[Gemma] When Carmen and Rock were gone, Austin just sort of stopped and looked around, as if he didn’t know what to do. The whole week had been pretty good. I went in to the office on Thursday, but spent the rest of the week at the house with Austin. I would go into Rock’s home office and set up my workspace, then get started. Austin would bring me in a lunch and we would eat together. He would clean up while I got back to work and when my day ended, he would be waiting for me in the living room. We talked a lot and got to know each other a lot better. It was more than just likes, dislikes, and our pasts. Since we were marked, Austin wanted to know more about what I planned for the future. I even got him to talk to me about what he wanted. Though I knew he wasn’t ready yet, I did tell him I would like him to get to know my pack and hopefully feel comfortable enough to join. I told him I wouldn’t push. When he was ready, I would be more than happy to bring him in gently. He smiled at that. A lot of our spare time was devoted to playing and getting used to each other. Austin told me he loved how bold I was and how I took charge of things. That made me feel a lot better, because I worried I might be overbearing. “What should we do now? Do you want me to make dinner?” Austin asked. I smiled as an idea popped into my head. “Why don’t we go out? We’ve never had a date and it might be nice for you to get out of the house more than just going to the park. We can have dinner in town and do something fun.” He looked at me. “Are you sure? I’m not very strong yet. I can’t protect you in town.” “You don’t have to worry about protecting me, Austin. The human town has been a lot safer since all of the treaties were finalized. We can go to a pack-owned restaurant and a rogue-owned place I want to show you,” I suggested. “Trust me, I wouldn’t have asked you if I felt it was unsafe.”Austin thought about it for a little while, then nodded. “I can’t pay for anything. I don’t have any money yet.” “I’ll pay. You can pay for the next one after you start working. I have plenty of money. My parents had life insurance policies and I have inheritances from my great-great-grandparents.” “Why would your parents have life insurance policies? They were werewolves.” “They chose to live in the human lands. It’s something they had from their jobs and I also inherited the money they had from our family. And I invest wisely, I don’t just let the money sit in some account. I’m a lot smarter than I look.” I winked at him. Austin crossed the room and took my face in his hands, making me look directly into his eyes. I loved them. They were a gray-blue color that reminded me of the ocean on a stormy day. “Never say anything like that again. You are a beautiful and intelligent woman and anyone can see that. I don’t want you to talk like that,” Austin murmured, then kissed me gently. I wrapped my arms around him and deepened the kiss. I loved this part of our relationship, too. When he would kiss me and hold me… I felt so happy. He went from being adorably frozen to kissing me in a way that melted every part of me. He was a natural at kissing. I loved every moment of his kisses. Though I still wanted more, I could easily wait for him to be ready. When we pulled apart, Austin stared into my eyes for a few more minutes then kissed me on the forehead. I smiled at him and he released my face from his hands. “I’ll go get my shoes and we can leave. Are you sure you want to do this instead of staying in?” “Definitely,” I replied. Austin went into the bedroom to get his shoes. He didn’t like keeping them by the door. I didn’t understand why, but Rock was fine with it as long as his shoes were off before he went to put them away. Quickly, I called the places I wanted to take Austin and made sure there was room for us. It was Friday and a lot of people would be out on dates. I was able to reserve a table at Carroll’s for us, which pleased me. And I booked a room at the new rage room in town. Though he masked it well, I knew Austin had a lot of anger he needed to release. A safe space to express that was just what he needed. It was owned by rogues and they had rooms just for werewolves where they pulled in bigger things for us to destroy. It cost a little more than what humans paid, but I was more than happy to foot the bill for some ‘therapy’ for Austin. When he was ready to join the pack, I would get him set up with a pack therapist and he could really have therapy, but this would do for now. I would be there with him and I would make sure he didn’t hurt himself. Everything I could do for him, I would do for him. Austin came out with his shoes and put them on by the front door. I put on my shoes and grabbed my purse, which I kept on the same shelf as my shoes. We locked the door, because Rock said an unlocked door was an invitation, and got into my car. The drive into town wasn’t bad. The fae lands were just outside of town, on the same side of town as Rock’s office. The pack was a few miles to the east. I drove while Austin looked out the window at the passing landscape. He hadn’t left Rock and Carmen’s neighborhood since they found him. I wanted to remind him that the whole world still existed and was open to him. We pulled into the place with the rage room. Austin saw the name of the place and looked at me. “This will be fun. Come on.” I smiled. After getting out of the car, we headed into the building. I could faintly hear things being smashed and people shouting. They were really getting their demons out. I felt some apprehension from Austin as we approached the front desk. “Welcome to All the Rage. How can I help you?” the rogue girl at the desk asked with a smile. “I’m Gemma Holden. I called for a room a little while ago.” “Got it. We have a car we’re moving into the room for you. It’s a pretty sweet ride, so it’ll be real nice to smash. It’s rare to see an ex-pack with a pack wolf. Did you just find each other? I’m so jealous of the mate thing for pack born wolves. I just need you to sign these waivers saying you’re responsible if something happens while you’re in there. While you’re doing that I’ll grab you some eye protectors.” She flitted from subject to subject so quickly, we barely had a chance to say anything. She seemed really nice. I would have been too scared of the rogues to come in here before. Since the treaties, though, a lot of people had been trying rogue-owned businesses. I was hearing a lot of good things.We read and signed the waivers, then got the protective eyewear from the girl. She led us down a hallway to the end where she unlocked a door. The girl turned and smiled. “So you do as much damage to the car as you want for the