The Alpha's Underworld Princess

The Waterfalls

Wyatt

The next couple of days, Val worked on the library. By the time she was done, it looked amazing. All the books were labeled and organized. There were murals on the walls and comfortable chairs around to sit in. She planned to staff it by having the older pups work there on a rotation, calling it community service. Although she insisted I pay them so, I'm not sure I would count that as community service. She had good points related to it. The older pups would all need to start working at some point, so this was a way to get a taste of that in a more controlled environment. With the promise of money, she got them to help her with the cleanup and sign up to staff it. It was because of that that she was able to get it done so fast. It amazed me how quickly they all followed her. It looked like how ducklings followed their mother.

I had the afternoon free and decided to take my mate on a date. I hadn't done that and still needed to win her back over. The events from the other day were still between us; apparently, my mate knows how to hold a grudge. With her ceremony so close, I wanted to try and clear the air. I was afraid she would back out and do it publicly. I'm not sure I could survive the embarrassment or the heartbreak. My love for her was more substantial than I ever imagined it could be. Losing her was not an option. "Can I take you to my favorite place in the territory?"

"I thought your favorite place was wherever I was." She teased me.

"Okay, fine. My second favorite place?" I offered.

"Sure. I will fit you into my hectic schedule. In the future, I need more notice." This comment may or may not have been teasing me.

"How much notice?" I inquired, genuinely curious.

"At least two to three business days." I groaned at her and picked her up from the couch where she was working on some new blanket she was convinced was required for the sofa. Why she didn't buy one, I don't know. Something about how it wasn't the same. Once it's done, I probably still won't agree, but I'm sure I'll love it anyway. "I was only teasing you! I can walk!"

"More fun to carry you." I grabbed my backpack with lunch packed, threw it over one shoulder, and held her on the other.

"This is not dignified." She said and punched me playfully in the back.

"Well, you gave me a hard time. So, seems this is my only option." I carried her the whole way, and she protested most of the time. When we were finally there, I put her down, and she turned to look around.

The beach was quiet, other than the sound of the waterfalls that created a pool of water at the bottom of the cliff. "It's gorgeous." She whispered. "I can see why you said it was your favorite spot."

"And now that you are here, it's my favorite spot again." That earned me an eye roll, but she was smiling. She was always beautiful, but that smile took my breath away.

The water looked rainbow in color from the way the sun hit it. I didn't plan that, but it added to my date. She was already pulling off her dress when I laid out the blanket. "Come swim with me?"

"You don't want to eat first? I worked hard on this lunch."

"You are lying. The kitchen did. However, you could argue that since you paid them and worked hard for that, you worked hard for it. But we can eat after, can't we?" Since I knew where we were going, I didn't need to shed any clothes. I dressed for the occasion. She pulled me along behind her, running right into the water.

"Fine, I lied. But don't you think you should dip your feet into water before running in?" She floated around and splashed me a few times, kicking water around.

"If I did that type of thing, would I still be here, Wyatt?" Made sense. Sometimes, I forgot how much of a leap of faith it was for her to stay and should have appreciated it more. Or at least I appreciated Kassandra more for being my advocate. I was aware Val was the one who was the flight risk and not her.