Reaching You

Chapter 28: Paige

After dinner, Ryder and I go up to his room. I get changed in my pyjamas and turn around to only smack right into Ryder's bare chest. I let out an embarrassing yelp as his arms cradle me as we fall over. My cheeks turn red and I wiggle myself out of his arms. "Paige? Are you ok?" He asks a smirk on his lips. But I see the concern in his eyes even though I was the one who rammed into him like a bull. We get up but I accidentally step on the towel covering his lower half. "I'M SORRY" I shrieked as I exposed him. After a few moments of shameful ogling, I slap my hands over my eyes.

Ryder bursts out laughing and I hear him picking up the towel. He gently pries my hands off my face. "This isn't how I imagined tonight to go." He declares a wide smile. He then puts on boxers and I watch him scramble to look for something to wear. I realize that he usually sleeps only in his boxers. "Ryder?" I say, hesitantly. He turns around and I swallow as I take in his godlike physique. I shake my head to get rid of the image of him. "You can sleep in boxers," I whispered, getting inside the bed. He beams and closes the drawer. He turns off the light and he gets inside the other side of the bed. I hear some shuffling and my heart skips a beat as he pulls me closer to him. The warmth of his body soothes me and my wolf. "Thank you," He says, making me smile. His arm holds me close and I feel my eyelids getting heavier. "Oh Paige, don't think I didn't see you checking me out earlier." He says, teasingly. Too sleepy to argue, I fall asleep without any nightmares.

I flinch as the sunlight hits my face from the window. I lazily open my eyes I find my legs tangled with Ryder's. I look up to see him staring at me. I gasp and jump back. This causes me to almost fall off the bed. But Ryder scoops me up, back onto the bed. "I'm sorry I scared you. Morning, Paige." He says, his voice huskier than usual. My wolf was waggling her tail and was drooling over our mate. He was a sight for sore eyes. His hair was tousled from sleep and his eyes were twinkling with mirth. "Morning," I say, my voice hoarse as I realized how little distance there was between us. I peered at the clock to see it was 10:00. "You're late for your Alpha duties," I say, shocked. Ryder was never late and I knew because Liam always woke up around 6:00, saying that Ryder was pestering him.

Ryder stretches his arms out and yawns. "I took the week off." He explains. My wolf yips pleased by the news. "Get dressed. Something warm, I'm taking you somewhere." He says, getting out of bed. He shrugs on a shirt and makes his way towards the door. "Where are you going?" I whispered, confused. "I have to check up on the newly shifted pups. I'll meet you in front of the packhorse. Mind link me." He elaborates, a smile on his lips. He pauses and makes his way back towards me. I gasp as sparks fly as he kisses the top of my head. He then leaves the room without another word. I jump out of bed and make my way into the bathroom. I love our mate so much. He is being so sweet. Hope babbles in my mind as I wash my hair. He was. But I tell myself that it is just his wolf instincts and the mate bond that make him so. I would not be fooled by the mate bond. I repeat this like a mantra beneath the running water.

Yet, I find myself struggling to find an outfit. I sighed and slip on the outfit that Hope suggests. It was the most modest out of all the options she had insisted on. I slip on my sneakers and make my way downstairs. I step outside the packhouse. Ryder has not arrived yet. Curious, I follow his scent to find him in the forest with two young boys; Colton and Jasper. The boys adore him and I smiled as I watched Ryder ruffle their hair. He then turns his head and his eyes meet mine. Jasper tugs on his pants and whispers something in Ryder's ear. I flush, feeling embarrassed that I was caught spying on him. "LUNA!" Yelps Colton, excitedly. He grabs my hand and leads me into the forest where Ryder is. "Alpha was teaching us how to shift back," Jasper says, looking pleased with himself. I smiled. "Luna? What were you doing? Were you spying on us?" Jasper asks, with an angelic smile. I feel Ryder's gaze on me. I laughed. "No. I was... looking for Giana's earring. She said she lost it." I lied, which somehow convinced Jasper and Colton.

"We can help you," Colton says, starting to look around in the bushes. I yelped, my cheeks heating up. "It's okay, Giana mind-linked me. She found it in her bag. So careless." I stammered, making Ryder's smug grin grow wider. The boys beam and my heart is heavy with guilt. Ryder wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me to his side. "Colton. Jasper. Your Luna and I have to get going. Make sure you rest and eat." Ryder retorts, making the boys nod. We watch the boys head back towards their house. Jasper turns his head around with a grin. "Enjoy your date, Alpha." He calls over his shoulder. That kid! Ryder laughs and he takes my hand. We get into the car. He opens the passenger door for me and quickly gets inside. He starts driving. "You look beautiful." He says, making me flush. My wolf was drooling over our mate. He did look amazing with his beautiful grey eyes. The shirt was snug against his muscular chest and Hope went on about his butt which I tried not to peek at but failed miserably. We must be so good in our past life! Our mate is soooo hot. Hope fangirls.

He pulls over and I notice that we have arrived at the ice rink in our town. I look at Ryder. He rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I heard from Giana that you loved ice skating." He explains, the tips of ears turning slightly pink. I smiled."What are you waiting for? Let's go!" I declared, hopping out the car. He grins and follows me inside.

He was making an effort and I needed to do the same.