Chapter 6 THE SOFTNESS AFTER THE ROUGHNESS (1)

GALLAHAN’S POV

My knot had finally abated after nearly a fucking hour, and I slipped out of Willa as carefully and as quietly as I could, so I wouldn’t accidentally jostle her awake. Even pulling out nearly had me moaning, my sensitive cock twitching in interest.

‘I am a man with a well-functioning head. Not a beast with nothing but instincts,’ I mentally reminded myself, willing the desire to bury my traitorous cock inside her hot and welcoming channel that felt so snug around me.

I had to take a slow, shuddering breath to calm myself and my inner wolf.

Willa whined softly in dissatisfaction as I shifted on the bed. She rolled around, turning to face me, her eyes closed and her eyebrows furrowed.

The lines between her brows eased and disappeared once she had burrowed herself against my chest. The sight of it nearly made me burst at the disgusting affection that swelled inside of me. To make matters worse for my weakening heart was the fact that the contours of her body fit so well against mine. It was outrageous how we just seemed to fit.

I supposed it just came with us being fated mates.

Yes.

Fated. Mates.

Fuck. I never thought I would be lucky enough to actually meet mine, even though I have secretly dreamed of having one in my life ever since my Mom told me stories about fated lovers like her and Dad.

The fleeting thought of my Mom drew out a wistful sigh from me.

God, I terribly missed Mom.

“You would’ve loved to meet Willa, Mom,” I whispered softly, brushing a stray wisp of Willa’s fiery red hair that obstructed my view of her beautiful face.

Just then, I caught myself smiling, my cheeks already aching from the strain of smiling far longer than I was used to.

Damn it.

I was becoming soft and saccharine for a woman I just met, and yet, I couldn’t bring myself to regret anything that happened so far.

After taking a long and deep inhale of her scent that was heavily interlaced with mine, then placing a soft kiss on the crown of her head, I wrapped my arms around her frame, pulling her closer to me.

Yeah, I wouldn’t let go of this woman.

Damn the war and all the people who would probably tell her that I would be no good for her.

I would kill them before they could even say so.

An angry scowl marred my face as my train of thought shattered my happy bubble.

I gingerly and slowly slipped out of the bed, an action that garnered another dissatisfied whine from my mate.

“So needy and clingy,” I teasingly whispered, stroking the top of her head. “Sleep, sweetheart. You need it for round two.”

Her eyes, which were now dulled into a pale shade of green, slightly opened, and my grin only widened. Willa shot me the most menacing glare she could manage in her sleepy and tired state, but her efforts only came across as terribly endearing.

“I will run you a bath later. I will wake you up then.”

She moved her head in an attempt of a nod, but her cheek was pressed deeply on the pillow, making the movement unclear and undignified.

Still unfairly adorable though.

I bit my lower lip to suppress the happy smile that wouldn’t leave my face, leaving the cozy comfort of my bed and the warmth of my beautiful mate.

A quick shower and an easy recipe later, I was back on the bed, sitting on the edge and shaking Willa awake.

“Willa, I have run you a warm bath.”

She blinked blearily and slowly rose up from her comfortable cocoon on the bed. “You really did?”

“Of course. I said I would, didn’t I?”

“That’s…” She paused, seemingly unsure if her next words would be taken with offense.

Her strong hesitation was what would offend me, actually.

Did she think I would lash out or hurt her if she said something wrong just because we were enemies in the war? Did she really think she had to walk on eggshells around me?

I understood her caution, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting. I began to trust her with my whole life the moment my eyes landed on her. Why didn’t she feel the same with me? Did she think of me as a monster who hurt humans for nothing but pleasure?

It seemed to me that our warring beliefs on the conquering and subjugation of humans had sowed a rift so deep that not even the fact that we were fated mates could mend it

I held back the instinct to go on the defensive. Instead, I tried to feign nonchalance. So I arched my brow at her and said, “What? Go on, sweetheart. I don’t bite.”

She reddened considerably, her hand going to the healed claiming bite I had left on her.

“Except for that, of course,” I added mischievously.

“It’s just… odd,” she finally said, daring to meet my eyes.

“Odd?”  I unconsciously parroted, my logic malfunctioning for a second as I got lost in the sea of her pale green eyes.

“Odd,” she affirmed. “It’s just… I met you in battle. You are an enemy. I expected you to be harsh and all rough with me after I saw you gravely injure one of my allies. Then you went all rakish and confident in bed.”

“Kept you satisfied, didn’t I?”

My mischievous remark went ignored.

“And now, you’re this gentle, considerate and well-mannered man,” Willa said, her mesmerizing green eyes unflinchingly gazing at me, as if trying to search

“You know what they say… Manners maketh man.”

“Be serious. What is this, Han? Who are you really? Why… Why do you fight for the other side? What do we do when there is this war between us?”

I sighed, knowing that this conversation was inevitable, but I at least wanted to have it with Willa decently covered with something other than my blanket pressed against her chest. It would also be a great favor to my focus and my cock if she no longer smelled strongly of our mingling scents and… of the byproduct of our intimate horizontal tango.

Besides, talking over food would also help my case. A satisfied stomach could drastically save my ass and this relationship if our talk about the war went awry. After all, my mated and married friends always said that a happy wife would mean a happy life. And surely, food could make her happy.

Right?

Right.

Well, I hoped so.