"Give me back my mate," I growled out, glaring at Nixon as we walked in for same direction Cronan had disappeared to.
"Clearly, I can't do that right now."
"Tell your mate to bring him back. I don't want Cronan to get hurt."
Nixon sighed. "Relax, Tatum wouldn't hurt a fly."
"That doesn't mean I trust him with Cronan," I shot back. "I don't know what he could be doing to him."
"Realistically speaking? Probably talking about us. If I know my mate well, and I do, this was probably an attempt to get you and me together."
I frowned at the thought. "Why? You and I already talked." Nixon shrugged and my eyes narrowed. "Why, Nixon?"
"Because maybe I was too snippy last time," he grumbled out. "Because I've received calls from both Eli and Nolan telling me I should consider hearing you out more after the last time we talked and I didn't know how to do that. This is Tatum's strange way of making that happen for me."
"By kidnapping my mate?"
"Don't be dramatic. He did not kidnap your mate."
"That's what it looked like."
"If he really wanted to leave then Tatum would let him," Nixon said matter-of-factly. "I think I know where they are anyway."
I followed Nixon, aware of the way he kept glancing at me. After a few awkward minutes, I sighed and asked, "What did you want to talk about?"
He hesitated. "I guess just you in general. What was your life like before you left the pack and after? I know a little, obviously, from secondhand recounts but you never really know until you go to the source, so that's what I'm doing."
Hearing Nixon speak reminded me of how little the two of us actually spoke one-on-one even though I was his brother's gamma and he'd been my alpha. The two of us just never had that kind of relationship.
"I liked our pack. I enjoyed being Nolan's beta and all, but realistically speaking, I don't think I ever really felt at home there."
Nixon nodded, processing my words. "What do you mean by that?"
"I didn't grow up there like everyone else did. I was a member because of my parents, but my home was always with my grandparents. I felt like I was always playing a role, you know? Supporting everyone else while trying to fit into the mold of what a good gamma should be and make my parents proud. It was rewarding in some ways, but ultimately... it wasn't me. I think that's what originally made me want to befriend Eli. He understood that to some degree."
"Then your crush started to develop," Nixon mentioned and I nodded.
"I can't tell you when it started because I honestly don't know. It just kind of hit me in the face one day. I thought I knew all there was about mates and I was so sure Eli and I would be a pair." I shook my head. "And when it turned out we weren't, I was completely blindsided."
"What about now? Are you over your crush?"
"Yes," I answered instantly. "I love Cronan to the moon and beyond."
I didn't think I would, especially when I first met him but I did. I loved my snarky, blue-eyed mate who had a bigger heart than he let on.
"Was it difficult to get him to accept the bond? He is Eli's friend right?"
"It was," I admitted. "He didn't trust me at the beginning, didn't want me around, and basically just hated my guts, but he came around. Honestly, I don't know where I'd be if I hadn't found out he was my mate when I went to Oakwood."
It wasn't a future I wanted to imagine either.
"Eli told me he saw you not too long ago. My first instinct was to give you a piece of my mind of course, but the more I talked to him, the more I realized he seemed happy about the conversation you had. He told me it was 'almost like he was talking to the old Fen'. Then Nolan called me the other day and told me you were doing much better and I just wanted to see what they meant I guess." He paused and took a good look at me. "You seem happier and not like you're constantly bored anymore. Do you plan on staying up here with Ambrose, returning to Oakwood, or something else?"
"We...haven't given it much thought," I admitted.
Cronan and I never talked about what we planned on doing in the future or where we planned to be. Everything was still new, but we had time.
As if he knew I was thinking about him, Cronan's warm laughter echoed through the air which caused me to speed up. Cronan and Tatum sat on the edge, talking and laughing
"See? Not kidnapped," Nixon said.
My sweet mate caught a whiff of my scent and his head immediately turned to me, the smile on his face growing. I felt the tension in my shoulders melt away, seeing him so at ease.
"Hey." He stood up from where he sat beside Tatum. "Miss me already?"
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips. "You could say that. Thought you were kidnapped."
Cronan chuckled, glancing at Tatum. "Kidnapped? Nah, just getting to know your friend's mate a little better."
