Chapter 22
Hadley
Okay, first—Tigers can’t drive.
Which means I am at the mercy of Jessica.
And Jessica? Jessica drives like she’s personally offended by speed limits.
Which is exactly what I need right now.
“Faster!” I snap, gripping the door handle as the jeep takes a turn that absolutely should not be taken that fast.
“I am going fast!” she shoots back, eyes narrowed, hands tight on the wheel. “You want me to fly?”
“Yes!”
Kylie laughs from the backseat, completely unbothered. “She might.”
“I don’t care if you sprout wings, Jess—just get me there!”
My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.
Too fast.
Too loud.
Too late.
Because what if I’m too late?
What if the Pride decides he’s unstable?
What if they take him away?
Lock him down.
Contain him.
And I never get the chance to tell him—my chest tightens painfully.
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head. “No, no, no—”
“Hey,” Jessica says, softer now, glancing at me. “We’re almost there.”
Almost.
Not soon enough.
The jeep fishtails slightly as she turns onto the main stretch of Pride land.
And then she slams the brakes.
Hard.
“Holy—”
We jerk forward as the tires screech.
And there—right in the middle of the road—is Rob.
Six-foot-something.
Barefoot.
Wild.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
He looks like my Rob.
If my Rob had been dragged through hell and back and came out the other side barely holding himself together.
“Rob?” I shout, already unbuckling, already moving before the jeep is even fully stopped.
“Hadley—wait—!” Kylie calls after me.
Too late.
I’m out.
Running.
His head snaps up.
Those eyes—electric blue.
Wild.
They lock on me like I’m the only thing in the world.
He sucks in a breath.
His whole body goes still.
“Cookie?” he rumbles.
And that’s it.
That’s all it takes.
“Rob!” I cry, sprinting the last few feet and throwing myself into him without a second thought.
He catches me like he was built for it.
He was.
Like he was waiting for it.
Gods, I hope he was.
His arms lock around me, hauling me tight against him, burying his face in my hair, my cheek, my neck—breathing me in like he needs it to survive.
“Cookie—” he growls, voice breaking. “Where’d you go? Why’d you leave?”
His hands are everywhere.
Holding.
Checking.
Like he needs to make sure I’m real.
“I’m sorry,” I rush out, clinging to him just as hard. “My mom—she was texting me, saying she was coming here with my sisters and—Judd—and I had to get to the shop to call her and stop her, and it was this whole thing and I was going to come back, I swear—”
“Your mom? W-why didn’t you wake me?” he demands, pulling back just enough to look at me, his hands still gripping my arms like he’s afraid I’ll disappear again.
“I should have,” I admit, breathless. “I should have, I know—I just—I didn’t want to bring all that baggage into this—into us. Not when we’re so new.”
His expression cracks.
Raw.
“Fuck, Hadley,” he breathes. “I thought you were walking out on me. On us. Before we even had a chance.”
My heart breaks a little at that.
Because I did that.
I made him feel that.
“Rob, I’m sorry—”
“No. Don’t say that. Not yet. Look, I know you said you wanted to take it slow,” he continues, words tumbling over each other now, like he can’t stop them. “And I was trying, I was—I swear I was—but—”
I can’t watch him struggle through this—so I beat him to the punch.
“You’re my fated mate.”
The words come out clear.
Steady.
Certain.
He stops.
Everything stops.
His grip on me tightens.
“What?” he asks, like he’s not sure he heard me right.
“I know it now,” I say, my voice softer but no less sure. “The app—it works. My Bear knew before I did, but I was too scared to listen. You’re the one, Stripes. My person. My mate. Mine.”
I reach up, cupping his face the way he did mine.
Grounding him.
Grounding me.
“I was trying to protect myself,” I admit. “From getting hurt again. From believing in something that might not last.”
His eyes search mine.
Desperate.
Hopeful.
Terrified.
“And now?” he asks.
I take a breath.
Let it out.
“And now I don’t care if it’s scary,” I say. “Because I want you.”
My voice shakes—but I don’t stop.
“I want us.”
His hands flex against me.
“Hadley—”
“And I, I love you,” I say, the words tumbling out before I can second guess them. “I know it’s fast and crazy and maybe a little unhinged, but it’s true.”
Silence.
The world narrows to just us.
“Will you be my mate?” I ask, my voice soft now, but my heart wide open.
A beat.
Two.
Then—he moves.
Lightning fast.
His mouth crashes into mine, all heat and relief and something deeper that steals the air from my lungs.
I gasp against him, clutching his shirt, kissing him back just as fiercely.
“Yes,” he growls against my lips. “Yeah, Cookie. You already know that’s a yes. Love you, mate. Love you so fucking much.”
My heart soars.
And then suddenly—I’m off the ground.
“Rob!” I yelp, laughing as he tosses me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing.
“Not letting you out of my sight again until you’re wearing my mark, Cookie,” he mutters, already turning, already heading back toward his house.
“Hey!” I smack his back lightly. “I just said yes, you caveman!”
“Exactly,” he shoots back. “Which means you’re mine.”
Warmth blooms in my chest at that.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Something else.
Something right.
I glance over his shoulder as we pass the others—Jessica grinning, Kylie beaming, the Pride watching like they just witnessed something inevitable.
And for the first time in a long time—I don’t feel like I’m being dragged into something.
I feel like I’m running toward it.
Toward him.
Toward us.
Toward something that might actually last.
Yes. Mine, growls my Bear.