Selene nodded, but she was already feeling dizzy and woozy. She was sure her first fainting spell of the day hadn’t helped. She laid her head back and closed her eyes, hoping to stave off some of the nausea rolling around in her stomach.
“Here,” Jett said as he hopped into the truck.
He handed her a small brown paper bag, and with shaking hands, Selene grabbed it. When she opened it, she gasped.
Inside of the bag was a small cheese Danish. She pulled it out, her eyes going up to him.
“Why did you grab this?” she asked him.
“Because you mentioned you like cheese Danishes. I figured this would be good. I also got this.” He handed her a sports drink. “You might also want to drink this to get your electrolytes back up.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, bewildered. This action was so at odds with who Jett had seemed to be in the cafe, Selene didn’t know what to think. She gulped down a few big mouthfuls of the sports drink before tearing into the Danish. The flaky crust was buttery against her tongue, and she rolled her eyes with a moan.
“Seriously, you’re the sweetest.” And she meant it, too. Selene ripped a corner of the pastry and handed it to Jett. “I guess you should have a piece of this since you also didn’t get your coffee because of the attack.”
Jett shot her a quick smile and shoved the bite into his mouth. “Thanks,” he said as he cranked up the truck.
Selene tried to ignore the little flip her heart did when he smiled at her. He had been grumpy and irate a few moments ago. How could he pull a positive reaction from her now?
Oh, right. He had saved her life.
“So where are you taking me in Marblehead?” she asked to distract herself.
“You’ll be staying with me. In my place. I’m on pack lands, so it’s the safest place for you. The Order of Salem would have to be nuts to attack a wolf pack.”
Selene nodded like she understood, but she didn’t. Even as she ate and drank her breakfast, she felt anxiety gnawing at her insides. This was all too much to handle. How could she be sure anything Jett was saying was true? She had to talk to her sister. She had to know Astra was okay. When she told Jett as much, he promised they would call her as soon as they were safe in his home.
Selene took a deep breath and let the energy drink revitalize her.
This was fine. Everything was fine.
She had just been saved by a sexy man wolf. How much weirder could her day get?
Chapter Seven
Jett
As he drove to the edge of Marblehead where the pack lands met the ocean, Jett split his attention between the road and Selene. He had revealed a lot of information to her, and she had taken it in stride, but he could smell her anxiety. It was filling the cab and making his wolf angry. The animal wanted to be let out so he could try to console the witch, but Jett knew that made no sense. She would most likely pass out again.
Nope, he had to deal with this in his human form and he had to keep the mate stuff at a minimum. He wasn’t going to seduce a witch who had been taken from everything and everyone she knew. That would make him an even bigger asshole than he already was.
He could go through this ordeal without ever telling Selene she was his mate. His wolf would just have to deal with it.
We’ll see.
Jett turned onto pack land and drove the long stretch of road until he had to turn left to get to his house. Most of the pack lived to the right in a clustered community. He had taken a page out of his dad’s book and holed up in an old cottage he had fixed up. He had distance from the bigger gossips of the pack, but he still had a piece of land and a house all his own.
When he finally parked in front of his house, Selene gasped.
“This is your house?” There was definitely doubt in her voice, and that irked Jett. "It's so cute."
What the fuck had she been expecting? A crack den? No, he knew how to keep a house. This property had been the first big purchase he had made, and he was proud of it. He took care of his little home. It was the first and only time he ever felt like he had a home, and he wasn’t about to let the place rot away like he had let happen to his heart.
This house he would care about.
He tried to see it from Selene’s perceptive. It was actually a very cute house. The siding was a pale blue and the door and shutters were white. It looked like a cottage from a fairy tale book he had seen when he was a kid. Maybe that’s why he had bought it and fixed it up. Some small part of him, one he kept buried way down, was still holding onto the idea that maybe he deserved something nice.
“Yeah,” was Jett’s clipped response to Selene’s question.
She hopped out of the truck, not even giving him the chance to open the door for her. He was still mildly concerned that she had passed out, and he wanted her to take things easy. A trip to the emergency room would have been difficult to explain to his alpha.
“Would you wait one fucking second?” he called out to her, hoping she was feeling steady on her feet. She seemed to be wobbling a bit.
Selene stopped on the stone pathway leading to the front door. Her arms were crossed, her shining blue eyes narrowed, and her foot was tapping lightly.
“I’m not going one step farther,” she said.
“Just why the fuck not?” he asked, not able to contain the sharp edges of his tone.
Her eyes popped wide and her cheeks flushed.
“You need to either change your attitude or I’m leaving. I can find another wolf to protect me. One who is actually kind and nice. I don’t need grumbled answers or being cussed out, do you hear me, Jett Arrowood?”
He swallowed against the tide of emotion in his throat. His wolf wasn’t helpful in the slightest. The animal was furious with him for being so rude to his mate. But Selene was right. He did need an attitude change, or she should leave. She deserved a hell of a lot more than his grumpy, damaged ass. There was no way someone as beautiful and sweet as Selene Bishop was actually destined to be mated with the likes of him.
“I’m not used to having company,” he said by way of explanation.
“Well, fine. But you can’t swear at me and stomp around. If I’m supposed to stay with you until it’s safe to go back to my regular life, can we at least try to make it as pleasant as possible?”
He gave her a small nod, but that wasn’t enough. She wasn’t budging.
“I’m sorry I yelled and swore at you.” He almost added that it was out of concern, but thought better of it. He didn’t need to tell her that he didn’t know how to care for another human being.
Jett opened the front door and motioned for Selene to go on ahead of him. She kicked off her shoes, and took a hesitant step forward. The entrance was a small little alcove that Jett had painted a dove gray color. The entryway led to the living room which had a clear view into the small but modern kitchen.
He had torn down a lot of the walls to make the small house more of an open-concept. It let in natural light and made it easier for him to watch the television from the breakfast nook in the kitchen.
Selene stood in the living room, looking around and soaking up all the details of his house. She gasped when she saw Bugsy. The large alcove took up a large corner of the living room. She rushed forward and lowered herself to the ground. She reached out her hand and dangled her fingers, making a soft calling noise.