Chapter Five
“You’ve changed your outfit five times,” Enzo said. “That must mean you’re going on a date.”
“I’ve asked you to leave my room, and you keep insisting on staying.” Alpha had drawn up a schedule that would keep round-the-clock supervision on Graham. They were also having to constantly search the perimeter, and Alpha was doing all he could to reach out to other packs in the hope of someone telling them they’re getting these people.
Rocco had a horrible feeling that something was luring them to the Poison Wolves MC pack. When that other doctor visited a short while ago, they hadn’t encountered any of Milton’s experiments. Not then, nor since. Only their pack seemed to be drawing them in, and he didn’t like it. Did it mean a witch had cast a spell? Someone within their pack had been associated with Milton by some kind of tracking ability.
He asked Graham, but that guy knew less than Elizabeth, which wasn’t good.
It would seem Milton had become a lone wolf. He’d gone out on his own and done a great deal of work that hadn’t been on paperwork. They shouldn’t have killed him, because now they had more questions than when he’d been alive. He wanted to scream but instead looked in the mirror.
The five outfit changes had all been the same, but a pair of pants had been a little too tight. One of his shirts had a stain, or looked slightly grey, which he didn’t like. He didn’t even know if Rose was going to be ready for this date. He’d been tempted to cancel it so many times.
“What can I say? Your room has a certain ambiance for my knitting,” Enzo said.
Rocco frowned. He had an entire set of drawers filled with sweaters, socks, and even tank tops that Enzo had knitted for him. Now, the club brother had never seen him in any of them, but that didn’t mean he didn’t wear them. He did, when it was too fucking cold and he was freezing his balls off. The brother was one hell of a knitter, and Rocco loved the stuff he made for him.
“Ambiance?”
“We’re getting closer to fall, and I like things to be a certain way. The glow of the lamp. It’s getting dark outside, and I have my traditions.”
“You’re fucking weird.”
“Yeah, and you love me still, so who is the lucky lady?” Enzo asked.
“None of your business.”
And seeing as he didn’t want to talk to anyone about who he was going out on a date with, he grabbed his keys and headed out of the room. Enzo was going to be easy to avoid. He loved his knitting so much that he simply wouldn’t follow him.
The only problem was getting out of the clubhouse and in his car.
He could climb out the bathroom window, take off through the woods, and walk. Rocco was not in the mood for questions tonight. He also wasn’t going to encounter anyone who would ask him to take up their shift in babysitting Graham. Tonight, he was taking Rose on a date and trying to mend the bad shit he’d put in place.
He stepped into the bathroom, closed the door, and went straight toward the window. Popping it open, he climbed out with ease. Someone else was going to have to close the window, but he was in the clear.
With it getting colder, there were not a lot of people outside, and he made it to his car. Sliding the key into the ignition, he twisted it, purring his car to life. With no one to stop him and no reason to be angry, he made his way toward Rose’s cabin. He could have asked her to meet him at the bar, but that just felt cruel. This wasn’t about her meeting him, he wanted to take her on a date, and this was the best way to do it.
Her house was deep in the forest, but there was a dirt road that helped her navigate out of it with her small truck.
Rocco arrived outside her house, turned off the ignition of his car, and then just sat. Part of him wondered if he should have brought a bike. There would be no risk of conversation on a bike. With the car, there was a high risk of him fucking this up.
Running a hand down his face, he blew out a breath, which he seemed to be doing a lot lately, and he knew it was because of Milton’s experiments. He didn’t know what to call the m— experiments, Milton’s mutants, the infected. There were so many different things, and yet, none of them felt appropriate.
He climbed out of his car and made his way up to Rose’s house. Knocking on the door, he waited, and kind of hoped she’d be standing at her door, waiting for him.
When she got to the door, she was a little out of breath, but seeing as they were wolves, it took her seconds to recover.
“Rocco, hey,” she said.
“Hey.”
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Uh…” She looked back behind her and nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m ready to go.”
“Do you have company?”
“No, I don’t. I, ugh, I just, I didn’t expect you to come.” She pressed her lips together.
Rocco was confused. He didn’t know why she had looked back inside her home, if she didn’t have anyone waiting for her.
“If you don’t believe me, you can come in. Trust me, there is no one here.”
“It’s fine.” He wanted to go inside and check out her home just so he could have the opportunity to be with her and inhale her scents, but instead he shook his head. “I believe you.”
Rose tilted her head to the side and frowned. “Okay, fine.” She moved back into her house, and Rocco stepped inside. He didn’t know if it was his wolf or himself that acted like this, but the moment he did, her floral scent filled his senses and he felt this wave of calm erupt over him. That wasn’t the only thing he felt.
