Chapter 42

Chapte r 42

Maverick

About an hour later, her breathing finally shifts into something deeper. I move around to the other side of the bed, being careful not to wake her. In the dark, I can see the wetness on her cheeks still. As much as I want to reach out and wipe the tears away, I don't want to risk waking her when she's finally sleeping. I stare down at her and vow that nothing will ever hurt her again. I leave the room, ready to track down Eli and Cade. They've been keeping me in the loop, but I still need to find them. An urge to shift ripples through me, but I lock it down. My wolf is riding me hard because of what happened to our mate. And I get it. I'm not really in control of myself at the moment either. I stride into Rose's room. A quick glance around the room reveals the body is gone, and the blood stains have been removed. Still, Rose won't be sleeping in here. Eli appears in the doorway, a fierce scowl on his face. "Talk to me," I demand.

"I already told you. We've got nothing."

"And I told you, that's not good enough!" My claws make an appearance, and I wrestle my wolf down.

"Calm yourself, Mav," Cade says with authority as he strides into the room. "Eli's not the one at fault.''

"I'm sorry that I'm a little worked up that my mate was almost murdered tonight," I say in a cold tone.

Cade's eyebrows lift slightly. "Oh good. You're finally claiming her. That's an improvement."

A low growl builds in my chest. "I'm not claiming her," I say through grit teeth. My wolf rages against me, and I use every ounce of my strength to keep him under control.

"Well, then you're an idiot," Cade says.

I don't respond. I'm not sure I'm capable without ripping into him. And the last thing I need right now is to challenge my alpha, even though my wolf is jonesing for a fight. I am too. I crack my neck. "Tell me what you know."

"Eli already told you. We know nothing." Cade's words are clipped, and I feel his anger through the pack link. "We have an active threat against our pack. Somebody's messing with our water, and we can't figure out who. And now, one of my shifters attacks our healer. And now he's dead! And we've got nothing!" His voice raises with each word, and I'm worried he's going to wake up Rose.

"Did Jacob act like he had a problem with Rose?" Cade asks.

I give him a look. "No. Just the opposite."

Cade squeezes his eyebrows together. "That's what I observed too. I just don't get it." He rubs a hand over his forehead. If I were a nice guy, I would feel bad that he looks so exhausted. But I'm not a nice guy. Never have been. All that matters right now is protecting Rose. "It doesn't make any sense," Cade mutters.

The door to the room suddenly flings open, and Daniel enters the room. "Is it true?" I don't feel an ounce of remorse as I stare at Jacob's best friend.

"I killed him." At my admission, Daniel turns to me with a look of horror. If I had any feelings, I would feel bad about it. I step over to him. "He tried to murder my mate. In her bed."

I watch Daniel's face pale as he looks to Cade for confirmation. Cade gives a short nod, and I watch the fire go out of him. He sinks to the floor and puts his head down. "I don't understand," he says quietly. "Why?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Cade says. I squat down on my haunches next to him. "Mav," Cades says in a warning voice, but I ignore him. I notice Eli step closer to me, but I ignore him as well.

"Do you know of any reason why Jacob would be in my mate's room during the middle of the night with his hands wrapped around her neck?" I know he doesn't miss the deadly intent in my voice.

He meets my gaze head-on. "No." His voice shakes just the slightest bit. "He liked her." A growl surges from my chest, and he quickly drops his head. "I'm just saying that there's no reason why when he liked her. Why would he want to kill her?" His voice is merely a whisper.

"That's the question of the hour," Cade says, sounding as frustrated as I feel.

"I want to know everything about Jacob," I say as I drop down onto the floor next to him.

"Like what?" Daniel asks warily.

"Everything."

Daniel slowly begins to tell us everything he knew about his friend. I'm not sure how long I've been sitting on the floor when a whirlwind comes through the door. "Where is she?" I lift my head and meet the wide-eyed gaze of the blonde healer.

"She's sleeping," I tell her with absolutely no emotion in my voice. She whirls around like she's about to leave the room, and I'm on my feet instantly. I step in front of her. "Where are you going?"

She lifts her stubborn face. "To check on my friend, you know that one that you almost let get murdered last night?"

I refuse to react to her words, even as anger burns in my chest. "Not sure if you missed it, Blondie. But she's sleeping, and she's going to stay that way."

