Page 121 of Talk About… Dramay
My stomach rumbled as we hit the row of food trucks and booths. There was something unmatched about the mix of fried foods, sweet treats, and savory dishes.
“I’m glad we finally have a moment alone,” Lane said, honestly wrapping his arm around me and tucking me into his side. He pressed his nose to my hair and breathed me in. “I’ve missed you, Princess.”
“I miss you, too,” I said. “It feels like our pack came together in this amazing, explosive moment. Then reality kicked in and we all got lost in our lives. Even working together we’ve been too busy to truly appreciate it.”
“It really has been,” he agreed, sounding a bit sad about it. My hand squeezed his in reassurance.
“It’ll settle down after this. We’ll find a new routine that fits us all. Everyone will be happy, and you’ll be surrounded by so much love, you’ll be sick of it,” I promised.
“Really?” There was a bit of vulnerability in his words. I stopped walking and reached for him, putting my hands on the sides of his cheeks.
“You know I’m never going anywhere, right, Lane? You’re mine as much as I am yours. This is our pack. This is our home. This is our new life.”
“I know,” he said as he let out a breath. It was rare to see moments like this where he struggled and I hated he had his own demons to handle.
“What’s going on?” I questioned, because Lane never reacted like this.
He let out a breath. “I’ve been meaning to tell you about my past for a long time...” he trailed off, a guilty look settling on his face. I wasn’t having that. We were still too new for everything to be out there.
“We all talk about stuff when wewantto. We have a lifetime to get to know every single thing about each other. That was not something you have to rush into for my sake. I just want you happy and comfortable, Lane.”
His dark teal eyes searched mine, as if he were delving for answers or reassurance. I opened our bond further, letting him see just how much I loved him already.
“Today was my mom’s birthday. I just kind of miss her, you know?” he finally admitted. That first statement opened the dam, everything pouring out of him, from the fire that took his family to the awful homes he had afterwards.
“Most of the time I handle it, but they never warn you how hard birthdays would be even after all these years,” he explained with a long sigh.
This explained a lot about the shift in mood today. As his eyes fluttered closed, his pain holding him hostage, I leaned up to place a kiss on his forehead, then his cheeks, and finally his lips.
“I love you, Lane,” I said. “I’m so sorry.”
Then an idea struck me. Something I’d seen on a video once and it seemed so perfect for this moment.
I just hoped he agreed.
“What was her favorite flower?”
“Roses,” he said without missing a beat. “She loved her rose bushes.” He chuckled softly. “And then my dad would fuss over her hands, because she’d always come in after pruning them with small scrapes from the thorns. You know how alphas get.” He gave me a playful eyeroll. Honestly, I could see Tate doing the same thing to me.
“I’ve got an idea. Trust me?”
He nodded, letting me pull him away from the food booth until I found a florist. My stomach could wait, this couldn’t.
The flower shop had a display full of different flowers of all colors and varieties. It didn’t take me long to find the roses.
Carefully, I pulled one of each color out before turning to Lane who was watching me with curiosity.
“Which colors were her favorite?”
“Red and pink,” he said. “My dads always kept a mix of them in vases in our house.”
Turning back, I plucked a few more of each of those two colors out until I had a colorful, beautiful bouquet.
After I paid for the dozen roses I chose, I turned back to Lane. My poor mate was confused, but curious, and the bond was full of trust. It was humbling to know he had so much faith in me.
I wouldn’t ever take that for granted.
“What was her name?” I asked.