He hopped up on the bed and nosed my nest, then sneezed. “Smells like alpha.” He dug at the blankets, making another little pocket, then curled up beside my neck. “I know it sucks to be alone after a panic attack. But I don’t like talking about it, and I’ll say you’re lying if you ever tell anyone about this.”
I shifted my head to see him more clearly. He’d placed his back against my side, his nose tucked under his tail. I thought Craig was trying to comfort me.
He was kind of terrible at it, but at the same time, the warmth against my shoulder was nice. Not Jordan nice. But still pleasant. My tail thumped a couple times.
“One running dream where you kick me, and I’m out,” Craig grumbled.
I was glad he couldn’t see my smile, even though he could probably feel my lungs huffing in breathy laughter. He didn’t say any more, though.
My wolf ears picked up the soft thump and click of the downstairs door closing and locking, then the soft pattern of Hunter’s feet on the stairs.
Was Jordan in trouble for following me? Would I see him again tomorrow?
I hoped so.
8
Jordan
My appearance seemed to be the signal to wrap things up for the night. Chance and Justin got to their feet, and we all bid the last resident good night.
The other two got into the golf cart right away, but I lingered. “I guess I’ll finish out my shift.”
“We already called in coverage,” Justin said. “You’d better get to your own bed, son. Wyatt isn’t the only one who’s had a long night.”
Chance peered curiously at me, then turned to Justin. “I think it’s a nice night for a walk. Decompress a little. You mind taking the cart back to admin, Justin?”
The older man smiled and shook his head. “Youth, with your endless tanks of energy. These old bones are ready for my bed and my mate. I’ll see you both tomorrow. I know it’s not your schedule, but why don’t you come by in the morning, Jordan? We’ll do a full debrief then.”
Bed and mate. I ached, having to leave Wyatt behind, but I couldn’t simply wild-animal-style drag him back to my lair or caveman grunt that he was mine. “Yes, sir.”
Tomorrow, I’d have to tell them Wyatt was my mate. I’d have to explain why I broke protocol. Would I have a job afterward? One of the main rules of working on the counseling campus was that you didn’t fraternize with the residents. I was fairly certain that discovering one of them was my true mate definitely fell under the category of fraternizing.
“You coming, Jordan?” Chance had started walking, and I’d been standing frozen in front of Wyatt’s house. I looked up into his window. Had I hoped I would see him there? If so, only disappointment awaited me.
But no, I hoped he was sleeping. He deserved it. I wanted to stay here and watch over his safety all night, but Chance waited expectantly. If I wasn’t working, I didn’t have any right to lurk around. No right that anyone knew of yet.
I hurried to catch up to Chance. Dammit. How was I going to help Mom pay her bills if I lost my job? If it had to happen, it had to happen. Given a choice between losing my job and keeping Wyatt in my life or vice versa, it really wasn’t a choice at all.
I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find a true mate. Sure, I’d daydreamed about it. Didn’t everyone? And somehow, I had been chosen. Blessed. Whatever you want to call it.
“So you want to tell me what actually happened tonight?” Chance asked.
“Wh-what?”
“I know I act like a goofy puppy sometimes, but don’t mistake me for one. We don’t know each other well, but I talked to the other security guys. You’re not one to break protocol. What changed?”
My stomach sank. So we were doing this now. “Wyatt is my mate.”
Chance gave me a sharp look, strange on his normally soft, open face. “What—”
“I mean true mate. I scented him, and I knew. I’m sorry I didn’t wait for the trackers, but I couldn’t not go.”
Chance whistled. “That would do it.”
As our feet scuffed against the pavement, insects hummed and whirred.
“That’s a doozy of an excuse.”
I huffed half a laugh. Somehow, Chance’s uncertainty of what to do made me feel a little better. Like I wasn’t the only one completely confused by this situation.
No, I wasn’t confused. I knew what I wanted, what I needed, and what I was going to do. I was just uncertain how everyone else was going to react.
Shit.
Mom. Shelby. I was going to have to tell them.
Not tonight, though. They were already asleep, and they’d have far more questions than I had answers. Talking with them could wait for tomorrow.
“I probably don’t have a job after this. Breaking rules and... the whole mate thing.”
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, man. If Wyatt is your true mate, Justin will work with the situation, not slap you with a punishment for something you couldn’t exactly control.”
I bristled. “What do you mean, ‘if?’”
“I don’t—it’s not personal, okay? Look, I’ve been working with these omegas for years. You know they come from shit situations, or they wouldn’t be here, right? I’m not going to go into Wyatt’s story because, well, confidentiality laws, for one, and basic decency for another. But plenty of them are here because alphas have wrongfully claimed them. As mates, as true mates, as property—we’re going to have to follow Wyatt’s lead, you know?”
I took a deep breath of the fresh, just-rained night air. We were walking in a completely different world compared to a few hours ago. From the heavy, waiting pressure of just before the storm to its chaos and now peace. Renewal.
Before, I didn’t know my true mate existed. After... my world had certainly changed. For the better, I knew. I hoped Wyatt felt the same way. But what had his past been like? He’d run from me, and I’d chased him. Fuck. Had I terrified him? Had I pushed him because of my certainty?
No, I hadn’t imagined him setting his head on my leg or his choice to have me help him clean up over any of the others. He felt something too. I was sure of it.
Why hadn’t I made an opportunity to shift so we could talk? Tiny rooms be damned. We could have stepped outside for a few minutes.
I’d been focused on his safety and comfort, and I wasn’t going to regret my actions.
“You sound like you’ve got a lot going on in your head.”
I looked up, surprised to be reminded I wasn’t alone. “I wasn’t saying anything.”
“Exactly.”
“I think you’re right about letting Wyatt take the lead. It’s killing me to put distance between us.”
“But—“
“I know, I know. He’s safe here. I’m familiar with all the guys on the security team, and I trust them. I’m aware of the safety protocols. I wouldn’t add anything to his security by watching over him all night. It just... It doesn’t feel good.”
We reached the administration building. I recognized Vincent walking patrol nearby, and we nodded to each other.
Chance waited for me to unlock the door. I had to grab my keys—hopefully someone had tossed them in my locker.