"I wouldn't go as far as to say we're friends," Nixon interjected. "But I dislike you a little less now which I guess is thanks to my mate."
Tatum raised his hands defensively, a grin of his own forming. "Just trying to help, promise."
Nixon shook his head. "Well, mission accomplished. We talked a bit."
Cronan stepped closer to me, his hand brushing mine. "See? No harm done." His voice softened, dropping the playful tone. "You okay?"
I nodded, feeling a strange mix of relief and affection. "Yeah, just making sure you were okay."
"He caught me by surprise, but we just talked really."
"About what?"
"Their pack, our bond, and about you and Nixon."
"What about Nixon and I?"
"Mostly how we hope after today, you both will be able to actually talk and sort things out," Tatum said. "No more tiptoeing around each other or letting the past linger."
He seemed to look at his mate when he said those words and Nixon nodded. "I guess that's something we could work towards. Just don't go expecting us to be best friends, but if I see you around then I'll keep the peace."
"Good," Tatum encouraged, grinning like a lovesick puppy at Nixon. "That's all I ask. Keeping the peace is a good start."
Nixon glanced down at him, a soft smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, yeah. Don't make too big of a deal out of it."
Tatum's eyes flicked between us, his smile widening. "See? This wasn't so bad after all. We're all making progress."
Cronan gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Guess it just took a little push. And some unconventional methods."
"You mean kidnapping."
"I prefer to call it 'strategic intervention.'"
Nixon groaned, shaking his head. "Let's not glorify it. I'm still deciding if this was a good idea or not."
"It was," Tatum insisted, wrapping an arm around Nixon's waist, clearly proud of the result. "Eli will be excited when you both tell him."
Nixon sighed, but a slight smile remained on his face as he looked at Tatum. "We'll see about that. Eli has a habit of getting too excited over things like this."
Tatum laughed softly, leaning into Nixon. "That's just because he cares. Speaking of which, we should get going."
Cronan raised an eyebrow. "Already heading out?"
"Yeah," Tatum said. "We've been here longer than we planned. I'm sure our pack is ready for us to return."
"It was nice to meet you," Cronan told Tatum and extended a hand out.
"You too." Tatum took his hand.
"If you're ever in Oakwood, you should stop by."
"The same can be said for you. If you ever plan to stop by the Howling Night with your brother, let me know."
Tatum and Nixon left not long after that, leaving Cronan and me alone.
"That was an eventful day." Cronan smiled. "A good day too. I feel like we got a bunch done."
"Yeah, but I kind of miss the days when you and I could hang out and just enjoy each other's company," I told him.
Cronan's smile softened as he wrapped his arms around me. "We've been so caught up in everything, haven't we?"
I leaned into him, resting my head against his shoulder. "Yeah. Between dealing with the kids, sorting things out with Nixon, and figuring out where we fit into everything... I feel like we haven't had much time for just us. I want to change that."
"What do you mean?" Cronan asked.
"Maybe it's time for us to leave too," I told him and he pulled away to fully look at me.
"Are you sure? We don't have to if you aren't ready. You know that."
"I did what I came here to do," I told him honestly. "The kids here are happy. So many of them are going to homes and packs soon that'll love them. Knowing that makes me unbelievably happy, but I can't see myself staying here forever."
I knew if I wanted to, Ambrose would let me with no questions asked but I couldn't imagine myself doing so.
"What do you want to do?" Cronan questioned carefully.
I shrugged. "I don't know yet, but I do know that right now, at this moment, I want to go home with you. Back to Oakwood and figure out the rest from there."
"What about Lola and Abel?"
"They'll be okay," I assured him. Was it hard to leave them? Yes, but I knew I'd see them again. "They'll understand. We can come down for their actual adoption day too."
Cronan studied my face, searching for any sign of doubt, but I could tell he saw what I felt—certainty, clarity. This was what I wanted. We had done so much here, and the experience had changed us both, but it was time to go back. Time to see what our life could be together.
"Oakwood, huh?" he mused, a small smile tugging at his lips. "I like the sound of that."
I smiled back. "Me too."
He pulled me closer, resting his forehead against mine. "Then let's go home, Fen. Together."
"Together," I echoed back in agreement and leaned forward to capture his lips again.