His Mating Mark (8 page)

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Gabe had no idea what was happening. The bathroom door was locked. He heard a loud noise, smelled blood, and knew his mate was in pain, not just physical pain but emotional. His heart was in his throat, and he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to scare her, but he could feel this wolf scratching to break free, to rush in the bathroom and protect her, help her.

“Nicole. What the hell is going on? Why do I smell blood?” Josh moved fast. One moment he had been standing at the bedroom door and the next he was beside him. He looked as scared as Gabe felt.

“I don’t know. She won’t talk to me. She’s locked in the damn bathroom,” Gabe said, moving the doorknob, proving that the bathroom door was locked.

“Break down the fuckin’ door. What are you waiting for?” Josh looked at him and Gabe rubbed a hand down his face. What the hell had happened? Did she wake up and realize that she didn’t want to be with them? Had they hurt her, been too rough?

“I don’t know.” He didn’t want to scare her or cause her more pain.

“Nicole, step away from the door, baby, we’re coming in,” Josh said, taking it out of his hands. He was glad that Josh was with him, glad that he was going to break down the door. He already had so much guilt. Breaking down the door and invading her privacy wasn’t something he wanted to add to the list. Josh moved back, and he didn’t put much force into breaking open the door. They were far stronger than humans.

He rushed into the bathroom after Josh and frantically searched for Nicole, scanning every inch. He saw glass and blood on the floor, and bile rose in this throat. He started to panic. He ran to the small window and looked out, holding his breath. Nicole was lying on the ground, her scared eyes staring up at him.

“Nicole! Don’t move!” He pushed Josh out of the way and started to run. He hit the bottom of the stairs in one leap and ran outside. He was shaking, fear pumped through him, and he had no idea what was happening. One minute he had been talking to the pack about Nicole, and the next he was running, hoping that he wouldn’t find her dead on the ground.
Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay,
played repeatedly in his mind.

The first thing he saw was her chest rising and falling quickly and knew immediately that his prayers had been answered. He ran to her side and slid on his shins. He didn’t want to touch her, afraid that something might be broken. She stiffened and cringed, trying to move away, and Gabe closed his eyes, trying to not feel rejected. Did she not want them anymore?

“Nicole? Honey? What happened? Are you okay? Tell me what’s going on,” he whispered, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

“I just want to go home.” She sounded lost and scared, and he shook his head. He couldn’t let her go now. He needed answers. She had jumped out of a window so that she could go home? It didn’t make sense.

“Are you in pain? Can you move?” He heard footsteps and knew that Josh and part of the pack were running toward them. They probably thought she was in danger, that someone had hurt her. The truth was hard to face. She had hurt herself.

“I just got the wind knocked out of me. My arm hurts a little, but I’m fine. I can fix it when I get home.” She finally turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes were red and puffy. Silent tears ran down her cheeks, and he felt like he’d been punched in the throat. “Gabe, please take me home.”

His shoulders sagged in defeat, and he nodded, willing to do whatever she wanted to make her happy once more. What had happened to the sexy, wild woman who wanted him?

“Gabe? Is she?” Josh was panting, his voice broke, and Gabe knew that he was blocking his view of her.

Gabe leaned down and picked her up, she didn’t struggle, just laid frozen in his arms. “She wants to go home.” He felt ill. His stomach churned, and he felt like he wanted to vomit. He would never know why she changed her mind. He would never have his mate. He would let her go. He had already caused enough pain in her life.

He handed her to Josh and walked toward the house, passing his pack mates. He didn’t want to have a party. He wanted to be left alone. Gabe walked back upstairs and stared into the room that was meant for their mate. He turned and walked the opposite way, needing to be alone.

Josh didn’t understand what the hell had happened. He stood in the middle of the yard, holding his mate in his arms and watched his brother retreat into the house. The other members of their pack looked embarrassed and confused. He could tell they were trying not to stare, but the whole situation was just so bizarre. Did Gabe expect him to take her home and drop her off? Did he think that they would be moving on and forgetting about their mate?

“Go home, party’s over.” Everyone moved out of his way, immediately leaving. He didn’t have to explain himself. He knew they would follow orders.

