I’m off the sidewalk that follows the main road around the hospital and cutting through the grass behind toward the trees. Every step getting faster and faster until I’m no longer walking but full on sprinting toward the forest. I won’t stop. I can’t. Goddess, why did you do this to me? Why am I being tortured for something I didn’t do? I want to curse the heavens and the moon itself. Why am I Makayla Pride, daughter of Nemora? Why couldn’t I have been Quinn Iverson? Or Annabelle Lucas? Or any one of the beautiful girls of River Crest who were loved by their parents and cherished by their pack? I break through the tree line and the dense canopy overhead blocks the sun. I’m still running, legs pumping furiously as I charge toward the unknown. But I can breathe a little easier. Or so I thought. My chest burns with every painful breath and my throat aches the deeper into the woods I go. Pulling the stranger’s hoodie from around me, I throw it into the bushes as I retreat farthe
“Why isn’t she improving?!”“It’s not that simple, Rafael... Her injuries... when you brought her to us, she was half dead!”“It’s been two weeks, Juniper. Wolves in far worse conditions have bounced back in half as much time!”I know this furious voice. My mate. He sounds so far away, but it’s no doubt his warmth beside me, radiating through my body.“Did someone dare sabotage her recovery?! Is that why she ran into the woods in this condition?!”I can tell he’s fighting hard to control himself; every word is growled through grit teeth. His aura is staggering, and it’s hard to breathe even while I’m unconscious and not on the receiving end. I don’t know how Dr. Juniper is still standing, let alone speaking back to him.“Rafael, please. No one has been allowed into her room besides me, the nurses, Christobel, Thane, and you,” Dr. Juniper sighs. “Let’s think rationally for just a moment. I know she’s your mate. I know you love her and are concerned. But the truth of the matter is, your
My mate, Rafael Crane, is a madman. That is the sad, ugly truth.I don’t know if he was always insane or if it is the result of our mate bond. But what I do know is this man is unwell psychologically. Well, that’s a bit of an unfair exaggeration. But what else am I supposed to think?He hasn’t left my side for two days. I can’t even go to the bathroom without him tailing me and standing outside the door. He watches my every move like he’s studying some mystifying, unknown creature. And when he’s here in the hospital room with me, he refuses to be further than six inches away from me. That’s if I can get him to let me go.I know it’s my fault he’s behaving like this.All of the running and pushing away has probably driven him crazy. One minute, I’m in his arms, feeling nothing short of the grace of the Goddess and the light of eternity. The next minute, I’m telling him we can’t work or outright pushing him back. I’d be insane, too, if my mate was acting like me.Still, this is too far.
Thane stands firm, unfazed by Rafael’s objection to being forcefully removed from my side. The growl that shook me to my core, he simply shrugs off as he shoves Rafe toward the door. That’s the last upper hand Thane gets.Rafe plants his feet and roots himself in place, refusing to budge even as Thane shoves his shoulder roughly.“Come on, kid. Move it,” Thane grunts, toe-to-toe with the younger man.Rafe’s scent shifts, and I smell Reign rising to the surface. His golden eyes flicker for a moment, and the hair on the back of my neck bristles. Milla wants to surge forward and wrap around him. As hard as I’m wrestling to control and contain her, I can’t imagine how difficult it is for Rafe to keep his wolf in check.“I know you’re worried about her, and I can understand you don’t want to leave her side—”“You understand nothing, Thane,” Reign growls, taking over Rafe’s voice. “You have no mate. You know nothing.”“Reign, calm yourself,” Thane sighs. I don’t understand how he can keep a
Christobel’s question comes out of nowhere. A walk? Me? Am I even allowed to leave the hospital room after the stunt I pulled? I’m sure Rafe had a pointed conversation with Dr. Juniper. No doubt, I’m under constant surveillance now. I’ll be lucky to get two steps out of the door before guards are on my ass. And she’s asking me if I want to go for a walk?I almost laugh at the suggestion until I see she is dead serious.“A walk?”“Mmhm.” Christobel beams, pulling me up to my feet. “I think a little fresh air is just the thing to help you recover.”“I don’t know if I—”“Don’t worry about Rafe. I’ll let him know what’s happening through the mind link. He’ll have no problem as long as I’m your chaperone.”Did she just read my mind? And chaperone? It really is like I’m under house arrest. Now, I have to have a chaperone to walk around. The whole situation is crazy enough to be comical.To think, Makayla Pride, the outcast of River Crest, is so highly valued and protected that she’s not eve
If I had known what I would face when I returned to the hospital, I wouldn’t have left in the first place. The second Christobel and I open the door to my room, Rafe charges over and wraps me up tight in his arms. His heartbeat thumps wildly in my ears, and I can hardly hear what he’s muttering in my hair over the sound of it.“I was so worried,” he grumbles against the side of my head. “Christobel didn’t check in with me for fifteen minutes, and I thought—”“Rafael Crane, you unhand that girl this instant.” Christobel’s stern, maternal voice rings clear from behind, and Rafe obeys immediately, squeezing me tight before releasing me.“I swear on the moon above, you’ve become a clingy pup all over again!” she sighs, stepping between me and my mate with her arms crossed over her chest. Seeing her stare down a man who’s easily a foot and a half taller than her is almost comical. Almost.Because I still hear Rafe’s heart pounding in his chest, the sickly sweet scent of his fear and panic l
The room falls silent the moment the declaration leaves my lips. Time slows to a crawl, and I see everything with intense clarity. It’s subtle, but there’s a soft glow radiating off Rafe’s skin—a faint halo. His dark lashes are thick and shiny. There’s a single silver-white hair growing from his temple. And there are flecks of green and gold in his blue eyes that I’ve never seen before.I always believed him to be the most beautiful person on the planet. Now, even those words are inadequate.“Makayla…” His voice trails off as he says my name, but I know what he thinks and wants. Heat radiates from his body, rippling through me in warm waves.I kiss those perfect lips and run my fingers through his luscious locks, and he growls softly, deepening the kiss. The door closes in the distance, and Christobel’s presence is gone. Nothing is stopping him now.“Makayla,” he says as he breaks the kiss, his gaze burning through me. “You mean it?”“Do you want me to say it again?” I ask, draping my
The next few hours are a blur.Rafe left the room after my declaration and returned fifteen minutes later with the doctor. They bickered for a while about my discharge and the stage of my recovery. Much to Dr. Juniper’s surprise, I was at 95% recovery. I’ll never forget the proud look on Rafe’s face as he stood tall behind the doctor, announcing that I accepted the mate bond.Dr. Juniper wasn’t so easily impressed or swayed and refused to discharge me before running more tests and keeping me for observation until the evening, just to be certain. I thought Rafe was going to tear the poor man apart, but Dr. Juniper must be used to his moods. The young doctor didn’t bat a lash at all of Rafe’s fuming and grumbling.By the end of all the bloodwork, vitals, and scans, the sun had long since set. In just that short amount of time, my condition improved even more, and there was no further pretense for Dr. Juniper to deny Rafe’s demands. If I hadn’t heard the doctor’s admissions myself, I wou