Chapter 6

Leila POV

Oh god, why did I agree to this?

I know exactly why I agreed to it, because the second he touched me, any willpower I had about staying away from him for my own sanity crumbled. My wolf was thrilled, all perky for the first time in a fortnight, just happy to get to spend some time in his presence and listening to his deep voice. Nervousness creeps in at the edges of my mind and I’m struggling to stay calm. Maybe he’s worked out that he’s my mate and he’s going to reject me. I’ve sworn not to tell my family about meeting my mate, but I’ve added my mate himself to that vow as well, rightly, or wrongly. But could he have worked it out on his own? After seeing the devastating impact that his mate leaving has had on Rex over the last two weeks, I feel like getting in my car and driving away, anything to avoid that.

Worse than the hurt and pain Rex feels is the humiliation. He feels weak for not being able to just brush it off and get over it. He’s locking himself away because he knows that everyone in the pack knows. He doesn’t want the sympathetic glances, the whispers, the pity. For an Alpha male like Rex, particularly one as strong and private as him, the idea that everyone is talking about him and feeling sorry for him is horrifying. His pride is as wounded as his heart.

I make a pathetic attempt to improve my appearance in the bathroom, barely recognizing myself with my pale washed-out skin and sunken eyes. Rex isn’t the only one who hasn’t been sleeping. Our whole family feels this loss. Watching him lose weight and grow weaker in front of our eyes is scary. I never thought anything could harm my big, bad, brother. But a few words from a little female and he’s been brought to his knees. I just pray he’s strong enough to recover because the shell of a man that’s in our packhouse is not my Rex. And I want my Rex back.

The second that I walk into the canteen, I spot his large muscular frame, leaning against a table, large arms crossed over his broad chest as he holds his coffee and waits. I nod to him in acknowledgment before joining the queue at the counter. I can smell his delicious scent before I feel his presence at my side, standing so close that I can’t breathe.

“How about we go for a walk?” He suggests quietly, and his breath brushing across my neck sends shivers down my back. I nod enthusiastically, keen to get some fresh air rather than be surrounded by the heady scent of Marcus that seems to rob me of the ability to think straight. I pay for my drink and head towards the exit, ignoring the admiring glances Marcus is getting from my female colleagues as we push outside. I clench my fists to stem the wave of jealousy their interest causes in me. I take in a deep lungful of air and instantly feel a bit more relaxed, a little bit more like I can control myself and not rub my hands all over his muscly arms like I want to. Really, really, want to.

“So, Marcus, what can I do for you?” I ask as we wander around to the park at the back of the hospital, walking side by side down a trail that meanders around the outside of the green area. He pauses for a second, before rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. He’s nervous and it’s kind of adorable, in an, I could still kill you with my bare hands, kind of way.

“I’m shit with words, Leila,” he blurts out, as if that explains everything, and then sighs in frustration before trying again. “That night at the bar, I didn’t explain myself.” I feel the hurt from that evening again like it just happens, and I have to blink rapidly to keep my tears at bay.

“You don’t have to explain yourself, Marcus. If you’re not interested, you’re not interested. I’m a big girl,” I say, staring straight ahead and forcing my voice to stay steady while my wolf whimpers inside my head at the reminder of his change of heart. He growls a little and I look over to him, where his face is scrunched up as he frowns hard. It’s like it’s physically painful for him to have this conversation and my heart goes out to him a little. Not a lot though, I’m still mad that he is fighting the bond.

“You think I wasn’t interested? Sweetheart, I have never been more interested in anything in my life,” he assures me, looking down to stare me straight in the eye with an intensity that makes my breath catch in my throat. I can see the fire in his eyes and my wolf practically preens at his words, but I’ve been down this road before.

“But…” I prompt, knowing full well that there is a but coming. Attraction is one thing, but it wasn’t enough for this man.

“But…” he continues reluctantly, “bears are tricky. Mine can be a dick,” he complains, and I laugh at that. My wolf and I are nearly always on the same page, I can’t imagine being in conflict with my animal. He stops and I halt as well, turning to face him. “I really need to be in Grey Ridge, which means I need this job.” He admits, and he looks disgusted with himself for having to admit this, as if it will disappoint me.

“Ah,” is all I say before I continue walking, “and you think that if you, the big bad grizzly, break the heart of the delicate little pack princess I’ll tell my daddy on you and get you fired?” I say mockingly over my shoulder. His eyes flash to black for a second and I know his bear is pushing forward, not happy with the tone I am taking with him. Grizzlies are used to being the boss, he doesn’t seem to like being teased.

“No!” He almost shouts, taking a few steps at a job to catch up to me. “I know you’re no pack princess, Leila. Don’t put words in my mouth.” I can tell he’s insulted.

“It’s fine, you don’t need to do this,” I say, desperate to just end this conversation, but before I can turn to go, he gets in front of me and grabs both of my hands in his.

“You are not the kind of girl that one night would ever be enough with Leila, but I know my bear and I would fuck things up. I need to stay here. It’s better to just…not…” I know I’m not making any sense, but some of the anger in her eyes melts away and she sighs, before pulling her hands gently out of mine. I am surprised by how much it disappoints me to lose her touch.

“Marcus, what do you want from me?” I whisper, exasperated. This is torture. I know he means well, but it’s killing me to hear yet again why we can’t be together.