Josh hated to do it, but he needed to convince Nicole that they belonged together. He needed to get her over her insane fear, and he needed her to forgive Gabe so that they could be together. He wasn’t taking her home. Josh held on to her tighter and walked back toward the house. He didn’t say a word, and Nicole didn’t struggle or fight him, and he was relieved.

He moved up the stairs, stomping his feet as he went. He sat her on the edge of the bed. His first priority was to make sure she wasn’t hurt. “Stay there. If you move, I will tie you up. Do you understand?” He spoke slow and clear, making sure that she could hear him perfectly. She nodded her head once and then looked at the floor.

Josh walked back into the bathroom and inhaled deeply. Her scent still lingered, a mixture of fear and blood. He grabbed the cabinet door and pulled it open, cringing when it flew off the hinges. He dropped it to the ground, grabbed the first aid kit, and went back into the bedroom. She hadn’t moved an inch, and Josh walked toward her slowly, wondering what she would do next. The woman had actually punched out a window and climbed out, intent on escaping. Why would she do that? He would’ve taken her home.

He kneeled down in front of her. “Give me your hand.” She sighed loudly but didn’t say a word, holding her arm out for him. She had cuts on her fingers and forearm. Most of them were small looking paper cuts, and he relaxed realizing that she wouldn’t need stitches. He started cleaning each mark he found with an antibiotic wipe, hoping that she wouldn’t get an infection. He didn’t have to worry about things like that, and he wondered if they should take her to see the doctor in town.

“Nicole?” He waited for her to look up at him and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. “What happened? Talk to me.”

She looked so miserable, and Josh stood up slowly. He grabbed her hand and walked to the sitting area by the large fireplace. He sat down on the couch and pulled her into his arms. She didn’t go willingly. He grabbed her and sat her on his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to comfort and love her, give her the affection that he craved. He hoped that she might be willing to open up, especially since they were alone. He had no idea where Gabe was, but he hoped that he could hear the conversation.

Josh put his hand under her chin and raised her face so that she was looking at him. “I’m waiting.”

“I promise I won’t say anything. Your secret is safe with me. P–please, just let me go home,” she whispered as huge tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He shook his head, using his thumb to catch her tears.

“I know that you know that I know.” She hiccupped, and Josh just stared at her completely confused.

“What?” He didn’t understand what she was saying.

“Wolves,” she whispered. It dawned on him then that she did know their secret, and he wished that they would’ve told her sooner.

“How?” He needed to know how she had figured it out. They had been careful, told their pack to keep their mouths shut. They had wanted her to meet them and to realize that they were all good people before telling her, showing her that they were wolves.

“I went downstairs when I woke up. I was trying to find you and Gabe. I met Addison and Harper. They told me. I didn’t know that you were one of them. I swear. I’ll never tell anyone. You can trust me,” she pleaded with him, and Josh let go of her.

“I do trust you. You’re our mate. We would never hurt you,” he told her, but he could see it in her eyes that she didn’t truly believe him.

“What’s a mate? Gabe said that before.” She bit her lip, and Josh wished that he could kiss the abused flesh, wished that things had happened differently. They hadn’t handled things with her very well.

“A mate is the perfect match, someone who completes the other. In this case, you’re both of our mates, Gabe and I. You have been for years, and we’ve tried to keep our distance.” He looked down at her arm, and she followed his line of sight, holding her forearm closer, protecting it. “That day in town, I followed your scent.” She stiffened, and he took a deep breath. “You smell wonderful. We, werewolves, have an acute sense of smell, thousands of times better than humans do. I know this is hard to believe. It drew us, Gabe and I, to you.” He wished that Gabe was here with him now, explaining this to her.

She looked confused, and he moved her off his lap to the couch. He stood up and started pacing around the room, trying to find the right words, but he didn’t know what to say.

“I can’t be.” She shook her head. “I’m not like you.”

“You are,” he told her sternly.

“I want to go home,” she said. Again, her voice wasn’t much more than a whisper. Did she think he was going to hurt her?

“Okay. I’ll take you home.” That’s the last thing that he wanted to do. He didn’t want her to be out of their sight, but he wouldn’t keep her here at their home against her will.

“You will?” She looked shocked.

