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“I came to the hospital after the accident,” he says quietly. “I knew you weren’t awake yet, but I just . . . needed to be near you.”

I blink. Something Derek said the night before comes floating back to me:I was too busy with work to sit vigil at your bedside like your precious Jake.

It hadn’t made any sense at the time, but somewhere in the recesses of my mind, a memory surfaces. Jake slumped at the foot of my bed while the machines beeped and hissed. For years, I’d thought it was just a dream, but . . .

“You were there?” I whisper, my eyes filling with fresh tears.

He nods, reaching down and gripping my hand. “OfcourseI was there.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What was there to say? ‘I’ve loved you your whole life. I’ve just been too chicken-shit to do anything about it’?”

My heart flutters. “I guess not,” I whisper. “That would have been weird. But you still could have told me.”

Jake snorts, still studying our intertwined fingers. “I know your body doesn’t always do what you want, Lena, but that doesn’t mean you’re broken.”

His eyes snap up to meet my gaze, and his face is etched with something like desperation. Heneedsme to understand. “You are perfect. And you aremine. Your struggles are mine. Your triumphs are mine. Your joy is my joy. Your pain is my pain. And nothing isevergoing to change that.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

JAKE

Four days later. . .

I’m already sweating by the time Raf walks into the gym, and it isn’t from my workout. I called to ask if he wanted to meet me to train while he was in Gold Creek. I figure he’s going to want to hit me once I give him the news, and I might as well get a good sparring session out of it.

Raf seems wary as he stalks onto the mats, looking every inch of the dangerous alpha. He’s wearing black athletic pants and a plain gray tee, but even the guy’s T-shirts are designer brands.

Gold Creek Boxing Gym is one of those good old-school gyms. Coach’s prize belts from the eighties line the walls. There’s a creaky platform in one corner with an actual ring, and heavy bags hang from the ceiling. A few of the bags are reinforced with tape, and the whole gym reeks of sweat and old leather.

It’s not exactly Raf’s kind of place, but he still seems comfortable here.

“How was the wedding?” he asks, tossing his bag on the floor. He doesn’t say hello or give any other kind of introduction. Raf doesn’t believe in meaningless chitchat, but right now I’d give anything for a little small talk.

“Fine,” I say, watching him carefully as he crouches down and pulls his wraps out of his bag.

“Elena won’t return any of my phone calls,” he grumbles. “I was beginning to worry.”

I fight back the grin that’s tugging at my mouth. No one else in the state of Colorado would dare dodge the calls of a billionaire CEO alpha. Leave it to Rafael’s baby sister to get his undies all in a twist.

There’s a long pause and then he asks, “Something happen?”

I swallow. I’ve never run from a fight in my life, but this may be the closest I’ve come. Telling Raf is the whole reason I asked him to meet me, and suddenly, I don’t have the words.

“Jake . . .” Raf stops rummaging in his bag. He’s gone completely still. “Is there something I should know?”

“Uh . . .”

In three quick strides, Raf is on his feet and across the room. I don’t catch the moment his eyes start to change. Instead, I’m left staring into a pair of golden wolf eyes rimmed with coal-black lines. “What — did you —do?”

Somewhere deep inside of me, my wolf stirs and snarls. Around Raf, my animal can usually relax, but since I marked Elena as my mate, he’s been on high alert.

“I claimed her.”

Surprise, indignation, and a murderous rage flash through Rafael’s eyes. His neck goes stiff as he processes what I just said, and I know he’s fighting the shift.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get this worked up about anything in his life — except maybe when his father was murdered. It’s terrifying and a little insulting. “You —what?” he rasps.