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THREE

Dillon

It’s been two days, and Jensen hasn’t left my side for more than a few minutes. If this were in any other situation, I’d think I found my Prince Charming—but this isn’t a fairytale.

It’s hard to wrap my head around everything that’s happened in the last few days.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m being unreasonable.

I mean, the guy saved my life. I should be happy and thanking him.

But I can’t seem to get past the fact that I had no choice in any of this.

He did what he wanted with me and my body.

He marked me forever and expected me to be cool with it.

“Can I leave?” I ask the nurse as she comes in.

“Not yet, dear. The doctor says tomorrow. We need your red blood cell count to improve a little more.”

I groan, plopping back in the hospital bed.

I’ve been cooped up in here for way too long and I’m going stir crazy.

I want to stretch my legs and move around a bit, but every time I so much as lift a finger, Jensen is there, offering help or asking if I need something.

I know he’s being helpful, and a part of me thinks it’s sweet how he dotes on me.

But another part is waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Jensen seems like a good guy, but I’ve seen people’s masks drop too many times to let my guard down completely.

No one is this perfect. No one treats strangers like this unless they have an ulterior motive. I learned that from my mom’s boyfriends.

What angle could Jensen be working?

“Do you need anything?” the nurse asks.

“No, I’m good.”

“Let me know if you do,” she says before she heads out.

I roll my head to the right and give Mabel puppy dog eyes.

“Please break me out of here,” I beg.

She smiles. “One more day. Twelve more hours. You can make it until then.”

She’s right. It’s already late. Hopefully, when I wake up tomorrow, they’ll do one more test and let me leave.

“Can you feel it?” Mabel whispers.

I frown. “Feel what?”

“The mating heat.”

“The what?”

“Jensen didn’t tell you about that?”

I sigh. “He might have. I’ve been trying to ignore him.”

Mable sighs, giving me a look. She wants me to trust Jensen. She thinks he’s a good guy. But I can’t let my guard down.

“You should give him a chance,” she says softly.

“You know what he did,” I snap.

She flinches slightly. “I know. I also know why he did it. Why he had to do it. And I’m glad he did.”

I stare at her in shock as she blinks away tears.

“You were unconscious, Dillon. You didn’t see the car. You didn’t see yourself. There was so much blood everywhere, and you wouldn’t wake up! I’ve never been so scared. I thought you were dead.”

“I wasn’t,” I argue.

“You were dying , Dillon. I get that it’ll take time to trust Jensen, but you need to stop pushing him away. Give him a chance to make it up to you. Ask the doctors for your records, and you’ll see all your injuries and how dire they were.”

Mabel clears her throat and changes the subject. “The mating heat happens every full moon.”

“Tonight,” I say, looking out the window at the moon.

“Yeah. Miles said it’s like an intense pressure to mate. Like an extreme attraction to each other. He said we’d be desperate to be together.”

“Hmm,” I say noncommittally.

The truth is that I can feel everything she’s described. I’ve been fighting it all day.

“I can feel it,” she says quietly.

“So can I.”

“Are you going to…” She trails off.

I swallow. “No.”

She nods, no judgment in her expression.

Mabel and I have been through everything together. We’re not just best friends. We’re sisters.

“Are you going to?”

She bites her bottom lip, a blush staining her cheeks. “Yeah, I think so. Miles is incredible. He’s attentive and sweet and generous. Everything I could want in a man.”

“Lucky,” I say wistfully.

She gives me a look. I ignore it.

“You ever think that maybe this is the universe's way of making up for our shitty childhoods?”

I lean my head back and stare up at the ceiling. “We had parents who never gave a shit about us. We had a whole town who ignored us. Then we came here, and bam! Suddenly, we have two men who are obsessed with us and would do anything to make us happy.”

Resentment bubbles in my stomach, and I hate it. I’m happy for Mabel. I really am. She deserves someone like Miles. The guy worships her and would do anything to make her happy or see her smile. I wish that things weren’t so complicated for Jensen and me.

“Maybe it is. You deserve someone who can see how amazing you are,” I tell her.

“So do you.”

She squeezes my hand, and I smile.

“Maybe I’ll find a guy like that someday,” I say as the door opens and Jensen and Miles walk in.

“A guy like what?” Jensen asks, heading straight for my side.

He hovers, scanning my body and the monitors like he’s checking on me.

“Like Miles,” I say, and he glares at his friend.

Miles and Mabel don’t even notice. They’re too busy making eyes at each other. I smile as I watch them.

Jensen clears his throat. “Do you need anything?”

