The Contract (My Perfect Mate Continued)

Inside the Ring

I was excited to see the rest of the penthouse. There was a small hallway off of the kitchen. There were at least 6 doors down this one hallway. Andy led me to the first door,

"This is the Luna Suite," he said with a smile.

He opened the door and let me step through first. I could feel him behind me, gauging my reaction. The room was quite lovely, it was bright and airy with a small terrace directly across from where I stood. I walked towards it and noticed the most gorgeous view. It faced the west side of the territory and overlooked the lake in the distance. It was framed between a mountain range surrounded by mature trees. It was a beautiful landscape, I wanted to ingrain it into my memory forever.

I could tell that the room wasn't put together completely. I was so distracted by the incredible view that I hadn't noticed the emptiness of the room. It had a matching bathroom and closet, just like Andy's.

"What do you think so far? I know that you still have to put your own touches on it, I just hope that you will feel comfortable in this space."

I turned around to face him and couldn't help the smile on my face.

"It is beautiful, far nicer than I am used to. I just fear that it is too much."

Andy leaned up against the door frame and a small smile crept onto his lips.

"Well, you could just move into my room, and we share the space."

I shook my head at his suggestion. I know that he was only joking, but it was too soon for me. I decided to change the subject.

"Should we continue?" I asked as I headed for the door. I felt Andy behind me as I headed back out into the hallway.

We headed to the next couple of rooms and I noticed they were all empty, begging to be repurposed and have life breathed back into them. The last room that I found myself in must have been a nursery. It was still a pale blue and had clouds painted on the walls. I got a familiar feeling settling into my bones and a tingle spread across my skin. I knew instantly that this must have been Andy's room when he was young. The furniture had been cleared out, but I could still feel a sense of innocence and imagined the childhood memories that filled this room.

I was lost in my imagination. "Was this your room?"

I turned around and made eye contact with Andy. I couldn't help the smile that came to my face when I thought of him as a toddler.

Andy took a look around the room before he answered,

"Yeah, Bryce and I had so much fun sharing this room. For years, my parents suggested we each take our own room, but we never wanted to. We just couldn't imagine not spending every morning together. I think my parents were getting tired of the sleepless nights that we caused them."

I quite enjoyed seeing Andy like this, he had a carefree smile and I could see the joy in his eyes as he recalled his childhood memories. It was different from the appearance of constant seriousness.

"You and your brother are quite close, huh?" I said with a small smile.

Andy was beaming thinking about his twin brother. "Yeah, he is honestly my other half. I don't know what I would do without him."

I could tell that he didn't like showing emotions because he quickly changed the subject.

He checked his watch suddenly,

Now it was my turn to change the subject. "We should probably head out soon. It's almost 5."

My smile broke and I simply nodded my head.

Andy and I headed out into the hallway and he shut the door behind us.

"I'm going to go get dressed. I'll be ready in 5."

*****

Andy and I were silent as we headed down to the main level. I could tell that we both had something on our minds, but neither of us were going to break first.

It wasn't until we made it onto the field that the tension broke. The fresh air felt so good and I could breathe again.

"I'm going to stretch out."

Andy took a step back to give me space and I immediately reached down to my toes. Andy took a step towards my back side and placed his hand on my lower back, "Here, you got to apply a little pressure, it helps stretch the muscles more."

My body tingled at the familiar position that we had been in the night before. I could feel his thick thighs pressed against my ass. His strong hands were pressed against the small of my back, and he leaned in with some light pressure.

I welcomed the contact and my mood began to lighten. I couldn't help but feel at ease around him. Going forward, I would just have to imagine him as my best friend. I had to start somewhere. I was already marked and mated, and that wasn't going to change anything soon. When Andy released his hold, I turned around to face him. I swung my leg up onto his shoulder and lunged into his chest. He smiled down at me and placed his hands on my ankle, encouraging my playfulness.

We both had forgotten why we were mentally preoccupied, it was just so easy being with him.

We were lost in each other's eyes when a distant voice caught our attention.

"Nice form!"

I unhooked my ankle from his shoulder and played it off with a follow-up arm stretch. I saw Bryce walking in our direction with a s**t-eating grin. I saw Andy roll his eyes as Bryce drew closer.

Bryce kept his giddy smile on as he exchanged looks between us. His eyebrows were c****d, and his eyes were alight with mischief.

"So, how do you two know each other?"

Andy ignored his insinuation, "Thea, this is my twin brother Bryce. Bryce, this is Thea... my mate."

Bryce's expression dropped suddenly, even he was taken off guard by his brother's declaration. I looked up at Andy, and he placed his arm around my shoulder. So he had decided that we were going to make this work. Now my hormones and thoughts were fluctuating once more. Andy smiled down at me, so I tried to mirror it. Secretly I was freaking out.

Bryce blinked rapidly at us, "Well, that's new. When did this happen?"

"Last night, we are officially mates." Andy said with a smile. It seemed like a genuine smile. He looked back down at me and squeezed my shoulder.

Bryce took a moment, "Well, that's fantastic!" He lit up with excitement. He quickly reached out and embraced both of us. "I can't wait for you to meet Briana."

The three of us stood and chatted for a couple of minutes while the rest of the pack slowly started to show up for training. I stood off to the side when Alpha stepped forward to address the troops. I was amazed at his sense of presence and the respect that you could feel among the ranks. He commanded the audience with his authority. I could hear Everest inside my head, she was swooning with every word that he spoke.

Our Alpha is strong. He will make a great father.

Easy girl, we've only had s*x once.

Yes, but he is our mate. It will happen sooner rather than later.

I rolled my eyes at Everest. She was already counting our chickens before they hatched, so to speak.

"Before we start, I wanted to introduce you to one of our new comers. I want to introduce you to my mate, Thea."

The crowd fell silent as Alpha drew everyone's attention to me. I took a couple steps forward, despite my feet trying to keep me in one place. When I reached the front of the crowd, the men began to hoop and holler. I didn't know these men from Adam, and already I could feel the love pouring from them. I could tell that they were all genuinely excited for their Alpha, this was something that they were waiting for. I couldn't help but smile at their joy. I gave the crowd a small wave before Alpha called their attention once more.

"With that being said, I know that she will not go easy on any of you. Give it your all, but if any of you harm one hair on her head, you will answer to me." I could tell that there was some humor to his statement. He knew that most of them would be scared to face off with me inside the ring.

"I'll go first!" Bryce called from the middle of the crowd.

******