Chapter 172: Get A Vasectomy

"So..." Maverick’s voice remained skeptical. "We can be seen together in public, but there’ll be no official announcement about the mate bond yet?"

Aria finally got up, unable to have this conversation seated on the bed any longer. She nodded. "That’s exactly what I mean."

Relief washed over Maverick so strongly that he released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Aria wasn’t asking him to hide whenever they were together or pretend there was nothing between them when someone else was watching. She wasn’t ashamed of him after all, and knowing that eased something inside him almost instantly.

Even when he had believed she wanted to hide their relationship entirely, Maverick had already known he would do it. He might not have liked it, and Feral certainly would have raised hell over being expected to conceal his mate, but if secrecy was what Aria needed to feel comfortable enough to give them a chance, he would have respected it.

Now that he understood what she truly meant, his confidence returned.

"Fine," Maverick said. "We’ll just keep it amongst our close circle. Is there anything else?"

"Urm..." Aria cleared her throat, gathering the courage to say what came next. "Secondly, I want a life outside of just being your mate."

The crease that appeared between his brows had her continuing almost immediately. "I don’t mean that I don’t want to be your mate. I’m saying I don’t want that to become all that I am. I had a life before the Concordia Selection dragged me here, Maverick. I had plans for what I wanted to do after graduation, things I wanted for myself and people I needed to take care of. None of that disappeared just because some goddess decided you and I belonged together."

Maverick remained silent, but Aria could tell from the way he watched her that he was listening, she went on.

"I’ve seen what happens to women after they become someone’s mate. Suddenly everything becomes about the man they’re bonded to. Where they live, what they do, the family they’re expected to build, even how everyone else sees them." Aria swallowed before meeting his gaze again. "I don’t want to wake up one day and realize Aria Aspen disappeared somewhere along the way and all that’s left is Maverick Nightshade’s mate."

Maverick’s brows drew together even further, prompting Aria to clarify before he could take her words as another rejection.

"I want you," she admitted, and saying it aloud brought heat to her cheeks. "Or at least, I’m beginning to want whatever this could become between us. But I want myself too. I want to make my own choices. I want to have something that belongs to me outside of you, and I don’t want being your mate to mean I have to give any of that up."

Aria hesitated before adding, "And I definitely want to graduate before I start thinking about settling down or having children. I’ve heard enough stories about females mated to wolves getting pregnant before they even finish school, and I’d rather not become one of them." She didn’t need to mention that Maverick’s own mother had been one of those females.

Judging by the way his expression changed, the thought had already occurred to him.

Maverick swallowed. Of all the conditions Aria could have given him, this was probably the one he was least confident about promising. Werewolves were extremely virile, particularly where their mates were concerned, and protection and family planning could only reduce the chances, not erase them entirely. His parents were living proof of that.

Still, Aria wasn’t asking him for the impossible. She was asking him to respect the future she had spent years planning before he came into it.

"I’ll try my best."

Aria stared at him. "You’ll try?"

Maverick winced at how terrible that sounded. "That came out wrong."

"Yeah," Aria told him. "It sounded like you’re already preparing an apology for getting me pregnant."

Despite himself, the corner of Maverick’s mouth twitched.

"I’m saying we’ll be careful." Maverick paused for a moment before adding almost casually, "If you’re really worried about it, I could always get a vasectomy."

Her mouth fell open. "You could get a what?"

"A vasectomy." Maverick didn’t understand why she suddenly looked as if he had suggested cutting off something far more important. "They’re reversible, aren’t they?"

Aria could only stare at him. Technically, yes, vasectomies could sometimes be reversed, but that wasn’t even the point. She had never heard of a werewolf voluntarily getting one, much less one as young as Maverick.

And this wasn’t just any werewolf. This was Violet Purple’s son. What if his mother found out her son’s new human mate had barely accepted him before he went running off to get a vasectomy because she didn’t want children yet? What if her future mother-in-law hated her for—

Aria froze. Mother-in-law?

Whoa. How the hell had they gotten there so fast?

Aria cleared her throat and dragged her thoughts back to the present before her imagination could have her married, pregnant, and attending family dinners by lunchtime.

"You don’t have to get a vasectomy. We’ll just..." Aria drew a deep breath. "...be careful."

Maverick studied her for a moment before nodding, a smile slowly returning to his face.

"I promise I’ll never make that choice for you. If you want to graduate before we even start discussing children, then you’ll graduate first." His gaze held hers as he added, "Aria, I want to be part of your life. I don’t want to become the entirety of it."

Aria’s heart warmed at that. "Thank you."

Maverick glanced toward the window before letting out a breath. "Is that all of your rules? Because I actually have to start thinking about how I’m going to sneak out of your room, Aria. It’s morning."

"Damn, you’re right." Aria followed his gaze toward the window as the reality of their situation finally sank in. If anyone caught Maverick leaving her room this early, keeping their relationship quiet might become a little more difficult than she had anticipated.

"What is it?" Maverick asked, catching the sudden nervousness in her scent before she could hide it.

"My third rule..." Aria swallowed, knowing this one might be harder for him to agree to than the others. "You can’t start fighting every male who comes near me just because we’re mates."