Fate Mate

Chapter 29

"No, no, no!" Dylan shouted at the television, where a beautifully dressed woman stood in front of half a dozen men. "Don't give the rose to Alberto!"

I smiled at the sight of my Delta, pacing back and forth in front of the screen like he was watching the Superbowl... The girl on the screen called out Alberto's name, and Dylan threw his head back in shock, "You're kidding me!"

Sophia cackled from where she sat on the other end of the couch, a bowl of popcorn in her lap. She threw little bits of the buttered snack at Dylan, but each throw fell a few inches short. Nolan, who sat on the other side of the couch beside me, frowned at the mess that she was creating.

"I still don't understand why you all like this show," Nolan's frown deepened when the rejected contestant started crying to the cameramen.

"It's romantic!" Sophia defended, now aiming her popcorn arsenal at the side of Nolan's head. A few pieces hit my shoulder in the crossfire, and I wanted to laugh when he started to use me as a shield against his sister's playful attack.

I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't. I hadn't laughed since the night of Nolan's birthday party.

I stayed in the hospital wing for another day after that night, just while the remnants of my Heat faded away. When I no longer needed the ice packs and IV to keep me cool and hydrated, the pack doctors released me. Even though I didn't feel ready to leave-- not emotionally.

I knew that as soon as I left the hospital wing, I'd be exposed. My own pack members wouldn't be able to keep themselves from staring at me-- their Luna who had been marked by another male. The thin bandage that I kept pasted to my neck could hide the wound, but it couldn't hide Dominic's scent. It disgusted me.

On the morning that the hospital released me, however, Nolan arrived to escort me back to his cottage. And he had brought back up. Sophia had brought a change of clothes in a little plastic bag, including a baggy grey hoodie that smelt strongly of pine and peppermint. The fabric swallowed me whole, offering the perfect amount of comfort and protection, and the hood even added an extra layer over the bandage. Dylan came too, although he brought nothing but a non-judgmental smile.

We didn't talk about what happened, and I was grateful that they never asked. Of course, I knew that the entire pack had heard little snippets of details, but Nolan must have warned them against speaking about it in my presence. Everything seemed normal in the pack. Like the night of Nolan's birthday party never happened.

Except it did. And the following week had been one of the hardest of my life.

At least I could distract myself during the day. I threw myself into research on the hybrids, the talisman, and a variety of witch protection spells. I commandeered Nolan's office space, and he never seemed to mind having my constant company. In the evenings, I spent time with Sophia or Dylan, fighting to retain a bit of normalcy in my relationships.

But I'd become a shell of myself. The effects of betrayal at the hands of the one person I placed absolute trust in.

The worst of it occured at night. On my first night out of the hospital wing, I couldn't stand the black silence that blanketed Nolan's bedroom. It felt like I was slipping into defenseless unconsciousness again, so I scurried into the living room and woke up Nolan. He offered to sleep with me, and we both preferred to keep a single light on. But even with my Alpha's warmth beside me and the comfort of a nightlight, flashes of that night still plagued my dreams.

I dreaded going to sleep, which explains why I now sat in the pack house living room with Nolan, Dylan, and Sophia watching trashy reality television.