Page 25 of Plus-Size Sold Mate
Giving Sera space feels more like enduring an open flame against my skin, but I do it anyway.
Regardless of the size, the cabin seems too small for what we are right now, so when she retreats outside, I try not to linger for too long. I patrol the perimeter idly, taking a few moments to myself to just sit on the protruding rocks of the cliffside and digest everything. I also try to convince myself that I’m not just tracking the steady pulse of her on the other side of that connection between us.
The bond doesn’t disappear with distance. Instead, it stretches and pulls, applying far more pressure than I’m comfortable with, only making it worse.
Our conversation on the dock this morning felt like progress, but it isn’t enough.
Trying to keep enough distance to make her comfortable isn’t how I’m used to doing things. Normally, I’m direct, with a clear objective and definitive threats. But now, none of those things apply.
The restraint is killing me slowly but surely. Every time she moves just out of reach, or her scent on the breeze is sent my way, I feel everything in me tighten up with the need to cut that space between us, and to claim what’s supposed to be mine.
But each time that word comes back to the surface, I push it down again.
I know she isn’t property, and she shouldn’t be reduced to something that needs to be marked and defended. Still, she’s my mate, and knowing she hates me is eating at me more than I want it to.
The bond doesn’t care about nuance or how it came to be. Instead, it just craves proximity and emotion. It wants to be nurtured, regardless of what either of us wants, and that need is getting harder to ignore.
As the hours pass and I find myself nowhere near close enough to lowering her guard yet, a small voice in the back of my mind quietly urges me to cut this whole thing short. Tradition says we remain here for three nights and use both the cabin and the land as we wish, so long as it means growing closer.
It’s enforced intimacy and riddled with expectation, but that encouragement to bond is crucial for new mates. But in most instances, said couples have chosen each other. Typically, it doesn’t take much encouragement for them to skip right to the consummation.
In our case, that proximity is driving a wedge between us, and I know she feels trapped.
But if I ended the retreat too soon, it would leave too much room for speculation in the pack, and with their hesitation to bolster my cause concerning magic use, I can’t risk more doubt. It won’t help her, and it won’t help us.
By the afternoon, I’ve made my decision and call my siblings.
When I find Sera again, she’s standing just outside, arms crossed, while she watches as Eve and Isaac approach the cabin, and not far behind them, my buddies pour out of the Jeeps. I’m not surprised that they tagged along.
“What’s going on?” she asks me once I’m close enough for her to register, brows furrowing.
“I thought you could use a break from me,” I say lightly. “I invited some reinforcements.”
She looks at me with utter confusion in her eyes. “What about tradition?”
I shrug. “Tradition can be flexible, within reason.”
“Why?”
There are so many reasons I could give: because it looks like she’s suffocating, because the resentment is building every time she has to endure me near her, and because if I don’t do something soon, we’re both going to lose our minds.
Instead, I murmur, “Because this isn’t helping.”
Sera studies me, and a flicker of surprise passes through her features. However, she doesn’t voice her thoughts. Instead, she pulls back just a touch and watches as the others approach.
The retreat is supposed to be symbolic and more like a foundation for many years of connection to come, but I can’t stand for it to ruin everything before we’ve really had a chance to start.
Eve rushes forward first, like usual. She wheels a small overnight bag behind her and grins at us, all bright-eyed and full of warmth. She has always been like a star in her own way, and if anything, the pack sees her as a gem to be protected.
“We started packing the second I got your message,” she says, greeting Sera first with a brief hug that seems to startle her a bit. Then she looks at me. “Don’t worry…we told Dad we were going on a sibling bonding trip.”
Isaac scoffs as he adjusts the backpack on his shoulder. “I barely had my bag packed before you were pulling me out the door.”
Eve just gives a shameless smile, far too pleased with herself. “It sounded important.”
“Just promise you won’t be too overbearing,” I warn them, glancing between the two. They both just mirror that same knowing look.
“And your dad actually believed that lame excuse?” Dominic asks with a grin as he drapes an arm over Eve’s shoulders like a nuisance. “Must be losing his touch.”