Not only was he calm, but he felt … aroused. It had been a long time since he felt this way. His anger at being mated had kept his cock flaccid. He’d rejected Rose, and he’d not been with any other woman since he’d discovered who Rose was.
“It’s stupid, but I’ve made Graham a care basket.” She spun toward him, holding a large basket.
“Wow,” he said.
“Yeah, I know, but seeing as I’ve not had you or any of the pack knocking at my door, I guess that means he’s doing okay?”
“For now,” Rocco said. They were unpredictable, and what was stable now might be completely dead within hours, if not minutes.
“Yeah, so I got him a blanket, because he is human and those cages are not for humans. Then I’ve got together some food for him to enjoy. I didn’t know if food would help, seeing as Alpha doesn’t want to use my other suggestion.”
“I know,” Rocco said. He wasn’t about to tell his mate it was for good reason. He doubted that would go down well. He had to be careful with what he said and did with Rose. Too many times he’d put his foot in it, and he was paying the price.
“How about we take it with us? After we’ve had a drink and some food, we can take it to him before I bring you back for the night?”
“You don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind.”
The smile on her face was all he needed, but he also felt a little jealous. Graham was just a guy, but he didn’t like the fact she was putting all this extra effort in for another man. That made no sense to him, since Rose could pack a care package for whoever she liked. But that pesky little jealousy was rearing its ugly head.
“Are you ready to go?” Rocco asked, taking the basket from her.
“Yeah, that is everything.”
And with that, he carried the basket to the car, and Rose locked up her place.
Rocco didn’t have a clue what he was doing, or why he was doing this. He only hoped he didn’t fuck it up.
****
Rose didn’t know if the care package had been a little much. She wasn’t sure what the protocol was on a date. She didn’t even know if this could be deemed a date. Driving toward the bar, she couldn’t help but feel her nerves building. Her wolf was excited. Her wolf was also the only reason she had agreed to go on this damn date.
She wasn’t happy with Rocco or their mating. Not that they had mated. Rocco hadn’t gotten that far. They may have hugged the other night, but they still hadn’t kissed. There hadn’t been any great moment when they realized they were destined to be together. None of that had happened. Instead, Rose had come to hate Rocco and tried to avoid being with him as it had been too painful. This date felt like a mistake.
“We’ve had good weather,” she said, and inside she cringed. This was how bad it had gotten between them. She had resorted to talking about the weather rather than deal with the true elephant in the roo m— their mating.
Rose didn’t know what this date meant or if it was even the start of them trying to figure things out. Nothing made any sense.
“Yeah, but I can scent the cold. It’s coming,” Rocco said.
“Yeah, I’ve got some plants to prepare in my garden.” She pressed her lips together. “I have some hardy varieties that will handle the cold, but I’ve got to finish prepping the vegetables for everything else.” She pressed her lips together.
“You know, you don’t have to do that shit anymore,” Rocco said. “We have a perfectly functioning grocery store and supermarket.”
“I know, but I also have a lot of cookbooks from my parents and grandparents, who spent a lot of time figuring out how to make everything themselves, and I do use the supermarket for everything I can’t make.” This was insane. They were talking about shopping. It seemed like the safest topic to her, which she couldn’t help but feel a little sad about. They should be able to talk about anything. She’d seen other mates and how they were with each other. They were always happy and open, close.
Even though they were sitting in a car, close together, she couldn’t help but feel further apart.
They arrived at Val’s bar in Poison. Rose had never been to the bar.
She’d been close to her parents and didn’t have many friends. Being known as the cleaner’s kid hadn’t exactly encouraged others to want to know her.
Rocco pulled the car up far away from the main bar. She figured it was to make a quick escape if the occasion called for it.
With the ignition turned off, Rose climbed out of the car and took a deep breath. This was not difficult at all. This was going to be easy. It was just a date. A date she’d never been on.
Rocco walked around the car and stopped in front of her. He reached for her hand but then stopped himself and frowned. “Ugh, this way.”
He spun on his heel and began walking. Rose had no choice but to follow. This was awful. He didn’t hold her hand, not that she expected him to. She was pretty sure her wolf was disappointed with the way the date was going. This was not good for them.
She knew it was busy in the bar. Where most of the Poison Wolves MC were dealing with the constant threat of a mad doctor’s experiments, the rest of the pack were quite content to go about their business.
Rose knew they hadn’t told the pack the severity of the situation. There would come a time that would change, especially if more people like Graham started to show up.
She noticed several women look toward Rocco, and she hated this but gritted her teeth. They were some of the biker groupies she heard the guys talking about. No one realized Rose was standing around waiting and listening, and there was a lot she heard. Most of the time, people treated her like she was invisible.
