My brave, strong man had been through so much. While he may have taken it upon himself to be my valiant protector, maybe I was the protector of his heart.
“It’s just…” I slipped myself under his big arm, sliding against his bare torso as my fingers danced over his pectorals. “I’m worried there’s a hole in your heart that only your family can fill.”
He sighed heavily, head turned down as his lips met mine in a stream of feather-light kisses. “I love you so much, Shay…” He caged my face in his gentle hands. “How is it you know me better than I do?”
“Just part of being your mate,” I hummed as I felt the air lighten around us.
“You know, I’ll have to apologize to Derek and Mia.” His eyes strained with worry.
“I know.”
“Do you also know I’m not good at apologizing?” His words were light, but stress lined his features.
“I can’t imagine that.” I stifled the chuckle, his eyes darting to mine as he caught their sarcasm.
“Careful, baby, that mouth could get you in trouble yet today.”
I nuzzled into his arms, unafraid of the burly, bad exterior he liked to project. “So you’ll go back to Bear Mountain?”
A low growl rumbled from his throat. “For five years I swore I’d never go back…”
“But now you will?” I asked.
“For you I will.” He swept me in his arms, spinning me once and forcing a giggle out of my lips when he cupped the cheeks of my ass and squeezed. “Now, I want more of your fresh-squeezed juice on my tongue.”
“Mm, you filthy animal.”
“Filthy as fuck for my mate, you can bet on that forever.”
“What a vow,” I laughed, trying to wiggle out of his firm embrace.
“Speaking of vows…” Brett tightened his hold on me and caught my lower lip with his teeth and lightning fired to all of me, just like he’d been doing from the start.
First, he caged me in his arms, and then he stole my heart.
Chapter 11
Brett
The drive to Bear Mountain Wolf territory was long, longer than I’d remembered.
The shame of my past was hurling towards me at lighting speed. All the things I had done and said. I was a disgusting piece of shit and I knew it. I glanced at my knuckles, turning white from my grip on the steering wheel. I didn’t know why I was so nervous. I knew Derek would be mad, but he wouldn’t turn me away. Not once I told him what I needed to say. He was a good man, a much better one than I was, and he was going to be a great Alpha one day, just like his father. He was also a great friend. He had always been there for me and the first moment when I could have really stepped up for him I’d just shat on our entire friendship. I couldn’t blame him for never wanting to talk to me again. The way I had talked to Mia was shameful. That was his mate. If it had been reversed and someone had talked to Shayla like that, I might have taken out their jugular with my bare teeth.
“It’ll be ok,” Shayla said, her sweet voice a nice distraction from my own thoughts. “He has been your friend for your whole life. Once you apologize, everything will be fine.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“You’re not the same man. You’ve changed, grown. If we spent our lives never forgiving people for making mistakes, we would live alone and care for no one. Forgiveness is part of humanity and as much as you Wolves are the big bad, you’re also human.” She placed her hand on my thigh. I could feel the warmth of her skin going right through mine and straight to my heart. “You’ll see. He’ll forgive you. But you better grovel to Mia too. How you treated her wasn’t very kind and you owe her the biggest apology.”
“You’re awfully cute when you’re bossy.” I chuckled, placing my right hand on top of hers.
“I’m actually always cute,” she said, before placing a soft kiss on my cheek. “Just try to relax. I won’t let anyone really mess with you. Not for too long anyway.”
We continued to drive in silence, our hands grasping onto each other for the whole ride. Shayla sensed that her touch calmed me, gave me peace. I was so grateful for her. For my perfect, beautiful, strong mate.
“I love you,” I whispered, before bringing her soft hand to my lips and kissing every knuckle tenderly. “I’m so very lucky that you’re my mate.”
“I know,” she said, a coy smile dancing on her pink, perfectly plump lips.
I stopped the car right outside Derek’s cabin. The lights were on and we could hear the soft music coming from inside.
“Maybe we should come back tomorrow. They look like they are having a romantic night in.”
“Oh no, Mister. We drove all this way and you’re not chickenin’ out now. Put on your big boy pants and let’s get this done.”
“Is this going to be my life from now on? You telling me what to do and not listening to me?” I asked, smiling at my mate.
“Only when you plan on being destructive,” she said, turning her body completely to face me. Her small hands came up to my face and she held me there, forcing me to stare into the warmth of her eyes. “You need to do this. You need the closure. You need this to forgive yourself and finally be able to be completely happy.”
“I’m happy. I have you. You make me blissfully happy.”
“Brett. I love you. I really do. You complete my life in ways I didn’t know needed completing. And I know I make you happy, because the mating bond completes us. But, baby, you need to make peace with your past and the man that you were. You cannot live your life without your family. They need to be a part of your life and you need to be a part of theirs.” I could see the pain laced in her eyes and I felt like a complete asshole. Here I was, being a chicken, when she would have done everything in her power to get her parents back. “If I could, I would walk through the fires of hell to get another moment with my parents. They had a great life and died peacefully but I still miss them every single day” she said, backing up what I already was thinking. “Family is everything, Brett. Especially for shfiters. You aren’t meant to be solitary. It’s not the natural order of things. You need them and they need you.” She dropped her hands and opened her car door swiftly and ran out, probably trying to make sure I followed.
Reluctantly, I got out of the driver’s side, walked round and grabbed her hand. I needed her touch during all this, I needed to know that no matter what, I had Shayla.
“You’ll always have me, and you’ll have them too. It’ll be ok,” she said as she squeezed my hand and I rang the doorbell.
The door burst open, Derek standing there, his jovial smile that was on his face a moment earlier completely wiped out and replaced by the staunch look of anger. He crossed his arms, and spread his legs, making his broad frame look as intimidating as he could, something we learned from his father as pups. Never let the enemy assume that you aren’t prepared to fight.
“What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice low and cold.
“Who’s at the…” Mia said and stopped mid-sentence as she saw me standing there. Then she turned and looked at Shayla and smiled. “Shay?” She said, before barreling past Derek and throwing her arms around Shayla.