next hour. An alarm will sound when your time is up and you can leave everything except the glasses in here. Bring the glasses to the desk and we’ll sign you out. Have fun!” She closed the door behind us and I turned to Austin. He looked at me, then looked at the car in the center of the room. “Are you okay?” I asked. “This looks almost like Timothy’s first car. Different, but similar enough. Did you know that somehow?” “No. I just asked them for a car that was really nice. I figured I would pay extra for you to smash something expensive. From what I understand, they sell as many parts as they can and leave the shells with the glass and stuff for people to destroy,” I told him. I went over to the pile of weapons and picked up an aluminum baseball bat, then held it out to him. Austin moved closer and reached for it. I smiled at him as he took the bat and looked at the car. “He made me clean the car every weekend. It had to be spotless inside and out. Then he spent the rest of the week making it as dirty as possible,” Austin whispered with a slight growl. “Beat the fuck out of it, Austin. It might not be his car, but it’s close enough.” Austin approached the car and ran his hand over the hood. I put on my glasses. He did the same, then, without any warning, went absolutely ape shit on the car. In a matter of moments, he had jumped on top of it and smashed every window it had. He jumped and stomped like he could kill it with his feet. He got off of the car and started slamming the bat against the sides of the car, working his way to the front where he smashed the headlights and grill before slamming the bat down on the hood over and over again. I thought I would have to encourage him with more than just a few words. Austin’s anger was always simmering below the surface. It wasn’t that he was mad at us for anything, but he was mad about the way he was treated. He was mad about the way all omegas in his pack were treated. For all that he was an omega and had been raised as a slave and whipping boy to that Alpha blood brat, my Austin was never weak. If he were weak, he never would have left that pack. He was the strongest man I knew. Austin took another swing at the car’s hood, then turned to me. He tossed the bat aside and stalked over to me. Austin reached for my hand and I gave it to him. He pulled me close and kissed me deeply. His hands gripped my hips and he pushed me back, against the wall, pinning me with his body. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his as much as I could. Austin’s lips hovered above mine, teasing me with their closeness and distance. “That felt good,” he whispered. “Yeah? I’m glad you liked it.” “I want you, Gemma.” A shiver went through me. Goddess, I wanted him, too. This wasn’t the place for our first time together. I wanted more than a quick tumble on the floor of a rage room that was covered in glass. “When we get back to the house? Can you wait for a little longer?” I murmured breathily. “Yes, I can wait. For you, I could wait forever. I want you to be happy. Your happiness is more important than anything else to me. I always want you to be happy, no matter what,” Austin replied as he ground himself against me. “I always want you to be happy, too,” I moaned. “Do you really want me to be happy?” he asked. I nodded and tried to kiss him. Austin kept himself out of reach. I whimpered with need. “If you really want me to be happy, then you only have to do one thing, Gemma.” “What?” I said in a needy whisper. “Marry me and be mine forever. I have your mark. I have your love. All I still want is your hand in mine for the rest of our lives. I never thought I would feel like this after only a week, but I do. I don’t just want to be your mate I want to be your husband in the eyes of human law.” “Of course I’ll marry you, Austin. Tell me when you want to do it and I’ll arrange the whole thing.” “No, we’ll share that like we’ll share everything else in our lives. Together. I want to do everything with you,” Austin said and kissed me tenderly. I wanted that too. I wanted forever with my mate. I wanted to be his bride. And more than anything, I wanted to know that he really wanted me. There was no chasing this time. No hiding, no second-guessing, and no fear. Austin wanted this and went for it instead of me pushing for it. He pulled back and pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m not ready for a pack yet, but I want to be. Part of me wants to be in a pack again and what I feel from you makes me think you and Carmen were right. Your pack is different. Can you wait for me to be ready for a pack?”“You don’t have to join my pack to marry me, Austin. We can take all the time you need to be comfortable enough to join the pack but don’t make me wait for that day. Marry me on Tuesday.” “What?” he laughed. “I’m only doing a wedding because you want one. I don’t need one. You are everything I ever need.” “Alright, we don’t have to wait until I’m ready for a pack, but I want a wedding. You missed out on a lot because of losing your parents and I missed out on a lot because my parents gave me to the Alpha’s family. I don’t want us to miss anything else. It may not be big and fancy, but it will be something we remember forever,” Austin said. I didn’t really miss out on a lot because of my family, but I didn’t want to argue. He really wanted this and I wanted him to be happy. I would definitely do this for him if it was what he wanted. “Yes, let’s do it. You don’t have to join the pack, but if we do it on the pack lands then Alpha Trent could see if your family can come. It would mean you get to have them there. Maybe we can get a transfer set up while they’re here. I know we can’t save everyone, but we can save someone. You told me you have a brother….” “We can save him…? Yes, I want to save my brother. I don’t know him, but he deserves a chance at a better life…. Thank you for thinking of him. You don’t think they’re going to force me to go back there even if I’m a rogue, right?” he asked. “They can’t force you to go back. If they even try, then we’ll call Queen Bellamy and she’ll protect you. Normally, we would talk to one of her Lieutenants in the area, but I would be completely fine with pulling out the big guns on the first try. You’re marrying into the Gamma family of our pack, that means something,” I assured him. “Do you want to beat on that car a little before we go? I got kind of carried away, but the entire rear end of it is practically untouched.” “Sounds like fun.” I smiled at him. He took me over to find something to hit the car with. It was a lot of fun and added to my high. Austin was growing more every day and I couldn’t wait to spend more time with him.