Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 36

Willow

Ronnie broke into my wandering thoughts when she returned with a few items that she had retrieved from the closet. She handed me the items and then gently encouraged me to take a quick shower before we talked anymore.

I had been eager to see what Ronnie had procured for me, seeing as it had been several years since I had had anything new, but I found that the late hour and my full belly were catching up with me.

I glanced down at what she had handed me, noticing a pair of sleep shorts, panties, and a loose-fitting tank top. I was thrilled to realize that all of the items looked like they would fit me.

A shower sounded divine right this moment, but I needed to show Ronnie the depth of my appreciation for all that she had done for me so far before I would be able to enjoy the simple luxury.

I gathered the new clothes into my left arm as I leaned forward and wrapped Ronnie in a tight embrace with my other. She readily accepted my affection as I said, “Thank you so much Ronnie, for dinner, for the clothes, for everything really. I cannot thank you enough for everything that you have done for me.”

She squeezed me tightly one more time before pulling back and saying, “It really is nothing, Willow. You should know the clothes and a few of the other surprises were Jax, though. I just picked them out. He really cares about you. Now go take your shower so we can talk more before the guys are done filling him in. I missed you all day!”

She finished on a carefree note, not-so-subtly changing the subject and gently pushing me in the direction of the bathroom.

I allowed her words to sink in as I retreated to the restroom, barely taking in the details as I went, too lost in my own thoughts.

However, the freezing cold water quickly brought my mind sharply back into focus after I had stripped and gotten into the walk-in shower, which I had somehow discerned in my foggy state how to operate. Apparently, not very well though, my wolf snickered in my head.

I had been too lost to even pay attention to the temperature of the water. I was shocked I had even got the damn thing on to be honest. I quickly adjusted the dials, sighing in relief when the warm water poured over me, soothing my overworked muscles. Damn, was that run worth it though.

I knew I had overdone it earlier, but I could not bring myself to care. My wolf’s fading presence had really worried me before, but today had gone a long way to reassuring me that we would be okay in the long run.

Shifting today had made a world of difference. Though I suspected it would still be difficult to shift between forms the next few times at least, the elation my wolf had felt, was still feeling, had been well worth it.

I looked around the shower, noticing my favorite scent of shampoo, Jax’s too if I remembered correctly, a warm blush staining my cheeks. I put the thought aside as I quickly lathered up my long tresses, wanting to get back out to Ronnie as soon as possible.

My hair took the longest to care for out of my whole personal hygiene routine, but after another twenty minutes or so, I was finally dressed, with my long hair thrown up in a towel to dry. I hung the second towel that I had used to dry my body up on an empty rack nearby before exiting the bathroom.

However, I could not help but pause to glance at my appearance in the mirror before I did so. Though my eyes looked tired, they held a fresh sort of exhilaration that they had sorely lacked for a long time now. I realized then that I had not been truly living in the moment the past couple of years, not that anyone could blame me.

Nonetheless, I wanted things to be different going forward. I vowed then and there to try to let go of my past hang-ups enough to be able to connect with these wonderful people that my mate considered family.

With that thought bolstering my confidence, I stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to where Ronnie was standing near the window, a loud, involuntary yawn escaping from my lips as I went.

Ronnie chuckled, turning from where she was gazing outside, “It is alright. I know you have had a long day, and you still need extra rest until the wolfsbane is completely out of your system. I would give it another couple of days of taking it easy, as I know you did not exactly follow the doctor’s orders all day today.”

She ended with a mild chastisement, giving me a disapproving look as she finished.

I mustered up at least the attempt of a remorseful look while she finished walking over to intercept my path and steer me towards the bed instead.

I was just now realizing how pushy Ronnie was. I had seen it with Jax, but it had never been extended in my direction before, or I had not noticed it anyway.

She was several inches taller than my 5 foot 5 inches, but her slim figure had no chance in hell of moving my curvy self unless I wanted her to.

Nevertheless, I knew that she just wanted the best for me. It was a nice change of pace, so I allowed her to help me into bed before she settled in a nearby chair to talk, presumably until Jax arrived.

I had to admit that I was excited to be sleeping next to him again, but my wolf chose that moment to speak up saying there were plenty of other things we could be doing with him alone in this big, comfortable bed.

Ronnie thankfully saved me from having to respond just then by saying, “Do you want to talk about your shift or anything else that happened today? You and Jax seemed pretty close earlier.” She finished in an offhand tone, though the twinkle in her eye did not do much to fool me.

It was apparently out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak.

I thought about her observation momentarily before responding, shoving my wolf further back in my mind as I did so. Jax and I had grown closer, closer than I had realized, but the more I thought about it, the more I was okay with that realization.

However, I noticed the sound of the males talking in the kitchen carrying through the walls now that Ronnie and I were not speaking. It was not surprising given the smaller size of the building, but that fact did help make up my mind over whether I wanted to confide in Ronnie about anything for the time being. I was busy trying not to nod off, to tell the truth, anyway.

I managed to weakly shake my head no, not able to come up with a response in my tired state.

Ronnie apparently decided to take pity on me and let the subject drop for now. I knew she would bring it up later, but I was okay with that. I needed someone to talk with, someone other than my mate, but definitely not when I knew we could be overheard.

She must have also noticed how drowsy I was because she did all of the talking, until I could hear Jax’s light tread advancing quietly down the hall what seemed like only a few minutes later. I vaguely registered she mentioned something about her putting everything in the closet for me.

I think I might have responded to her, but in all honesty, I was not sure I would remember this conversation tomorrow. I would have to do a thorough search in the morning, but my thoughts were quickly diverted by my mate appearing within the doorframe to the room. Ronnie, taking that as her queue to leave, left with a soft goodnight and promise to see me again tomorrow.

I may have said something in response, but my wolf and I only had eyes for Jax in that moment. He advanced towards the bed without any delay, lightly sitting down beside me and leaning down to press a k**s against my temple. I registered the door closing in the background as he sat back up with a soft look in his eyes.

“Hey, sweetheart. Give me a few minutes to get cleaned up and I will be right back.” He promised, gently squeezing my arm before retrieving some clothes from the closet and entering the bathroom, with one last, lingering look in my direction.

My exhaustion seemed to momentarily recede with Jax’s presence. I could still feel the minor aches and pains caused by my full day, but my wolf had been able to help with the majority of it since I had shifted earlier. My wolf had also perked up with the appearance of our mate.

I could hear him moving around in the small room as the water turned on and the scent of his body wash filled the air.

My weariness returned with his absence, but my wolf and I fought the blackness seeping into our vision. Only until our mate returned; then, we would allow the darkness to reign.