Cooper POV
Walking into lunch with my new mate on my arm is probably the best feeling in the world. I quickly forgot breakfast when my proposal went as I had hoped. I can't keep the smile off my face and beam with pride as some of our friends greet us with cheers when we walk into the dining room. We can’t get more than a few meters before being stopped by well-wishers as we make our way to our table. Hayley squeezes my hand, and I can feel her joy through the bond, boosting my own. I’m relieved she can finally see for herself how celebrated fated mates are in our world.
"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Ethan teases, "Hayley, you're only allowed to sit beside me if you promise no more visions of Cooper naked." He pulls Hayley in a friendly hug, and I swallow down the growl that tries to force its way out. Ethan laughs as he spots the look on my face over her shoulder. "Relax, buddy. She's all yours. If we didn't spot the mark, that giant ro
Hayley POV A flat white, shiny box with a pale pink bow tied around it is sitting in the middle of my bed. I glance back towards the bedroom door, but nobody is there watching. Surely if one of the gaggle of girls currently laughing and boozing it up in my sitting room had left it here for me to find, they would watch me open it. I drift closer and take the small envelope from underneath the ribbon, opening it carefully to read the message inside. Hayley, I am so sorry that I'm not there to pour shots down your neck on this, the most sacred of days. Although I'm more than confident Leah will do that for me! I am so happy that you are joining our family. I could never have dreamed that I would be lucky enough to end up with a sister like you. I wanted you to have this, maybe for the Luna Ceremony? It was just too pretty to leave behind. I love you so much, and I promise I will come back for the wedding. Enjoy the hen!! P.P.S. Please send some pics of the dick paraphernalia. I need
Hayley POV The loud squeal of tires skidding across asphalt disrupts the peaceful morning air and I whip around to see where the noise is coming from. Then I see him. A young boy in a bright blue coat, standing in the road, his little face frozen in shock, staring wide-eyed, as a dark grey van hurtles towards him. My heart jumps into my mouth and I take a step towards him, already knowing that I am too far away to help. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a blur of movement as a man launches himself into the road. In a split second, he has somehow pushed the boy clear, but just as he climbs to his feet to get out of the way, the van barrels into him with a sickening thud, and his body is sent flying through the air by the force of the impact. My stomach lurches at the sight, and I'm frozen in place, horrified at the scene unfolding in front of me. The sound of screaming fills the air and breaks me from my stupor. The little boy's mother races to his side and collapses on her knees b
Hayley POVI blink my eyes open and squint. The fluorescent lights above my bed are uncomfortably bright and not helping my pounding headache. It takes me a second to remember what happened and realize where I am. Groaning out loud, I cover my eyes with my arm. I am supposed to be staying below the radar, not ending up all over hospital and police reports."Welcome back Hayley. Headache?" my nurse says brightly, picking up a cup of water from the sideboard in the room and handing me a little plastic container with a couple of painkillers in it. I tip the tablets into my mouth before taking a few sips of water. I scoot back up the bed into a sitting position, pulling the thin blue blanket up with me."How are you feeling? You’ve been out for a few hours," she asks gently, coming to my side to take my pulse, and wheeling over the blood pressure monitor."Fine," I answer, "I feel like a bit of a fraud for taking up a hospital bed, to be h
Cooper POVBeep, beep, beep. The slow steady noise beside my head drags me from my sleep and into what feels like the worst hangover ever. I open my eyes slowly and it takes me a couple of seconds to get my bearings and realize that I am in a hospital bed. I try to sit up but a sharp stabbing pain in my stomach makes me lie back flat on the bed. I wince at my splitting headache and the agony I feel as I try to move my arms and legs. I hurt everywhere. I growl to myself, not liking this feeling of weakness one little bit, and lower my head back to the pillow. As a wolf shifter and an Alpha at that, I pride myself on being strong and nearly indestructible. I guess a speeding van is the exception."You're going to be a terrible patient, aren't you?" My sister Leila is standing in the doorway with her hand on her hips, chuckling to herself. I ignore her and close my eyes tight against the pain. She lifts the chart at the end of the bed and scans down over it,
Hayley POVThe next morning, a nurse arrives just after breakfast and hands me two clear plastic bags. They stink. She raises the first one and holds it out for me to take."Your hoodie and runners from the scene of the accident, Ethan dropped them off last night, along with your keys and phone which were still in the pocket. And he drove your car back here from the park rather than leave it there overnight." She holds up the other bag, "These ... are the mucky, wet shorts and top you came in. I've brought you these to put on instead, so you have something dry to wear home." I wrinkle my nose before reluctantly taking them. I hope I don't smell as bad as that."Oh god, yuck," I say as I look at the wet dirty clothes through the plastic."Yep." She responds, obviously keen to get rid of the offending items before she hands me some green scrubs."Thanks for these. Wait, he drove my car here!? I was just going to get a taxi home." I stare at her in sh
Cooper POVI fume all the way back to my house and there is silence for the entire 30-minute drive. I try to stay calm and fight the urge to kick Ethan and Leila out of the car and race straight back to the hospital. Even though I know Ethan is just enjoying winding me up, it doesn't stop me from wanting to tear his head off for daring to touch what is mine. My beat-up old blue pick-up is parked at the side of my small log cabin as we pull in and beside it is my dad's shiny brand new one. A loud sigh escapes my lips as I swivel and glare at my sister in the back seat, who at least has the good grace to look ashamed of herself."You told them?" I ask her in disbelief, "I haven't even met her yet and you told them? What are we, 17 years old?""I was just so excited!" she says sheepishly, "and I only told Dad. Not Mum. I'm not stupid. She would have been down in the hospital trying to fit her for a wedding dress already if she knew." I wish she were joking but that
Cooper POVI lift my head from my front paws and stand to shake off some dead leaves clinging to my fur. I am shocked to find that I have slept till dawn. Hiding in my mate’s back garden isn't the ideal way to ensure a good night's sleep, but it did the trick as my wolf was comforted by her scent. I stretch out my limbs, still marveling at how much better I feel when I hear the latch on the back door click, and the door swings open.My heart jumps into my mouth as Hayley steps out and turns to lock the door behind her. She has her head tilted to the side while she slips on her headphones, and waves of toffee-colored hair cascade over her tanned shoulders, shimmering with natural blonde highlights from lots of time spent outdoors. I admire her slim, toned legs that seem to go on forever, and the tiny running shorts she has on. I never really considered myself a leg man, but I am now.Jesus. Staying away is going to be tough.She finally turn
Hayley POV When I arrive back at work on Tuesday morning, it's immediately clear that news of my dramatic weekend has reached everyone in the office. There are a big bunch of flowers and a hamper of muffins waiting for me at reception. Everybody keeps hugging me which seems a bit over the top since I only started here six weeks ago and have largely kept to myself. Angela the receptionist has tears in her eyes as she goes in for a second squeeze and it dawns on me that they aren't happy that I am ok, but that Cooper is. He appears to be equally loved by all my colleagues and they genuinely appear to be shaken up by the whole thing. It makes me wonder who he is that everyone is affected by him getting hurt this much. She hands me a stack of messages to get through. "Everyone wants to talk to you after that article in the paper yesterday. We've had reporters calling non-stop." She obviously expects me to be thrilled about being the local celebrity for a few days but it's the last thing