Wolfdale

BONUS CHAPTER 3 (RUBY POV)

"You have to tell her..."

"But Silva..." I reply and she raises her hand to shut me up.

"Ruby Rose, you can't keep something like this from your mate." I sigh tiredly and lean back on my chair in front of her desk while the blonde girl pours more tea for us, the high school where she works as a biology teacher is empty at this hour of the evening and only a few students are out here playing sports, the sun is setting behind the hills surrounding Wolfdale and I should be going back home to have dinner with my wife.

"What if I'm wrong? What if he's not her father?"

"You'll have to find out together, my friend, you know what you have to do... Besides, there's no use trying to keep this from her. I bet Iselen has noticed your anxiety already through your bond and she knows something's going on, she probably thinks something came up in the city hall and will ask you about it the moment you set foot in your apartment. Are you going to lie to her face?" Silva raises an eyebrow smiling smugly because she knows she has a good point and I sigh again, frustrated.

"Iselen has never had a normal family, her mom is lovely but no one would give her an award to the mother of the year, and I'm concerned that she'll get excited with the idea of getting to know her father better, she'll be very disappointed if she finds out that he has bad intentions."

"I understand it, Ruby, you don't want to see your mate being hurt but you can't protect her forever. You have to tell her and be there for her when she decides what she wants to do, Iselen is young but has gone through a lot, she's not a stupid kid that needs to be protected from the real world, she only needs the support of her wife and the alpha of this pack. Go back home, have dinner with your girl and tell her what you suspect."

"Okay, I guess you're right," I drink my last sip of tea and get up slowly. "Thank you for the conversation."

"You're welcome. You know I'm here for you when you need to clear your mind." Silva Verania smiles and gets up to open the door for me. "You bear a heavy burden, Ruby, living for long years alone dealing with this city and this pack but now you have her, for better, for worse. Those were your wedding vows, do you remember them?"

"I wish I could save her from all the bad things," I grumble and she chuckles.

"I know but you can't do that. It doesn't work like that... Go home, I'm sure she's worried about you."

I nod and leave her office, walking through the deserted corridors towards the door where my bike is waiting. It's true that I can feel my mate's anxiety thanks to the bond that binds us, I can feel she's impatient... she can't wait for me to be back home. She's probably made something delicious for dinner and will let me eat to regain strength after a long day of hard work before interrogating me. It's going to be a difficult conversation because I don't know how she'll react to the news.

"I hope she doesn't get angry with us because we've withheld important information," Rose whines in my mind.

"I hope so too, my friend."

Roasted chicken, rice salad and homemade vanilla ice cream is what she's made for dinner. Not that my wolf cares about eating chicken for lunch and dinner the same day and neither do I, above all because my mate cooked it for me and it's delicious, as usual. Iselen told me everything about her meeting in Valérie Chlóe's store, the clothes she's bought and how much fun she had with the girls, while I ate my dinner quietly. We've talked about the new firefighter truck I'm going to buy while finishing dessert, about the spring fair and her little goddaughter who's able to stand up alone, leaning her hands on the couch. I can feel her concern, she knows I have something going through my head, but she'll let me choose the right moment to tell her about it.