The Art Of Sneezing

Chapter 30

            "Riley . . . " A soft voice hums in my ear.

            I let out an unlady-like groan.

            "Mouse."  Lifting my hand, I try to push the voice away. It laughs. "Is there a reason the tub is full of water?"

            ". . . bunny,"  I croak out.

            "Oh my God, is that David Tennant?!" I shoot up and look all around the room. Alexander starts laughing and I scowl.

            "You suck." I deadpan.

            He grins. "Get your pert ass out of bed and start packing."

            Cocking my head to the side I question, "where are we going?"

            A duffle bag hits my face. "To the carnival. My parents came back so we're leaving for the weekend." I climb out of bed and blush as his eyes linger on my exposed legs.

            Digging for some clothes, I subtly begin to interrogate him. "So, where were your parents?"

            "Eh, some Alpha wanted to talk to them." His response is automatic as he begins looking for clothes.

            "Yeah?"

            "Yup," he pops the 'p'.

            "Mhm," I hum. "So, we're mates, right?"

            Alexander yanks down a shirt, "absolutely."

            I nod. "Can mates be, say, of the same gender?"

            His arms slide down around my waist as he sniffs my hair.  "Do you have a secret, Riley? You're not a man, are you?" His touch sends tingles to my toes.

            "N-no, I, um. C-can you  - uh, I can't think!"

            Chuckling, he pulls away. "Yes," he says with a sigh. "It's kind of taboo in our world and I out right do not allow it. I make them immediately reject each other."

            I walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth so I can pack my toothbrush. "Reject?"

            "Yes, you say 'I, whatever your name is, reject, whoever you're mate is, as my mate.' First and last name, of course. Their bond is immediately broken and they can't stand to be anywhere near each other."

            "That's horrible!"

            "Here, I got us matching shirts to wear." He hands me a blue shirt with 'companion' written on it as he covers his muscular stomach with one that says, 'Time Lord.' Awe, how cute.

            Once we're ready to go, we meet up with Dad. We walk outside and shift. Alexander nudges me with his nose and licks my face. Grabbing our bag, he trots ahead by Dad. I scrunch my nose and paw at my face. His wolf may find that normal, but I don't have a wolf. I find it strange.

            "Riley, are  you coming?" I jump at Alexander's voice. Turning tail, I run and catch up to them.

            Running is tiresome, but wolves seem to have incredible speed and stamina. We make it to Dad's pack borders in 5 hours where a few of his wolves escort us to his pack house.

            We shift and Cindy runs out of the mansion and embraces me in a giant hug. "Oh, honey! I'm so glad you came! Rey is just dying to meet you!"