Page 16

I wanted to hold her all day, and I could since it was the weekend. April didn't seem in a hurry to leave me either. I inhaled her scent, enjoying that it covered the sheets even. I could lay in them for days.

"You're sniffing me," she said, turning herself towards me. "Why? Do I stink?"

I laughed as I pulled her tighter against me. "You smell nice," I said, taking another deep breath of her in. "It's a nice scent."

She chuckled softly and placed a hand on my chest. "You smell nice too. Like you've been hanging at the beach."

"Thanks," I said, feeling her breasts pressed against my chest, and I was half tempted to take her again even though I just had her. I would never get sick of April and all the noises she made during sex.

I didn't know what April wanted or what she thought about this relationship, but I knew I wanted her. I wanted her for real, and I wanted her forever. But I knew that this was going to take time, and having her for real was going to be a while.

April was still healing from her past and still needed to move through things. She was just getting back on her feet, and I didn't want to cause any issues or swipe the rug out from underneath her. I wanted to take the steps as slowly as she needed.

My wolf growled as she curled closer, turning towards me. She trailed her fingers down my chest. I felt that tug, the need to be closer, and my heart stopped and skipped a beat in a different way. It was like I had been waiting for this my entire life, which brought up a question: Was she my mate?

Everyone always talked about the tug, about the urge to be near their mate. But I'd known April for so long. Why hadn't I felt it before? Or had I felt it but never realized what it was? Had I just never listened to my body before to recognize she was meant for me?

"You know what sounds really good?" she asked, running her hand on my neck, pulling my attention back to reality. "Pancakes. Oh, and bacon. Some crispy bacon and pancakes with syrup. And eggs!"

"That does sound good," I chirped back, deciding we needed to pull apart. I broke free from her and crawled out of bed, grabbing a pair of shorts.

"I'll get started."

"I'll come help you. I'm just going to shower first."

I pulled myself up and headed down the hallway towards the kitchen. I pulled everything out that we would need, cooked the griddle, and set it to warm. I was mixing the batter and pulling plates out when my phone buzzed.

I answered it, seeing it was Cayden. "Morning. You're up early."

"Weslie, what are you doing?" His voice sounded off, almost worried. I scowled, pausing as I grabbed the spatula out of the drawer.

"I'm at home. I'm cooking breakfast, and April is in the shower. Why, what's up? Your voice doesn't sound good."

"There’s a problem at April's apartment."

My entire body tensed up, and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I blinked. "What do you mean there is a problem at her apartment?"

"We got a call about a smoke alarm going off in the building, so we headed down. When we arrived, we realized it was coming from April's apartment."

I ground my teeth together. "Shit! I will be there in ten minutes. Just let me figure something out."

"Okay, and…. don't tell my sister. I don't want her to know. This is the last thing she needs to know about after she's just starting to get settled."

I ended the line and gripped the counter tightly. I should be telling April. It was her apartment, after all. But she was just getting comfortable, just finding her footing. This would push her back, and she would start looking over her shoulders even more.

I can't tell her. At least not right now. I took a deep breath, pushed myself off the counter, and started the pancakes.

Ten minutes later, April came down the hallway with a skip in her step. I gave her a smile. "Hey, I just got a call from Ayden. I need to help him with something. I made you some breakfast."

She frowned. "Oh, you're not going to sit and eat with me?"

I shook my head, turning towards the front door. "No, he sounded a little frantic, so I told him I'd be over right away. I'm sure it's nothing serious, so I'll be back in a little bit."

"Okay, I'll see you later then?"

I nodded, slipped out of the apartment, and sighed. I hated lying to her, but this was better. We didn't know what had happened yet. Why panic about it when it could be something simple?

My mind instantly went to Ivan. He knew she was living there, and breaking in wouldn't be hard. The building didn't have high security. I couldn't prove anything, but a part of me knew.

I arrived at the apartment complex and hurried up to her floor. As soon as I arrived, police tape blocked the door. I hurried under it, slipping inside. I came to a halt, taking in her apartment.

April left the furniture here since we had no need for it. We hadn't exactly discussed what we wanted to do with it after everything, but we knew we were going to need to eventually. But I honestly thought this Ivan thing would have ended by now.

The space stunk of smoke, and burn marks could be seen when you looked down the hallway to the bedroom and bathroom.

"Hey," Ayden spoke up, and I turned to him. He stood with the sheriff, who he waved off as he walked over to me. "You didn't need to come down. We had it under control."

