Page 35 of Rejected Nanny Mate (Crystal Creek Wolves #3)

When Joe helped me into the backseat of the truck, my head was still foggy, but I smiled. He looked down at me, tired and adoring, and asked, “What is it?”

“This is just like when I saved you after the first surge,” I sighed as he climbed into the seat next to me.

Scott and Samson were in the front, but they barely spoke, letting us have at least the illusion of privacy.

They’d given up chasing the toxic wolves when Jayce suggested it’d be better to track them back to the rest of their pack.

Once Joe was settled, I leaned my head heavily on his shoulder, letting my eyes fall closed. “Only in reverse. This time, you saved me.”

“I don't know,” he rumbled. “I think you did a pretty good job saving yourself.”

I felt his lips brush against my forehead, and I sighed again. There was a heaviness inside of me, the knowledge that I had killed someone, and the pounding of my head where I'd been struck, but I'd done it. Joe was safe. Rose was safe. And the pack was safe.

It was almost too good to be true.

“Gwen,” Joe whispered softly, and I opened my eyes again, realizing that we'd made it home. I must have dozed off. “We're here.”

I allowed him to help me out of the car, but stopped in my tracks when I took in the scene around us.

Joe's entire front yard was filled with his pack, some of them sitting in the grass, and others standing and talking quietly with one another.

They all stopped and stood when they saw us, and while I could sense that Joe was just as surprised as I was, he quickly recovered and stood tall.

“What is going on here?” he asked, and his Beta, Malcolm, pushed through the crowd.

“We heard there was some sort of plot to take the territory. Once the territory search was done, we came here to await orders.” The older man grunted. “But now we're hearing that it's already been handled. If that intel is wrong, we're all here to fight for you, Alpha.”

Gratitude washed over his face, and he clapped his Beta on the shoulder. “I appreciate you. All of you. But the threat has been neutralized. Thanks to Gwen.”

There was a murmur in the crowd, and I shrank against Joe, feeling overwhelmed.

He held me tightly, not letting anyone close.

“Thanks to Gwen,” he repeated, “The threat against the pack has been handled, and everyone is safe.

She tracked the spy in our midst, Mia, and discovered the members of her pack that she'd led into our territory. Despite being hurt and kidnapped, Gwen still found enough strength to fight for us when the time came, and it was she who killed the Beta of the enemy pack.”

I swallowed hard. I wasn't sure I'd ever be proud of what I'd done, but I had protected the pack. I'd done my job.

“Because of Gwen's quick thinking and bravery,” Joe continued, “the enemy pack will not be able to retaliate, and the territory is ours. Our lands are safe. You should all go home and rest, because I plan to do the same.”

The crowd was silent at first, and then a cheer came up from somewhere in the center. It spread like a shockwave, and before I knew it, they were all cheering and clapping...

And they were saying my name.

I stood there in shock, choked up and amazed. The noise seemed to rattle through my bones, making my head pound, but I couldn't seem to stop the smile from spreading across my face.

I did this, I thought. I helped save the pack, and now they were all here, cheering for me. I hadn't even realized that I'd been so afraid of their acceptance until then, when I finally had it.

Joe tugged on my hand, and I followed him inside, stumbling along beside him. My head was swimming, and I couldn't seem to keep my feet steady as we moved, but he didn't let go of my hand.

The door closed behind us, and suddenly, there was silence. I sank onto the couch with a sigh, leaning back and closing my eyes.

“Gwen,” Joe's voice was soft and concerned, and I opened my eyes, forcing myself to stay awake. He knelt in front of me, brushing my hair away from my face. “I could feel you. We have a bond, and I think you know the significance of that...”

I did. It meant that Joe was my mate. It meant that the universe had made him mine, and that no matter where we were in the world, we were connected. It meant that I could always sense how he was feeling. It meant that our lives were forever linked.

I had suspected it, but hearing it out loud was different. We'd both been in such denial, and it wasn't until we were stuck in a life-or-death situation that we finally acknowledged that secret bond and discovered the truth.

