My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 87: Between His Arms

Violet

We walked in comfortable silence for a while, Kael guiding us through the crowd with easy familiarity. I noticed the way he moved. He was relaxed and there was something almost fond in his tired expression as he looked around the bustling marketplace.

We had walked on for a while when he asked, "Is there anything you’d like?"

"What?"

"I asked if there was anything you like... that you want."

For a while, I felt uncertain. I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t even know what a lot of these wares and objects were or what they were used for. And the choices were overwhelming.

My eyes caught on something familiar.

The signboard of a large stall held the painting of ice cream, and had an open front with a long counter covered by glass and displaying various frozen confections in wide trays. Each one was a different colour, whites, creams, pinks, browns, and even some strange shades that seemed to shimmer under the light.

The memory of Ila handing me that cold, sweet treat surfaced immediately, along with the comfort of that moment under the stars by her mother’s grave.

I found myself motioning toward it shyly, unable to quite voice the request.

Kael’s expression softened, and without a word, he led me over.

A young woman approached us, excited. She asked which flavour I would like to get and I stared at the array, confused.

The one Ila had given me was white, but there were several white ones here, and I had to hone in to distinguish it by smell. The sweet, clean scent stood out from the others, making my mouth water.

But other smells caught my attention. Some were fruity, others had different undertones I hadn’t smelled before. But they all smelled amazing. While I liked the one Ila gave me, I wanted to try others.

"I am not sure which one to pick," I admitted quietly. "There are so many."

The woman’s kind eyes lit up and she plucked a tiny wooden spoon out of a cylindrical cup filled with other spoons on top of the glass compartment. She handed one to me over the glass.

"Why not try some before you decide?"

I nodded and she took out another spoon and scooped different flavours into a flat wooden plate, arranging them the same way they were arranged behind the glass. She handed it to me to taste and different flavours danced on my tongue.

I was silently wishing for more when she mentioned that different flavours could be mixed together.

I pointed out the ones I liked the most and asked if they could be mixed. One couldn’t but she substituted it with another and served it in a wooden bowl, handing it over to me. My tongue nearly melted in my mouth with joy when I held the bowl.

She turns to Kael, asking him if he would also like one, but he shook his head and brought out a small silver card plate attached to a cord which held a link of coins. The woman’s eyes widened when she saw the plate with a wolf’s symbol on it. A flash of recognition swept through her face, and a subtle hint of shock.

He placed a silver coin on the counter and told her to not worry about the change. He turned away and I followed him.

"Let’s go somewhere you can sit and eat it."

"Oh... okay," I said, with the first spoonful already in my mouth.

I would eat this on the way regardless.

"Have you had ice cream before?" he asked, watching me.

"Once," I said, savouring the lingering taste of the fruit. "Ila gave me some when she took me to an area near the settlement."

I paused, wondering if I could ask him if he knew her mother was an Omega. Then again, he would have known, and if not, I did not think it was my place to mention it.

Something flickered across his face, but he said nothing.

He led me down another street and the crowds began to thin. We walked for a while and the buildings soon gave way to an open area with sparse trees and wide expanses of grass. People were scattered throughout, some of them lounging in the grass in their wolf forms. There were children playing, couples walking, groups gathered around what looked like small picnic areas.

Stone fountains burbled peacefully at regular intervals, and the whole space was lit by those crystalline lights set into posts along paved walking paths.

I had never seen anything like it. The clearing felt... manufactured.

"What is this place?" I whispered.

"It’s a park. More or less a public space for rest and recreation if one doesn’t want to go out into the woods for example."

"Oh..."

"Follow me." He stepped onto the grass and I walked as we went deeper into the area, making me realise the park was far larger than what I had seen from the street. There were less wolves the deeper we walked. And then he stopped in front of an old tree, its branches spreading wide to create a shadowed canopy underneath it.

He settled himself at its base, back against the trunk, and looked up at me.

"Sit with me."

I moved to sit beside him, but he shifted, spreading his legs apart to reveal the space between them.

I froze and my face heated immediately when I realised what he was hinting at. Was that why he had brought me this further in?

"It’s not what you think, I promise," he said quietly, and there was no demand in his voice. Just invitation. "And you’ll be more comfortable this way."

His hand extended toward me, fingers gently tugging at the skirt of my dress in silent encouragement.

I glanced around. The area was secluded, and the wolves lounging in the distance did not give us any attention.

Slowly, I sank down between his legs, my back settling against his chest as I carefully cradled the bowl of ice cream in both hands.

His arms snaked around me, encircling my stomach, and pulling me close.

I froze, every nerve suddenly aware of every point of contact between us.