He wasn’t worried about them hitting on Sally, nor was his behavior because of the natural possessiveness of his species. He was worried because he knew those who ran the Order of the Burning Claw were probably furious they’d lost Sally. They’d gone to great lengths to not only abduct her but also to strip her of her memories and identity in hopes of teaching her about the supernatural world from their perspective. In essence, they had attempted to brainwash her. He knew he and Sally weren’t out of the woods yet. Until they’d ferreted out the members of the Order and brought them down, he would be extra vigilant when not in the protected walls of the pack mansion.
Even though Vasile had felt certain they would be safe flying to Coldspring, Costin hadn’t wanted to take the risk with his mate. It was Lilly, however, who’d changed his mind. She’d pulled him and Sally to the library and explained she’d had a vision and that it was very important that Sally go home. She was vague, but she’d said that it was vital to their future.
So, they’d gone. The entire time they were packing, Sally was second-guessing their decision. She hadn’t wanted to leave Titus. Lilly was adamant the boy stay with the pack. Sally was equally as adamant she stay with her son. They were family, after all, she’d argued. Of course, their amazingly astute son had put his mother at ease. Costin rested his chin on Sally’s head as he remembered how the scene had played out only an hour before they left.
“If we’re going, then our son should come with us,” Sally said as she unfolded and refolded the same shirt five or six times.
Costin walked over and took the shirt from her. He rolled it into a ball and then tucked it into the corner of her suitcase. T-shirt folding problem solved. Why can’t everything be that simple?
“Mommy?” A happy voice came from the doorway of their room.
Sally turned, and her face lit up as she knelt and opened her arms. Titus didn’t hesitate as he ran to her and threw his arms around her neck. A couple minutes later, Titus pulled back to look at his adopted mother. There was something so intense about staring into the boy’s eyes, something incredibly compelling.
“You need to go, and I need to stay,” he said gently. “Just because I’m here and you’re there doesn’t mean we aren’t still a family.”
Sally’s eyes filled with unshed tears. “How do you know what to always say?”
His answering grin was bright, and his eyes twinkled mischievously. “My angel came to see me last night.”
Sally’s eyes widened. “The woman dressed in all white?”
He nodded. “She told me sometimes, in order for an injury to heal, it has to be reopened so any infection inside can be cleaned out. You have to go backward so you can go forward. She also told me I was needed here to keep Aunt Jen on her toes.”
Costin laughed and felt some of the weight of leaving Titus behind ease.
“Thank you for telling me this, Titus,” Sally said. “You know we love you so very much. And I’m sorry I haven’t been here much lately. It won’t always be like this, okay?”
“Even this is better than where you found me, mommy mine,” he said and patted her cheek with his small hand. Hearing him call her the same endearment as Costin seemed to be the pebble that broke the dam. Tears streamed down Sally’s face as she once again pulled their son into her arms.
“Passengers who have tickets for flight 432 please make your way to gate twelve. We will be begin boarding in five minutes.” The voice blaring over the intercom jolted Costin back to the present, and his wolf scolded him for taking his attention off of their surroundings. You were keeping an eye on things, Costin told his wolf. His wolf growled. The watching eyes of two are better than one. Don’t take chances with our mate. Costin didn’t bother to respond. His wolf was in a state of constant agitation. The beast didn’t like Sally to be more than a foot away from them. His wolf wanted to be touching her skin at all times. It needed the reassurance that she was real, tangible, and not leaving them.
“I am not going anywhere,” Sally said gently through their bond and directed the thought to his wolf.
“You can go anywhere you like, mate,” his wolf rumbled. “But we will be going with you.”
“Your wolf is feeling extra possessive,” she said to Costin.
“He’s actually your wolf, and yes, if it was up to him we would carry you everywhere just to be touching you. He longs for you, just as I do, Sally. He adores you.” He felt the joy his words caused and squeezed her briefly. He wasn’t close enough. The stupid clothes were in the way, and he and his wolf were in agreement that clothes should be banned once true mates had been bonded.
“So, you would have us standing completely naked in this airport?” Sally asked, a small bit of laughter joining her words.
Costin growled, partly because, hell no, he didn’t want her naked in front of a bunch of people, and partly because he loved the idea of her naked.
“Those with tickets in first class may board now,” the woman said into the intercom.
“That’s us,” Sally said over her shoulder and started forward.
When they were in their seats and settled, he stretched his legs out in front of him and sighed. “Thank the Great Luna that Jen got us first class.”
Sally chuckled. “I don’t think you would have fit in the chairs in coach.” She eyed him up and down as if to judge his measurements.
“It would have been a bit uncomfortable,” he admitted. They were quiet as the rest of the passengers boarded. Costin reached over and took her hand in his, twining their fingers together. He was sitting in the aisle seat, so he didn’t have a window through which he could gaze outside. So, instead, he pressed his head back against the plush seat and closed his eyes. He allowed his wolf’s senses to take over in order to protect their mate. He nearly laughed when his wolf started to get distracted by Sally. Her scent was wrapping around them in the small space. Her heartbeat was a steady rhythm that had somehow become hypnotic. Her skin against his hand was soft as silk, and his mouth watered with the need to taste her.
He growled low as he thought about the times she’d allowed him to refresh the bite mark she bore on her neck. It didn’t need refreshing, but he liked having her scent running through his veins after taking a small amount of her blood and tasting her skin because she belonged to him, and he had the right to her blood.
“No growling,” Sally whispered as she bumped his leg with hers. “And holy werewolf babies, stop thinking about what you’re thinking about.”
He smiled, and his eyes popped open. He lowered his head and turned to face her. “What am I thinking about, Sally mine?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. You can’t think about that kind of stuff in public.” Her voice was short and clipped, but she was barely containing the smile trying to spread across her face.
“And what should I think about in public then?” he asked.
“Taxes,” she muttered.
“Are you on a desk covered in tax documents ready to be ravished by your husband?”
She choked as she tried to swallow. “Fine, think about squirrels on crack.”
“Are the squirrels on crack being captured to rid their plague on the world and then their fur being made into a fur coat that you could wear with nothing under it and surprise me at the bar?”
She huffed, and he tried really hard not to laugh. It was so fun to play with her. His wolf wanted to howl and roll around on the floor like an idiot with his feet in the air.