“Of course. You aren’t a prisoner. You’re our mate. We would never harm you. I love you. Gabe loves you.” He stared at her and watched as silent tears dripped down her cheeks. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, love her, but instead, he stayed across the room, giving her plenty of space.

Nicole stood up on shaky legs, and he walked out the door, letting her follow him. He thought that it might make her feel more comfortable if he didn’t walk behind her or touch her. The house was silent, and he wondered briefly where Gabe was. Did he go running? Was he locked in one of the bedrooms, completely crushed by Nicole’s rejection? Josh felt guilty. He had convinced Gabe to move forward. He had convinced him that he should take a chance and meet her.

Josh opened the front door and walked out, hearing it close lightly. He moved down the stairs and got into his truck. He waited for Nicole to get in and buckle up before he started the engine and headed down the mountain. He hated driving her home, hated that she was going to be away from them for even a single minute.

He held the steering wheel tightly, which prevented him from reaching out and touching her. He inhaled deeply, loving the sweet, tangy aroma that was Nicole. He looked over at her, and she was leaning against the door, staring out the side window. He didn’t know what to say, the words frozen in his throat. He had already told her that they loved her, that they wanted her. Was she so full of fear that she wouldn’t even give them a chance?

When they reached her house, he pulled the truck up to the front door and shut off the engine. “Nicole, I–if you need anything at all, please call me. You’re always welcome.” She only nodded, opened the truck door, and climbed out. She walked to the front door, and he waited until she disappeared from his sight.

He stared at the closed door for a long time. “Please come back. Please love me,” he said aloud even though nobody could hear him.

* * * *

Nicole walked into her house, closed the door, and leaned back against it. She had been trying to keep it together. She really didn’t want to cry in front of him. Every word he said affected her, cut her, and she felt lost and confused. She slid down the door, hitting her bottom on the ground. She drew her legs up tight against her chest and started crying.

The pain in her chest grew, stretching through her body. She held her arm where the teeth marks still stood out, proudly marking her skin. She hadn’t asked the one question that she had really wanted to. Did one of them bite her? Did one of them, Josh or Gabe, leave her that night crying on the ground? She didn’t really want to know any longer. It didn’t matter. She played the conversations through her mind, thinking about the different people she had met.

For two years, they had waited for her, to claim her, their mate. Why wait two years? Did it have something to do with the wolf attacking her? Nicole sat on the ground, crying, sobbing harder, trying to put the pieces together, but she couldn’t. She didn’t understand what had happened. Gabe and Josh had shown up out of nowhere, gave her more mind-blowing passion than any other man did. Now, they were both gone from her life as fast as they had arrived.

The sun had set and darkness ruled once again. She sat in the same place for hours, wondering if they might come back for her. She felt both hope and dread. She didn’t know what she wanted. Did she want them to talk to her, fight with her? Did she want them to disappear and never see them again? It hurt too bad to think that. She could barely breathe without them around.

After hours of sitting in the dark, Nicole crawled to her bedroom. Her eyes were puffy, and her nose was almost too stuffed up to breathe through. She was still wearing Gabe’s T-shirt, her feet bare, and she finally looked down and noticed how awful she looked. There was blood on the shirt, and her feet and legs were covered in dirt. She climbed into bed and closed her eyes, praying that she would be able to fall into a deep sleep where Josh and Gabe wouldn’t be. She could still see the hurt in their eyes, the disappointment.

She stretched and yawned, pulling the blankets over her head. She heard a wolf call in the distance and sat up, wishing she knew what it was saying. Could that be Gabe or Josh? Were they out there, running through the forest? The howling continued, turning into sad whines. She threw herself back against the bed and closed her eyes. They were better off without her. She wasn’t from their world and never would be.

She touched her chest and wondered if it was possible for a person’s heart to actually ache. “What is wrong with me? Did I make the wrong decision? Should I have stayed? What if one of them bit me? God, why, why did that happen?” She yelled her questions out, hoping that she would hear some answers in return. She stared at the ceiling, listening to the wolves move together, closer to her house. She knew that they wouldn’t come too close, though, even though a part of her wanted them to.

Nicole closed her eyes and pulled the covers over her head, trying to drown out the sound of the wolves. She could think about everything tomorrow. Right now, she just needed to sleep.