My stomach growls. Before I can say anything, he sets a sandwich on the table beside my hospital bed.

“Is that a?—”

“Burger. Medium rare, ketchup, mayo, lettuce, pickles, and grilled onions.”

My stomach growls again, and my mouth waters. I don’t have to say or do anything because Jensen is already moving the table over my lap and taking the food out of the bag.

“Thanks,” I grumble.

He nods. “I got you fries and a chocolate shake.”

Damn, he’s good.

I pop a fry in my mouth and close my eyes. It’s so good to eat something other than the food from the hospital cafeteria.

I focus on my food and try not to look at the handsome man hovering over me. But it’s hard, almost impossible, with how I’m feeling.

The mating heat.

I tried to play it off when Mabel asked me if I could feel it. The truth is…it’s overwhelming. All I can think about is Jensen and being with him.

I’ve never wanted to date or kiss anyone before.

I never had a crush on any of the boys in my class or town.

But since I woke up in the hospital, Jensen is all I can think about.

Whenever he’s near, I light up like a damn Christmas tree.

My blood heats, and my core clenches and becomes wet.

My heart rate speeds up, which is embarrassing, considering I’m attached to the hospital monitor beeping with my heartbeat.

“We’re going to head out,” Mabel announces. She’s tucked into Miles’s side, smiling blissfully. It’s so good to see her so happy and in love. I’m delighted for her.

We could have that, too, my subconscious whispers.

My gaze shifts to Jensen to find him watching me. His gaze is heated, and I realize he can feel the mating heat, too.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I tell Mabel.

She nods. “First thing in the morning.”

“Have a fun night.”

She grins mischievously over her shoulder as they head out.

“Do you need anything?” Jensen asks, stepping forward to fluff my pillows again.

“The pillows are fine,” I tell him in exasperation.

“They look flat. You’d be more comfortable with different ones. I’ll order some.”

“That’s not necessary. I’m being released tomorrow,” I remind him.

“I’ll get more for you.”

“I don’t?—”

But he’s already walking to the empty hospital bed next to mine and grabbing the pillow. He fluffs it and tucks it behind my head.

“Thanks,” I say dryly.

“Of course,” he says happily.

He seems so happy to be taking care of me. It’s weird, a foreign concept for me. Growing up, I was always the one taking care of myself.

“You can go home. Get some rest,” I suggest.

You’re testing him, my subconscious whispers. You want to see if he’ll leave like everyone else.

He settles on the chair beside my bed. “No, I’m fine here,”

“That chair can’t be comfortable.”

“It’s fine.”

“So am I. You don’t have to stay. If I need anything, I’ll call one of the nurses.

“I help you.”

“But you don’t have to,” I argue.

“I want to. You’re my mate. Taking care of you and anything you need is part of it.”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why is that part of it?”

“It just is. Fated mates means more than being partners or husband and wife. It’s more than love. It’s an unbreakable bond. At least from my side.”

“How can you be so sure? People change their minds all the time. Things change. Feelings change.”

“This won’t. It’s a constant.”

“So you’re always going to follow me around, fluffing my pillows and whatnot?”

“I’d like to do more than that for you.”

“Sex,” I say flatly.

He blinks. “Yes, but not just that. I want to take care of all of your needs. I want to feed you, provide for you. I’ll take care of you when you’re sick and do whatever I can to cheer you up when you’re down. Hell, I hope you’re never down around me. You should always be smiling and happy.”

“What if that’s not what I want?”

“Then I’ll change. I’ll be whatever you want.”

“No, I mean, what if I don’t want to be with you?”

My question elicits an immediate reaction from Jensen. It’s like I’ve punched him. He looks shocked and crestfallen.

“What did I do wrong?”

I want to take it back. I want to tell him about my mom and growing up in Idaho, but I can’t. I don’t trust him yet. And I don’t trust what I’m feeling.

Is this lust because of the mating heat? Or do I have genuine feelings for him?

Either way, I want him. I’m already wearing his mark, so I might as well reap the benefits.

“This is all a lot,” I murmur. “I don’t know what to think right now. All I can focus on is this feeling.”

“What feeling?”

“Need. I…ache.”

He licks his lips, and the tension between us fills the room. His eyes are locked on me, glowing in the dimly lit room. “Mate…”

I take a shaky breath. “I need you.”

Jensen is in motion in an instant. He stalks to the door and flips the lock.

I shiver in anticipation, sitting up in bed as he walks toward me. “Jensen, I’ve never…”

“Me neither. We’ll be each other’s firsts.”