"I wanted to see what all happened. Besides, Cayden sounded off on the phone. Did you guys figure anything out?"

Cayden came out of the bedroom. "Fire started in the bedroom. It looks like someone stayed here last night. The bed was a mess."

My stomach curled up at that.

Ayden looked at me. "I'm guessing from the look neither of you have been."

I shook my head. "No, we've been staying at my place. Neither of us has even come down here since she moved in."

"What happened in the bedroom?" I asked, pointing towards the burn marks.

"Lighter fluid was poured on the floor and lit."

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. If April had been staying here, what would have happened? I didn't even want to imagine what would have all happened.

"How did he get in?" I asked, knowing she had locked the door when she left. April was careful about that.

Cayden raised an eyebrow at me, and I scowled. "It was Ivan. He was here. I mean, who else would do this?"

Just then, Riley came into the space, her eyes wide. She covered her mouth as she looked around. "What the hell happened?"

"Fire," Cayden said simply. "And do not message my sister."

Riley crossed her arms, looking at Cayden, pissed. "What do you mean don't message her? This is her apartment, Cayden. She has a right to know about what's going on here."

Cayden shook his head. "No, it's under my name. This is my apartment, and she doesn't need to know what's going on."

Riley scowled at him, clearly irritated. "You can't be serious. Cayden, April has a right to know about this. This is dangerous."

"I'm aware," he said, "Which is why we don't tell her. She already knows she's in danger, but this will only make her more uncomfortable after all her progress."

Riley narrowed her eyes, and her nostrils flared. "So, you want me to lie to her?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Just don't say anything to her. We don't know who did this. Once we know a little more, we can let her know."

Riley snorted, waving her hand at the mess. "Oh, come on! We know who did this."

"We don't have evidence," Cayden said, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Which means we can't do anything. We have to sit and wait."

Riley growled at him. "Yeah, that seems to be working really fucking well for you, Cayden." She turned, storming out of the apartment.

I glanced at Cayden, knowing there was more to that fight than what I was seeing. He sighed. "We had a fight earlier. There is a house we both really like that is up for sale, and she doesn't want to buy until April is better."

My eyebrows went up. "That could take a while."

He nodded his head. "That's what I told her. I said we can't put our lives on hold because she's sad and my sister is having a hard time. I could have probably said it in other words at the time. She started to cry, and plates were thrown, and then silence followed."

I frowned, realizing he was really worried. It was clearly affecting everything.

"You know I have your sister, don't you?" I said, thinking back to last night. “You said you were grateful for everything I was doing."

"I am," he said, "But this." He waved a hand at the space. "This…this was just below my home. It's affecting my entire family, not just my sister."

We both fell silent, and he sighed. "Ayden and I already spoke about this, but with no proof, there is nothing he can do. I wanted him to have a meeting with the alpha since April was more invested in the town now, but he said we needed evidence for it. And we don't. It's a sitting game at this point."

I scanned the apartment, feeling even more determined to protect April. I knew that Ivan was dangerous before and that he'd hurt her, but this was another level. If April had been here, she could have been injured in a way that couldn't be healed.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked. "Please tell me you thought of something."

He shook his head. "The cameras are down, so there is no footage of him. There are no witnesses. I was going to Viv, but she wasn't home. Whatever he is doing or where he is going, he's good at it." Cayden turned. "Just…keep her safe, Weslie. That's all I ask. I don't want to find her hurt or worse..."

"I am," I said. "And I will continue to. I have her, and she's not going anywhere."

"Thank you," Cayden ran a hand through his head. "At least I have that going for me. I don't have to worry about her being safe."

I left the apartment and felt rage on the drive home. I wanted to find him and snap his neck. But we had no idea where he was. Whenever we got a little information, it was wrong. No one seemed to see him in town, and I didn't understand how that could be.

When I returned to the apartment, April was sitting on the couch. She smiled as I entered. "Hey, can you help Cayden out?"

I nodded as I slipped my shoes off and walked over to her. "Yeah, we're good."

"What did he need help with?"

I thought of the burn marks on her floor, and I swallowed. "Just needed help moving some boxes and didn't want to ask Riley."

"Aren't you sweet. You want to watch this movie with me?" She pointed towards the TV.

I sat down on the couch and pulled her close into my lap. I felt her rest her forehead against my chest and inhaled her scent.

I would keep her safe even if my life depended on it. I kissed the top of her head, knowing she was my entire life now.