“Can we start again? Friends?” He extends a hand and I blink at it in the midday sun. But then my wolf perks up a little, thinking this will be a good way to spend more time with him.

Friends. It’s not what I want but it’s better than nothing.

For now, if that’s all I can get of him, I’ll take it. Maybe that can grow to become something more once the bond strengthens, and maybe I can find out more about what’s holding him back. I roll my eyes at his cheesy gesture but shake his hand anyway and the grin that appears on his face is worth it.

“Friends,” I agree, taking his hand and smiling as the sparks dance across my skin. My mind keeps wandering to Rex. I need to make sure I don’t end up in the same position. We resume walking the gardens, the tension around us fading away, and I start to enjoy our surroundings. The smell of the recently cut grass, the spring flowers starting to appear in the flower beds. My mood lightens a little, and I’m feeling more positive.

“So, Rex?” He sounds hesitant, wary of bringing the topic up with me. It’s more than anyone else does though, they huddle in corners, whispering and gossiping about his fate. I should have known he’d have heard.

“Yeah, it sucks.” I shrug, not knowing what else to say. He just nods and doesn’t press, but his presence at my side is comforting to me and my wolf.

“Stacey went back to her human boyfriend and rejected Rex. He’s not sleeping, he’s not eating. He won’t talk about it, he barely speaks at all, and he won’t leave his room,” I shrug again, “I don’t know what else we can do.”

“There’s nothing you can do,” he says simply, Mr. Positivity himself. I glare at him, refusing to accept that my brother will just fade away in front of my eyes. He raises his hands in surrender but continues. “I just mean that maybe he needs space. If I’m having trouble with something, sometimes I’ll go wandering in my bear form for a while. His thinking is simple, quiet, it’d be less stressful for him.”

“We’re his family, we’re not stressful,” I counter, but as his words sink in, I realize that Rex does seem overwhelmed.

“Everything is probably stressful to him. I mean, he’s staying in the same house where he brought her home to meet his parents, where she publicly rejected him. They probably shared his bed. Everyone is talking and he knows it. Maybe he needs to just not be reminded of it. At least for a while, until he can deal with it properly.”

Hmmm. Maybe he’s on to something.

“We’re wolves though. Not bears. We actually like people,” I tease, keen to change the subject to something a little less upsetting. He chuckles at that and doesn’t disagree. Wolves are loud and gregarious by nature. Why would a grumpy bear, like Marcus, move to a town teeming with over-friendly, fun-loving wolves rather than one with some other bears in it. Before the question can leave my lips though, a loud feminine voice behind me makes me cringe.

“Oh no,” I mutter, trying to put as much distance as possible between Marcus and me when I see my mother marching down the path towards us.

“Run, save yourself!” I whisper and Marcus stares at me puzzled, one side of his mouth quirking up in an amused smirk. Stupid bear. Marie is on him in an instant.

“Oh my, my, who do we have here?” Marie asks, stopping directly in front of Marcus without greeting me, eyeing him up and down like a piece of meat. She reaches out with her two hands and squeezes a bicep in each one and grins, before batting her eyelashes at him.

Jesus Christ, she’s brazen.

“Mother, the man you are currently groping is Marcus, the new sheriff. He took over from Madeline a couple of weeks ago,” I say as I prise her off his arms, secretly jealous she got to have a feel and I didn’t. “If you don’t want to get arrested for assault, I suggest you stop feeling him up!” I hiss at her and she laughs. Just laughs. As if it’s totally normal to walk up to strangers and squeeze their muscles. Maybe it is for her.

“Marcus, this is my mother, Luna Jones,” I introduce them reluctantly and I can see the surprise on his face that this crazy lady is the Luna. And that the mate of the Alpha was touching him. I see the tension in his jaw as he scans the park to see if my dad is coming for him.

“It’s a pleasure Luna,” Marcus says, tipping his head respectfully towards her, trying to take a small step back to put some distance between them. She waves it away, before giving him a winning smile.

“It’s Marie to you Sheriff,” my mother purrs and I want to puke. What on earth is going on?

“You are a happily mated woman mother, reign it in,” I snap but my mother just laughs as if I’m an overdramatic prude for thinking it’s not appropriate to feel up the new sheriff.

“Of course, but that’s doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate …” Marcus’s eyes shine with a mixture of terror and delight at my mother’s antics, but I cut her off before it gets any worse.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” I ask through gritted teeth, my face flaming with a mixture of embarrassment and rage. I want the ground to swallow me whole. Or swallow her whole. Either will do.

“Oh yes, sorry, I got distracted there,” she winks at Marcus, and I groan, bringing a palm up to my face. “Career day. We’re doing a career day at the school, and I told them you would tell them all about being a doctor. I was just heading inside to see if I could nab myself a physio and a nurse too.”

“What do you say, Sheriff, you’ll do it too won’t you?” she asks, looking up at him expectantly and he hesitates for a second, but it’s enough. “Brilliant, it’s decided. The kids will be so excited.”

“Of course, Marie, happy to help,” he smiles politely at her, but I can tell it’s his idea of hell. My mother claps her hands in delight and disappears as quickly as she appeared as if he agreed to it rather than her just railroading him. He turns to look at me, looking slightly stunned and bewildered.

“I told you to run.”