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“Nice.” Hayden high-fived the shy girl. “Perfect delivery, too.”

“Thanks.”

"Oh, ha-ha both of you. For your information, I have an interview at the radio station. Hopefully, if they like me, I'll have a job starting tomorrow." Zoe headed in the opposite direction from them. "Have fun with your nerdfest."

Hayden faced Bell as they headed in the opposite direction. “So, about her mate…I want all the deets on this Rocky character.”

Bell laughed. “Well from what I understand, he comes from Washington state. His parents own a bar. His mom is a falcon, and his dad is a moose. They’re also badass bikers. I think she called them, Pasos or something. Anyway, their Alpha is Cougar. They have another guy named Cricket—he’s a bear. It sounds really neat in a way.”

Hayden blinked a few times. "Sounds like a menagerie, to be honest."

Bell laughed. “Yeah it does, now that you mention it. But, Zoe seems happy, so that’s all that matters.”

Yes, it was. "And you, this date with Christoph?" Hayden wiggled her brows.

Pink tinged Bell’s cheeks, and her eyes went all sparkly. “Yeah.” The wistful quality of her voice made Hayden a bit envious of her cousin. “I’m not sure why he chose me, so I’m not sure if I want to go or not.”

Hayden snorted. “Oh, you’re going. I’ll see to that.”

Bell let out an unladylike squeak. “Hayden Raferty, don’t you dare.”

She chuckled as she rubbed her hands together.Let’s see how they like it when someone meddles in their life.

4

Nico ranthrough the hills behind Turnskin University. His paws ate up the wet soil as though demons chased him, and perhaps they did. Anger coursed through him as he wove around the bushes and up the path toward the clearing. His end game? Reach the cliff located almost at the top. A favorite place of his, and one where he could clear his mind while the sun rose, welcoming the new day—even if it was another day without his mate—without Hayden.

He’d been a morose fucker, for sure. After doing this run every day for the last two years, he didn’t know why he continued to do so, especially when today wouldn’t be any different.

Hope.

Hope for another chance.

Hope, he could make up for all the wrongs he’d inflicted on his little mate.

Hope for a better life for them.

Together.

Once he reached the peak, memories of a not-so-distant past swamped him. Nico shook his head in an attempt to clear it, but it didn’t work for shit. Sitting down on his hind legs, he looked skyward as a thin streak of the morning sun appeared. The change fascinated him. Muted blues and purples mixed with the bright yellow-orange line of the sun as it gained its foothold on the horizon.

His lips curled up in a wolfish smile as he remembered the first time he met the gangly fourteen-year-old girl. Her long black hair flowed freely down her back, and her sparkling blue eyes were full of life. Hayden took his breath away. So full of energy, she always asked some weird question and talked a mile a minute while she bounced around.

The second he saw her—scented her—he knew she’d been his mate. Cotton candy and sunshine all rolled into one, just like Lucas said. For a moment he wondered if Hayden was the older man's mate then he realized Lucas saved her life, so of course he'd know her smell. With his newfound knowledge also came understanding. Nico would have to wait for her. She had to grow up, and Nico bided his time, becoming her friend.

He supposed he could have allowed Bodhi, her twin, to help her navigate the high school, but the deep-seated yearning to keep her safe, grabbed Nico by the balls and forced him to act. He wouldn’t lie and say he didn’t enjoy that part too, because he did. The minute she’d spot him in a crowd and wrap her arms around him, nuzzling his chest to gather his scent, fuck... He was a lucky son of a bitch.

He also learned after he had sex with Hayden, the touch of another woman, made him violently ill. It was the strangest thing too. He hadn’t been able to explain any of it until that fateful day he lost everything.

On the days he went with the guys across county lines was to let off some steam, it'd mostly been him watching others, like a dirty little secret he didn't want anyone to know about. He'd jerk off a few times, okay, more than a few then leave. So, what happened during his last visit? Fuck, he wished he could remember that night. Maybe if he could, he'd be able to right all the wrongs he committed. Wash away the sin of breaking his little mate's tender heart.

As it was, Danielle found drugs in his system. Something specifically tailored to his genetic makeup. There’d been cases of the drug being used before and one of the people it’d been used on was Hayden’s father, Jace. However, Nico didn’t want to blame the drugs in his system. Had he stayed home—kept his head about him—he’d never have committed such a err, to begin with.

He'd been scared shitless. He had unprotected sex with Hayden. Though he knew most pregnancies happened within the full moon, Rafertys were built differently. Kalkin could knot and knock up his mate outside the full moon—an Alpha trait. Hayden, on the other hand, didn't follow the moon at all, which screwed with him more. Yet, he couldn't stop what happened between them. The minute he sank into her warm, wet pussy, he lost his mind. He should have used a condom even though his wolf hated the idea. Hell, he should have kept his hands to himself. Yet, the minute the aroma of her arousal hit him in the chest, he couldn't stop what was about to happen between them. He didn't regret taking her virginity. He didn't regret fucking his mate and marking her. What he regretted most of all was not keeping her safe.

Each week afterward, he kept his word. Hayden would come over, take the test, and they'd wait. He didn't have a plan for them if the results came back positive. He figured they'd solve their problems together. With each negative test, the knot in his gut unfurled and he began to breathe again. The night he went out, had been more from relief and knowing he dodged a bullet than wanting to get drunk—which hardly happened to shifters.

Now, Nico wished he could take the whole night back, and never leave his apartment.