Page 5

FOUR

Jensen

Holding Dillon while she sleeps is like coming home. My wolf and I are so happy to finally have our mate. I wish our first time hadn’t been in a hospital bed, but I have a lifetime to make it up to her.

Our next time will be even better . We can do it in our bed.

I smile as my wolf licks his lips in anticipation.

I knew finding my fated mate would be a blessing, but I never realized how amazing it would feel. It’s like I’m finally complete. The antsy feeling is gone. I don’t need to search for anything or anyone now I have her. As soon as I found her, she became my whole world.

I glance at the clock to see it’s after eight.

Miles will be here soon to pick me up for the pack meeting.

The Red Fog Pack attacked last night. Burned houses and caused another car accident.

This time, the driver wasn’t as lucky as our mates.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. It’s full-on war now there’s been a fatality.

My wolf growls. He’s pissed that something is taking us away from our mate, but we know we need to take care of the other pack to keep Dillon safe.

I stroke my mate’s flame-colored hair from her face, and she shifts closer, cuddling into my side. The hospital bed is narrow, so she’s plastered against me, her leg draped over mine, her head on my shoulder.

A nurse walks in and stops when she sees us. She’s younger, a hawk shifter here in the pack. She gives me a knowing smile before backing out of the room, giving us privacy.

Dillon starts to stir against me as the door clicks shut behind her. She stretches and opens her pretty green eyes. Her gaze is hazy for a minute as she wakes up, and I breathe her in.

She’ll be discharged today, and I’m looking forward to moving her in with me. She’ll like our place. It’s next to Miles and Mabel’s townhouse, and I know my mate will love being close to her best friend.

“Morning,” I say softly.

“Hmm,” she hums, moving away from me.

She still looks half asleep, and my wolf stretches inside me. Her sweet scent is all over me, and I take a deep breath as she sits on the side of the bed and yawns.

“Are you hungry?” I ask as I sit up next to her.

“Yeah. Is it visiting hours?”

“Almost. Miles and Mabel are on their way.”

I rub her back, and she tenses under my touch. My stomach drops, and I frown as I study her.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

“You can go back to sleep.”

She nods and slides off the bed. She won’t meet my gaze, and my good mood starts to sour.

“What is it, mate?” I ask her softly.

She flinches at the word “mate,” and my wolf tenses.

This is not a good sign, he growls.

I swallow hard. “Dillon?”

“Listen, last night…it didn’t mean anything. We were scratching an itch.”

My heart breaks in my chest. My body grows numb as I try to wrap my head around what she’s saying.

Fix this! my wolf orders, but I don’t know how.

“It meant more than that.”

She averts her gaze.

Hurt courses through me, and I try to breathe through the pain. I need a clear head so I can figure out a way to convince her it was more than sex last night. We made love. We claimed each other.

“What will it take?”

She blinks. “For what?”

“For me to make it up to you.”

“You can’t.”

“That can’t be true. Come on, Dillon. I can’t change what happened. I wouldn’t even if I could. All I can do is prove that I was telling the truth and we’re meant to be together.”

The hospital door opens, and Miles and Mabel walk in, looking deliriously in love with each other. Jealousy eats at me.

I grit my teeth and turn to Dillon. “We have to go to the pack meeting, but we’ll be back soon.”

She nods. I want to reach for her, but I curl my fingers into my palms before she rejects me again.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” Miles tells Mabel.

She smiles, kissing him goodbye. I take one last look at Dillon before I stalk from the room.

“So?” Miles asks as we head to the elevator.

“So what? You claimed your mate. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, man,” he says, practically skipping as we step onto the elevator.

I hit the button for the ground floor and we ride down in silence. It isn’t until we climb into the car that Miles turns to me.

“What about you? How was last night with your mate?”

“Good, I thought. We were together last night, but this morning…I don’t know. She shut me out again.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, man.”

“It’ll be okay. I’ll fix things.”

He nods and starts the car.

“So, the meeting?” I ask, changing the subject.

“It’s going to be war,” he sighs.

“I know.”

We park outside City Hall and head inside. Almost everyone else is already there, and we sit next to Tucker and Crew.

“How’s it going?” I ask, and they grunt.

Griffin and Ryker, our pack’s Alphas, walk in, and the room falls silent.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Griffin says. “I’m sure you’ve all heard about the events last night.”

“Our hearts go out to those we lost. If you haven’t, the signup for the casserole train is on the table out front. Please consider helping out the family that lost a loved one.”

I already signed Miles and me up for a date. I sit back in my chair and try to pay attention to the meeting, but it’s hard with my wolf pacing inside me. My thoughts are still on what happened with Dillon this morning.

“Our talks haven’t been successful, so the plan has changed. We’ll be fighting back,” Ryker explains. “We’ll take turns protecting our border and need everyone on watch duty. The signup form is going around now.”

Tucker scribbles his name in a time slot and passes the clipboard to me. I look at Miles and point to the next time slot. He nods, and I write our names there. We’ll have to go out every other day for the midnight to eight am shift, but that way, we’ll be home by the time our mates wake up.

Miles passes the sheet along, and we listen as Ryker goes over the game plan. Everyone is on edge as we file out, and Miles is quiet as we drive back to the hospital.

“Is that…” He trails off.

I look out the window to see our mates headed down the sidewalk to our houses.

“Dammit. I thought we said to stay at the hospital,” I snap.

“Dillon was pretty excited to be released. I guess I can’t blame them,” Miles sighs as he pulls over to the curb.

I hop out and head straight for Dillon. “What are you doing?”

She glares at me. “I was discharged.”

“It’s not safe out here.”

“We’re fine,” she replies, rolling her eyes.

Mabel unlocks their front door, and the girls head in. I follow behind, with Miles on my heels.

“Our place is next door,” I tell Dillon.

“I’m staying here.”

“That’s okay, right?” Mabel asks Miles.

He nods, giving me a guilty look. “Of course. Whatever you want, mate.”

I glare at him, and he gives me a helpless look. My wolf snarls and continues his pacing inside me.

“Then I’m staying here too.”

Dillon sighs and turns to follow Mabel upstairs. We go to the third floor, and Dillon chooses the first guest room, so I pick the one next door.

“You don’t have to stay here,” she snaps.

“My mate is here. Where else would I be?”

Miles and Mabel head back downstairs, and I’m left alone with my mate.

“Why can’t you let this go?” she demands.

“You’re my mate, Dillon. You’re my everything.”

She crosses her arms and looks away from me in frustration.

“I know you don’t trust me right now, but I promise I’ll prove we’re meant to be. Just give me a chance to win your trust.”

She doesn’t answer, but her gaze softens slightly. For a second, I think we’re making progress.

Then she turns and heads into the guest room, slamming the door in my face.

I sigh as I walk into the room next door.

Baby steps, I think.

My wolf growls in response.