Chapter 16

Rose

I smile but it feels fake. "Okay."

Sam narrows her eyes, and I realize I'm not fooling her at all. "Talk to me."

I sigh and sit back in my chair. "I really don't know what to say. There isn't really anything between us."

Sam glances at Ava. "But I thought he was crazy when you were sick."

"He was," Ava admits.

"I really don't think he was." Ava gives me a look, so I change topics. "For the first several weeks here, he was comatose. And then I finally healed him. Wait," I pause suddenly. "You shouldn't be here. Not when you're pregnant; it's dangerous." Wyatt faces Sam, and I can see the worry on his face.

"It's fine," she tells him. I can almost see the internal dialogue they're having between them. "Worst case scenario, we'll ask Sage to come." That seems to pacify him because she turns back to me. "So, what happened when you got sick?"

"I don't really know. I don't really remember a whole lot." I frown. "I remember waking up in Maverick's bed." Her eyebrows rise at that. "Not like that," I say quickly.

"He carried her there after I healed her," Ava chimes in.

"How bad was it?" Samantha asks her softly.

Ava doesn't answer for a moment. "I really thought she was going to die. She was full-on convulsing and struggling to breathe."

Sensing Ava doesn't really want to talk about it, Sam pushes on. "How did Maverick respond?"

Ava shakes her head. "He was so mad. He was yelling at me, yelling at Cade." She shakes her head again. "I'm just glad you were all right; I don't think I'd be here right now if I hadn't healed you."

"That's crazy, though. We haven't even talked to each other in the time I've been here," I argue.

"It doesn't matter," Wyatt says, jumping into the conversation. "Even if he's been trying to keep his distance, if his mate was dying, he would have lost it. His wolf would have as well."

Sam studies my face for a minute. "Have you talked about bonding at all?"

I feel my face heat. "No," I say a little too quickly. "He doesn't want to; I know that much for sure." I look away from her face, not wanting her pity.

"I'm going to go check in with Cade and give you ladies some time," Wyatt says, standing up. He kisses Sam and then disappears out the door.

Ava gives Sam an amused look. "Did you kick him out?"

"I didn't kick him out; he just left on his own," she says defensively. "Rose, I don't think you're seeing it clearly."

"I'm not making it up. He hasn't wanted anything to do with me since I got here," I tell her.

"He calls me Blondie," Ava says in irritation.

"Now that doesn't surprise me," Sam says. She looks back at me, and I wait for whatever it is she's going to say. "Rose, Mav is the one who called Wyatt and asked us to come." I stare at her in shock. "I can see I've surprised you," she says gently. "Listen, I'll be the first one to say I don't like him but—"

"I'm the second," Ava butts in. "But," she continues. "He's different with you."

I give her a skeptical look. "No, he's not." Ava shrugs.

"Well, if you want to talk, I'm always just a phone call away," Sam says before standing up. "Now, I'm starving. Do you want to go out for dinner?"

"That sounds really good both for the fellowship and the food," I tell her.

"Should you invite Maverick?" Sam asks.

"No, he won't want to come," I tell her quickly. "Ava, you're coming, right?"

"I think I'll just stay here," she says.

"Nope. If I'm going, you're going," I argue.

"Why?"

"Because we're in this together. And now, Sam and Wyatt are here and they want to go out to eat. We're not going to miss out on this opportunity. And we're not going to let our fear keep us from missing out."

She rolls her eyes. "Dramatic much?"

"Yes, now let's go."

Sam turns to me with eyebrows raised. "Wow, you've really grown into your role here."

I can't help my smile as we walk out the door. "Where's Wyatt?" I ask.

"He's waiting in the lobby for us. This place is insane by the way," Sam adds.

"I know. It's pretty crazy," I admit.

When we get downstairs, Wyatt is standing by the door. He smiles when he sees us and wraps an arm around Sam and pulls her close. These two. I don't know if I'll ever get over how much they love each other. Wyatt is pretty much the perfect guy. "You ladies ready?" he asks.

I nod and am just about to turn when I see somebody tall head our way. I know instantly without even turning all the way that it's Maverick. He strides toward us, his usual scowl in place. I tense at his approach, wondering if he's going to be difficult. He doesn't have great history with Wyatt and Sam, or with anybody from our pack really. He stops near our group and looks down at Sam. "That didn't take long." Wyatt growls low in his chest. Maverick smirks. "Careful Pup, your wolf is showing." I can see the affect Maverick's words have on Wyatt, and I know this is going to blow up in seconds. This is what Maverick always does. Without thinking, I put my hand on his arm. He glances down at it and goes quiet. I pull my hand back quickly, feeling almost burned.

He studies my face a moment. "Are you leaving?" I nod. "Where are you going?"