“Come on, let’s get to the bar,” Rocco said.
He didn’t take her hand again, and walked on ahead. People made way for him, but not for her. She had no choice but to work her way through the crowd and join Rocco at the bar. He hadn’t even realized she hadn’t been following him.
She’d not been on any dates, but she already knew this had to be one of the worst in history. What was even more pathetic about their situation was they were mates. Their wolves had connected, and the truth was, Rose was attracted to Rocco, even though she hated him and didn’t want anything to do with him. Why did life had to be so unfair?
Her mother had always talked about that moment she finally saw her father. It was like the whole world had faded for both of them. Her mother had never met a man so handsome, and her father had never met a woman so beautiful. They made mating seem like a good thing.
Rose had even looked forward to one day finding her mate, and now that she had found him, it was nothing but disappointment and heartache. Her parents had never shed a tear due to the pain the other caused, but she had shed a tear, more than a few. She wanted to cry right now, but instead she kept her shit together and just ignored it.
Rocco was clearly used to dates going a certain way, and it was not like this one. He ordered them both a beer and then turned toward her. Rose didn’t drink beer, not that it would have a huge impact on her body. She had tried it once, one of her dad’s, on the night after her first transition. They had done so to celebrate.
She hated the taste, but rather than tell him and run the risk of making it even worse, she picked up her bottle. Rocco looked at her, and then he moved again. They found a booth somewhere in the back, away from prying eyes.
Sliding into the booth, she noticed he kept looking around at the bar. Rose put the beer on the table, sat, and waited.
Seeing as he was intent on staring around the bar, she did the same, noticing several couples and a lot of people enjoying themselves. They made dating look fun. This was anything but. She couldn’t help but think about that care package in the car, and her thoughts drifted to Graham all alone in that cage. He must be so afraid.
Rocco’s attention came back to the table, but only long enough to have a drink of beer.
“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?” Rose asked.
There was only so much silence she could take, and it’s not like she wanted to force him to be with her. It was why she had given him a wide berth. She had even tried to turn down her cleaning services because of him, but the Poison Wolves MC needed her. This was about the whole pack, not just the two of them.
“What?” Rocco asked.
“Look, I get that I’m not Miss Popular, but if you didn’t want to be seen with me, you could have asked to come for dinner or something.”
Rocco frowned. “No, it’s not that.”
“It’s not?” She found it hard to believe.
“No, look, I’ve never been on a date,” Rocco said.
Now, this time she was the one frowning. “You’ve never been on a date?”
“No, I haven’t, and I know that is a shock to you, I can see it.”
“I do find that hard to believe. I know you’ve been with a lot of women.”
Rocco puffed out his cheeks. “It’s not … I know, and with you, I know I have already fucked up big time, and for that I am sorry. I don’t want to mess this up, I don’t know what to say or do.”
“Well, maybe you could start by looking at me,” she said.
He lifted his gaze and she offered him a smile.
“Was that so hard?” she asked.
“I like looking at you.”
Rose stared across the table at him. “You’re saying a lot of things tonight that I am finding hard to believe.”
“It’s true. I do like looking at you, even when you’re cleaning. It’s why I always volunteer to stay behind. To keep an eye on you.”
“You know, if you weren’t a wolf, that would sound very creepy.”
He chuckled.
“I always figured you stayed behind so I wasn’t tempted to tell the others that we’re … you know.”
“No, it’s not that,” Rocco said. “I guess it’s a little too much to ask for us to start over?”
“It’s complicated,” Rose said. “This is all confusing.”
Rocco sighed. “I said a lot of things I didn’t mean. I … you, me, and this … I panicked.”
“You do realize that as a member of the Poison Wolves MC, you’re not exactly known for panicking?”
“Yeah, well, being a member doesn’t mean that when I’m dealing with experimental mutants exploding and screaming, and then find my mate in all of it.”
Rose opened her mouth and closed it.
Rocco winced. “Yeah, I might also want to point out that when it comes to talking and communication, I’m not good at it.”
And for some odd reason, she found that to be utterly charming.
Rose had a horrible feeling she was going to regret what she was about to do, but she couldn’t see any reason not to.
“So, how about you enjoy this beer, since I don’t like beer, and you get me a plain orange juice and we start over? No bringing up the past rejection, and we try to be friends?”
“Friends?” Rocco asked.
“Yeah, it’s a start, right? You seem like you could do with a friend, and in case you didn’t notice, I don’t have a lot of them.”
“I’d like that.” He slapped his hand on the table. “I’ll go and grab you that orange juice.”