Chapter 10
Ever
My eyes droop, and I lean further into Russo’s side as we sit in the corner of the Midnight Haven, waiting to hear if they need anything else from us.
I’m numb and exhausted. We’ve been answering questions and giving statements all day.
“How are you, mate?” Russo asks, cradling me against his chest. “Are you ready to go home? Or we can go to the hotel if you don’t want to go to our place right now.”
“We should probably go home and clean up.” I sigh as he rubs soothing circles on my back.
“I cleaned up,” Ansel says, plopping down in the chair next to his brother. “Everything is back to normal there.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I protest.
Ansel smiles. “Yeah, I did, sis. You two have been through enough.”
I smile shyly at him. “Thank you.”
“That’s what our pack does. It’s what family does,” Russo whispers. “They’re there when you need them.”
“I’m going to have to get used to that.”
“You will.”
I yawn. “I’m ready to go home now.”
“Do you guys need anything else?” Ansel asks.
Russo shakes his head. “No. Not right now. Thanks, brother.”
“Of course,” Ansel answers easily. “Go get some rest, you two.”
I wave as Russo leads me out of the cabin and over to his car. He tucks me into the passenger seat, and my head lolls against the window as we drive home.
“How are you feeling?” Russo asks.
“Tired.”
“I meant everything that happened,” he clarifies.
“Oh.”
Russo reaches for my hand, lacing my fingers through his. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, mate.”
“Me too,” I whisper. Tears fill my eyes. “I-I feel bad, but I’m relieved. I’m happy that they’re gone and can’t hurt me anymore. Does that make me a bad person?”
Russo slams on the brakes, veering over to the side of the road. A second later, my seatbelt is undone, and I’m dragged onto his lap.
“Hey, no,” he says softly. “They were the bad people. They chose to hurt an innocent kid. They chose to abuse you for years. Don’t feel bad about them being gone. The world is a better place without them in it.”
“My head knows that, but some part of me still wishes there had been another way.”
“We could have called the cops, but you would have had to go through a trial, and they could have told the world about shifters.”
“No one would’ve believed them.”
“We couldn’t take that chance. Plus, what would’ve happened if they’d ever got out? They would have come after you again. They said as much. They were never going to stop.”
“I know,” I whisper.
“They can’t hurt you or anyone else, Ever. That’s a good thing. Just focus on that.”
I nod, resting my head against his shoulder.
“I wish I could have taken care of it for you. I wish you didn’t have to kill them with me,” he admits.
I wrap my arms around his barrel chest. “We’re a team,” I say simply.
He presses a kiss to the top of my head. “Yeah, we are.”
A minute later, he shifts into drive, and I spend the rest of the ride home on his lap. His body heat makes me drowsy, and I drift off, waking when he carries me into the house.
The house is spotless. The blood has been cleaned up, and even the broken stair railing has been fixed. It looks like nothing happened. I’ll have to think of a way to thank Ansel.
We could help him find his mate, my bear suggests.
I smile. How do we do that?
I’m not sure. But he deserves his happily ever after too.
He does, I agree.
I can feel how tired my bear is. She went from hibernating for years to shifting, finding our fated mate, and killing two people all in the span of a few days.
I’ll work on getting my strength up, she promises.
I know. Thank you.
My bear rumbles and curls up inside me as Russo carries me upstairs and into the bathroom.
“Shower, then bed,” he says.
I let him take over, leaning against the vanity as he strips me and then himself. He turns on the shower, adjusting the water temperature, and urges me under the hot spray.
“Hmm.” I sigh. “That feels so good.”
Russo smiles as his hands roam over me. He massages my tense muscles, washing the dried blood and dirt from my skin. My mate frowns as the blood washes down the drain at our feet, and I reach out, squeezing his hand.
“I’m fine,” I promise.
He nods, lowering his head. I lean up on my tiptoes, meeting him halfway. Our lips connect, and I melt against him.
My body heats as I rub against him, my arms twining around his head. I try to deepen the kiss, my tongue licking against the seam of his lips, but he pulls back.
“You need rest, mate,” he says, even as I feel his cock harden between us.
I want to argue, but I know he’s right. We’ve been up for hours, almost a full day now.
Russo turns me around, shampooing and conditioning my hair. I lean against the shower wall once he’s done, watching him wash himself. My eyes are growing heavy again, and my mate smiles at me as he turns off the water and tugs me out of the shower.
He towels me off and slips one of his shirts over my head. I’m too tired to brush my teeth or anything else right now. I beeline for the bed, collapsing onto the soft blankets.
Russo slips into bed behind me and tucks my back to his chest. His lips nuzzle my neck, and I smile sleepily.
“What do you want to do now?” he asks quietly.
“Sleep for the next ten hours.”
“Same.” He laughs softly. “What about after that? What do you want to do now that you never have to worry about them again?”
I smile as I think about my answer. “I’m not sure. I’ve never been given the freedom to even dream about that life. But I’m ready to start making some big plans.”
“I can’t wait.”
I can’t either.
I smile wider as my eyes drift shut, and I sink into sleep.