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Before everything blew up in his face, he’d spent his weekends with Hayden. When he didn’t have to work in the jail, they’d play Call of Duty—her favorite video game—or take hikes and watch movies. He taught her to hunt and track. He even taught her how to clean, load, and fire a handgun. They discovered together she had a talent with firearms, and she earned her marksmanship quickly. He’d done everything in his power to help her hone her skills and learn to protect herself.

Unfortunately, when her father discovered what they’d been up to, Jace had been none too pleased with either of them. He freaked the hell out when he caught them practicing on targets deep in the woods. Dude became scary as hell when his fury took over, but, then again, so did all of the Raferty brothers. Thinking back on it, he supposed with his penchant for doing stupid shit, this had been the one time he should have gone to her father, but he’d never do anything to hurt his mate.

What do you call getting messed up and having a one-night stand?

A fuckup of epic proportions.

Images of the day he broke Hayden’s heart filtered through his mind. In a singular event, he’d destroyed his tiny mate and best friend. Not a day went by he didn’t regret his actions or wonder how he could get her back. Of course, he had no one to blame but himself. When the knock came at his door early the next morning, it shouldn’t have surprised him. Hayden wanted to spend the day at the swimming pool—something he’d agreed to—and, in all honesty, he’d been excited to see his little wolf too.

Then the chick he brought home opened her mouth, and the spell between him and Hayden had been broken.

Shock, tinged with disbelief and pain, dimmed her bright-blue eyes before she took off with him yelling after her. Her mournful howl echoed in the early morning air. Torn between running after her and giving her room to grieve, he stood rooted in his spot. The woman he’d shared his bed with, whose name he conveniently maybe purposefully didn’t know, greeted him from his bed once he stepped back into his apartment.

“What’s her problem?”

“None of your concern. You need to get the fuck out of here.” He brushed past her, while calling himself all kinds of names—stupid fucking asshole being the best—and gathered her clothes. He threw them at the woman still sitting on his bed with a dumbfounded look on her face. “Sex doesn’t make a relationship, sweetheart.”

“Don’t be like that,” she whispered, reaching out for his hand. “We had fun last night. Bet I can make it a better morning too.”

Nico growled at her. “Get dressed and get the fuck out. Now.”

Huffing through his snout, Nico lay in the cool grass. Cheating like he had, made him a low-down dirty bastard. For days, he’d caught whiffs of his mate’s anguish and followed the scent only to be stopped by her uncles or her father. If he didn’t want to talk with Jace about what happened between him and Hayden or the drug Nico had been given, he needed to stay away. No one hurt Daddy’s little girl and received forgiveness the easy way in the Raferty family.

No one.

The worst part of his self-created hell was Hayden never talked to him again and ignored any attempts he made to speak to her if he did catch her out by herself. Had she given him the chance to explain, he would have told her fucking that chick had been nothing—a release, a bodily function. He didn’t love that woman, and he sure as hell didn’t want the woman as his mate. He already had one, Hayden.

Hell, if push came to shove, he would have told her his drink had been spiked too and if anything, he was the victim. Yet, saying such, would be one excuse after another, because he went willingly with the guys. He sat at the bar and ordered a drink. He participated of his own volution for the majority of the night. He didn't get to cry victim when he should have known better.

Not my proudest moment.

By that time, he’d also begun to justify what happened. Hayden had been seventeen. Even though they’d had sex, she way too young to mate. Besides, he'd made a promise to himself to allow her to grow up, to spread her wings, and know who she wanted to be before he mated her fully. Wolf shifters were a dominant, possessive lot, so he knew once he had her, he’d never let her go.

Lies, all lies.

Now, he sat in the same spot, morning after morning, in constant turmoil about what to do with regards to the situation. Nico knew exactly what his wolf wanted, what it—he yearned for—his mate. Yet, his wolf, a creature of habit, wanted to mark and claim her for all to see, this time, taking what rightfully belonged to him. If only life was so easy he could follow what the wolf wanted. For the man, it’d always be a more complex situation, and he had to make the wolf understand marking her didn’t heal a broken heart or shattered trust.

He knew Hayden.

A stubborn, prideful wolf with a strong moral code like hers, wouldn’t take his bullshit answers. Nico had also learned, from his conversations with Loraine—one of Jace’s mates—Hayden held fast to the knowledge of him cheating on her. Even though she didn’t know the full truth, Nico had broken their bond. A point he couldn’t fight because he had.

Especially when it came to his little wolf.

So, buddy boy, what makes this morning different?Perhaps time, or perhaps he’d grown a pair of balls and wanted to fight for what belonged to him and to hell with the silly ass plans. Nico knew he had to explain what happened that night—all of it—and continue to do so until she listened to him. He’d make it quite clear right off the bat he wasn’t going anywhere. He would gain her love and trust back, no matter the cost.

He had no other options.

Both he and his wolf were hurting without their perfect little wolf.

Running back down the trail, he moved faster because, for the first time in a long time, he felt like he had a plan to achieve some resolution to his problems. He'd fight tooth and nail for his mate, do whatever he needed to do to get her back.

In a flash of white light, he shifted to his human form then stretched and rolled his neck. He grabbed his discarded clothes off the rail where he’d left them then padded to his room. He had a poli-sci class to get ready for.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” Bodhi’s sarcastic tone wasn’t lost on Nico as he stopped short of his place. “Where have you been hiding out?”

“I’ve been where I’ve always been.” He pointed to the dorm. “Right there. What do you want?” If it hadn’t been for Bodhi and the email telling him it was time to claim his mate, he’d have stayed in Window Rock. As it stood, until that moment, he hadn’t even known how to approach her.

“It’s good to know in the two years since I told you to get your ass here you’ve tried to make amends. I mean, damn, man. What the fuck are you waiting for?” The obvious disdain in his voice didn’t shock Nico.