"Out for dinner," I nearly whisper when nobody else says anything. He looks at Wyatt but stays quiet. Wyatt holds his gaze and then gives him a tiny nod. I know they can't communicate in their heads because they're from different packs, but somehow they just had an entire conversation through a look.

Maverick starts walking away and I blame my soft side for what happens next. "Did you want to go with us?" I blurt out. He turns around slowly and stares at me. I feel my face turn red under his gaze.

"Yeah, Maverick, why don't you come with us?" Sam asks. There's a tension in our group until Maverick finally gives a low yes.

"I'll drive," he says in that same voice, and I stand there a moment unsure what to do. "You can go with the healer and her mate," he says quietly.

I shock myself again. "Can I ride with you?" I ask. I make myself keep eye contact with him, even though I want to look down. I can tell I've surprised him, probably just as much as I've surprised myself. He gives a short nod, and I can't tell if I'm relieved or terrified. I turn back to Sam and Ava. Ava's wide eyes are nearly my undoing. "I'm going to go with Maverick." My words are not nearly as steady as I want them to be. I make the mistake of meeting Sam's eyes and see that they're just as wide as Ava's. I turn around quickly before I chicken out.

He starts walking away, and I hurry to catch up with him. We walk through the building and stop outside his room. He leaves me out in the hall and comes back less than a minute later. Without a word to me, he walks back through the building again. When we walk past the dining area, Sara and Sabrina just happen to be walking out. "Rose," they both cry out when they see me and each of them give me a big hug. It takes them a moment to notice the large male behind me. When they do, they both grin, completely at ease. "Hey, Mav," Sara says.

I watch him closely to see how he will respond. He nods his head at them respectfully but doesn't say anything. "Are you guys going out?" Sabrina asks. I'm pretty sure I can literally see stars in her eyes. I glance quickly at Maverick, but he doesn't say anything.

"Uh, one of my friends is here from another pack. We're going out for dinner." I hesitate a moment, wondering if I should invite them to dinner.

"We need to leave," Maverick says.

"Oh, we won't keep you. Bye. Have fun!"

I follow Maverick, hurrying to keep up with his long stride. We walk outside to an area I haven't been in yet, where there are lots of cars parked. Nice cars. It's a reminder once again that this pack has done well for itself. He leads me to a nice car. He shocks me by opening the door for me. I slide into the cool leather seats and look around the car for a moment. I'm not a car person...at all. But even I know that whatever this is, it's expensive. I buckle and look out my window. He doesn't say a word as we get going, and I feel like I'm going to suffocate. Between all that is Maverick—his manly smell, the fact that he has such a large presence...it all feels like too much. My senses are overloaded. "Do you know where we're going?" I ask, trying to break the silence. He nods, one quick short nod. I absently wonder how he knows but decide not to bug him about it. We drive for a little bit, and I can't take the tension. "Why do you do that?" I finally ask.

He shoots me a quick glance. "What?"

"Why are you so mean to people?" I regret the words instantly, but I can't take them back now. "Like when you saw Sam. I think it's amazing that she's pregnant."

"You would."

I ignore his comment and continue. "Why do you turn nasty?"

He shoots a smirk at me, but it lacks any warmth. "Did you think I was a nice person?"

The silence is heavy after that, and I don't try to talk again. It was too disastrous the first time. On a normal day, I would love to take in where we're going; but today I just want to get there so we can get back. This is going to be a trainwreck . We finally pull up in front of a restaurant. I don't even look at the sign to see what it is. I just want out of the car and away from this infuriating man. I open my door but before I climb out, he stops me. "You forgot something."

"What?"

He nods at the console between us, and I see my wristlet that acts as my wallet. I grab it. "Thanks." I'm out the door a moment later, but when I look back, he's still sitting behind the wheel. "Aren't you coming in?"

"No. I'm going to head back." He doesn't look at me when he says it, and I've given up trying to talk to him. I close the door without another word and walk over to a bench to wait for the rest of them. Why they're not here already, I don't know. I pull out my phone to text Ava.

Rose- where are you guys?

Ava- had to stop for gas

Ava- Wyatt said we're five minutes away

That explains how we beat them here. Somebody sits next to me, and I move over a little to make room. Somebody sits on my other side, effectively pinning me in. I notice with careful looks that they're both men. My heart starts beating faster. I'm sure they're just normal guys and not vampires, but my heartbeat won't slow down. I tighten my grip on my phone and keep my gaze down so I don't make eye contact. Why in the world did I come over here by myself? I feel my forehead beginning to sweat, and I try to take a calming breath.

"Rose."

I look up and see Maverick standing a few feet away. I meet his eyes in confusion. He nods towards the door. "Time to go in." I don't think about it; I just stand and walk over to where he's standing. He walks toward the door, and I fall into step next to him. It isn't until we're inside and at a table that it hits me.

"I thought you were going back," I say in confusion.

"Changed my mind."