva on my tongue as my ears perked up. I shot upright and stared at the spot on her bottom lip that oozed rich crimson liquid.

I licked my lips. "Oh no , I didn't mean to…"

Mmm , why did that delicious stripe of scarlet call to me? I wandered with hypnotized eyes toward her, drawn in by the warmth of her lips that softly greeted my mouth. She pursed her lips as I lapped at the tiny opening in her flesh. A flash of heat crashed in my core as I took her in my arms again, spreading sloppy kisses to her jaw, throat, and then her shoulder. I nudged the sweater out of the way to access her warm flesh, hungry for her to be in my mouth in some way.

She arched against me and hugged my shoulders. "Cliff, wait."

I snapped my head back with a gasp. "What? Did I do too much?"

Her heavy eyelids told me otherwise. But her lips spilled a different story. "No. Yes. I just—" She huffed with irritation. "Can we just sit here for a minute?"

"Sure—Yeah—No problem."

I lowered her to the ground and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. After a second, she slumped into me, exhaling loudly, sending a cascade of steamy air over the edge of the water tower. The way it crept like fog made it seem like fall had come early.

I squeezed her. "I got carried away. Sorry."

"It's okay. I just want to make sure we take it easy. And then I don't want to—" She coughed abruptly. "I don't want to make any mistakes. We don't have a condom."

"You mean you don't want Sydney to have a sibling."

She crouched into her sweater. "Well…not yet."

My face burned as my chest burst with excited pings. "You want more kids?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

"I want kids, too."

She lifted her head. "You mean that?"

"Sure. Why wouldn't I mean that? I mean, I've totally fallen in love with Sierra. She's such a great baby. She's so mild, and she barely cries. I love spending time with her. She's like my little buddy."

Robyn sat up, loosely playing with my hand in her lap. "Yeah, she sounds cool."

"I can't wait till she gets bigger. She's going to be so smart. I'm probably going to take her to every museum in the area."

"Amazing."

I nodded. "Science, natural history, space—there won't be anything she doesn't know about. I'll make sure that kid is loaded with knowledge. It'll make her make better choices."

"I'm so glad you feel that way about a child who isn't yours."

"She's my niece, but that doesn't mean anything. I love caring for her." I nudged Robyn, who seemed to be preoccupied with something in town. "If I can be a good uncle, then maybe I can be a great dad, right?"

She raised her eyebrows without much emotion. "Sure."

"Hey, you okay?"

She faced me. "Yeah, why?"

"You just seem like you're a thousand miles away right now."

She swallowed hard as she broke eye contact. I was tempted to make a joke, but she didn't seem to be in a joking mood. "I think I'm just tired. It was a long day with Bill interrogating what my mother presumed was a good enough mate for me."

"Oh, you had a date?" I bent my legs and rested my elbows on my knees. "If I had known, I would have—"

"Crashed it?" She turned so our knees were touching. "Please, tell me you would have rescued me from that boring tea party."

I half-smirked. "Maybe. Only with your permission."

"Save me from plenty of future ones tomorrow?"

"Is that a request?"

She nodded slowly and then bashfully smiled. "Please?"

I grinned, cupping her face with a shaky hand. The wind was starting to get to me despite the layers I was wearing. While I looked into her eyes, I noticed the warm affection pouring from her body into mine.

Knowing that she meant her words, it was easy for me to say, "Yes, Princess. Of course…"