But I'd known since the beginning that he was my mate, at least subconsciously. That's why I'd been so drawn to him, why he'd seemed so familiar to me, and why I'd been so desperate to be near him.

And why I felt so betrayed by his rejection.

“We can't ignore this,” I whispered, and he shook his head, his expression solemn.

“I know.” He reached up to cup my cheek, and his palm felt hot against my skin. “I'm so sorry, Gwen. For everything. For rejecting you. For being an asshole. For pushing you away when all I wanted to do was hold you close. I just...I was weak. But I'm not weak anymore.”

I was so tired, and my head hurt so terribly. “Joe...”

He gathered me in his arms, kissing the unhurt side of my forehead gently. “Not tonight. Let's shower and go to bed. You're sleeping next to me tonight. No complaints.”

“I wasn't going to complain,” I laughed softly. “Just don't hog the blankets, okay?”

“No promises, Omega.”

***

Incredibly, things settled back into a rhythm way faster than I would have expected.

With Mia gone, I fell back into nannying Rose almost full-time.

At first, I'd been terrified she would somehow know what happened to her mother, or miss her, but amazingly, she seemed totally unbothered.

I remembered thinking that Mia had been spending more and more time ignoring her daughter, but I tried not to think ill of the dead. Even if they had tried to kill me.

Her mother's identity would be something she'd grapple with when she was much older. For the moment, though, I was content to be there for Rose anytime she needed me. I loved her, and she loved me.

The day after the fight, Joe called an emergency pack meeting and told them all that he'd chosen me as his mate.

While that was unexpected, it didn't come as a total shock to anyone.

I'd heard people talking in the street about how I'd saved the pack, and how brave I'd been, and how they couldn't believe it.

It was a miracle that the whole town hadn't already known about our bond by then.

I think they would have been happier if we'd had a mating ceremony right then and there, but Joe refused. He wanted to give me time to heal from everything, and he said that the rest of the pack should heal, too. We'd been through a lot.

It was easy to be with Joe, and we behaved like a couple, but there was an odd sort of distance between us that I just couldn't place.

I started to wonder if maybe he needed some time to figure things out, and I resigned myself to moving back to my old apartment for a little while until we were both sure we wanted to be mated in the eyes of the pack.

I approached him after he'd put Rose to bed one night, and I told him that I thought it would be best if I went back to my apartment for a little while.

“You need time to heal and adjust, and so do I,” I explained, breaking my own heart in the process.

“It's a lot to take on after everything that's happened.”

Joe looked at me, surprised, and shook his head. “No way. You're not going anywhere.”

I bristled immediately. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said.” His tone was calm and even, but I felt a flash of frustration that I knew was coming from him through our bond. “I said I would never reject you again, and I meant it. I don't want you to go, Gwen.”

I blinked a few times. I'd accepted we were mates, but I was so sure he'd need some time to come to terms with the fact that his mate was a low-level Omega from another pack. “If you're worried about Rose, I'll still be her nanny—”

“I don't want you to be a damned nanny,” he said finally, grabbing both my hands in his.

“And I don't want to take things slow, or have some fucking space, Gwen.

We've been through hell, and the last thing I want to do is see you moving out.

Be more than Rose's nanny. Be my mate, and not just in name. Be mine.”

I stared at him, hardly able to believe what he was saying. He wanted me to be his mate, not just in the eyes of the pack, but in every way? It felt like a dream come true.

“Are you sure?” I whispered, afraid to trust that this was real. “I'm not exactly...”

I trailed off, but Joe understood. He always seemed to understand me. “Gwen, you're my mate. Of course, I want you to be mine. I want you to be my wife and her mother, in time.”

“You're all I've ever wanted,” I told him, and he wrapped me in his arms, pressing his forehead against mine. “I'm so sorry we lost so much time. I know I was stubborn, and I pushed you away so many times. But I love you, Joe.”

His lips brushed against mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close.

I could feel the heat of his body, and my wolf came to the surface, wanting to feel the heat of his skin against mine.

“I love you too,” he murmured against my lips.

“And I promise you that I'm going to spend every day of the rest of my life proving it to you.”

I believed him.