Her eyebrows raise. "Oh, and I suppose you're going to stop me."

I cross my arms. "You supposed right."

She narrows her furious eyes at me. "Get out of my way, Maverick."

"No. I realize my mate may bow and cater to your every whim, but I refuse to."

She practically bursts into flames at my words. "You are the most despicable...conceited...awful..."

"Tell me something I don't know, Sweetheart."

"I cannot stand you." Her words are forced through grit teeth.

"The feeling's mutual." And then because I know just how to push her buttons, I add, "Kind of feel bad for Bryce."

Her face turns a dark shade of red, and I wonder if her heart's going to explode. "Do you think you two could stop going at it for just today?"

I whirl around at the sound of Rose's voice. My eyes scan her, narrowing on the red marks around her neck. Before I can stop it, a growl sounds from deep in my chest. Her gaze meets mine, but I don't see any fear there. Only resignation. That makes me frown, and so does the fact that she's already showered and dressed for the day. How long has she been awake?

"What do we know?" she asks, looking over at Cade. My heart tightens at the question being directed at my alpha instead of me, and I take the opportunity to study her. There's something off. I've seen every side of her, but this is a new one. It's almost like she's...given up. Something about that doesn't sit right in my chest. I will her to look at me, but she never does. She stares at Cade as he explains what we know, which is a big fat nothing. When Cade finishes, Rose nods.

"I'm going to make my rounds and then I'll be back."

I walk towards her, intent on accompanying her and keeping her safe like I promised. But she puts up a hand when I get close. "You don't need to come with me." I stare after her as she walks away. A sick feeling forms in my stomach as she and the blonde healer leave the room.

"All right," Cade says. "We're going to do a deep dive on Jacob. I want to know everywhere he's gone in the last month. I want to know every interaction he's had, who he's spent time with, what he's done with his free time. And I especially want to know if he's gone into town at all."

I war with the decision to go with Rose to make sure she's protected or stay here to figure out what happened. In the end, I let Rose be. As much as I hate it, maybe the time away from me will help her come around. Only the top enforcers know what's going on, so we spend the entire day around the table in the meeting room pouring over every detail of Jacob's life over this last month. Using the security cameras, check-ins with the shifters on security, and details from his best friend, we're able to paint a picture of the last month of Jacob's life.

"We need to take a break," Cade says, pushing away from the table. I glance at my watch and realize it's after nine in the evening. The day has completely disappeared. I push back from the table, intent on tracking down Rose. "Mav," Cade says, stopping me. I give him an impatient look. "We're going to have to talk to Rose next."

"Yeah." I figured. We have no leads. We're going to have to dig into every interaction he had with her, much as I hate that with everything in me.

Amber comes into the room and makes a beeline for her mate. "You okay?" she asks softly. I walk quickly toward the door to give them privacy.

Once I'm in the hallway, I make a beeline for my mate's room. I knock on her door. After a minute or two, I turn away, wondering where she would be at this time of night. Then I make my way through the building and up to the blonde healer's room. I knock impatiently. When she doesn't answer, I knock harder. "She's not in there," a voice says. I turn to see Sara standing there. "She left today."

I stare at my packmate and remind myself to be kind to her because she's one of Rose's friends. "What?" It comes out a little harsher than I realized.

She takes a small step backwards. "She went back to the Northwoods Pack today. Their alpha sent his beta and his mate to come get her. She left about three o'clock this afternoon. She-"

I leave her talking behind me as my stomach drops. I run down the stairs and back down the hallway. I get to Rose's room and break the lock to get into her room. I step inside and walk around her room. Her bed is stripped bare. I stare at it as a sound escapes my lips. I stalk into the bathroom and pull open the cabinet doors. Empty. I fling back the shower curtain, but there's nothing in there. I walk back out and stare at her empty room and close my eyes as it hits me. The emptiness in her eyes. The hopelessness. A sick feeling wells up, and my wolf howls inside me. My eyes burn, and my swallow is painful. She's gone. I tip my head up to the ceiling. I've had one good thing in my life, and that was Rose. She's the only good thing that I've ever had that was mine or could have been mine, and I couldn't even keep that. I realize for the first time in my life just how broken and messed up I really am. I drop onto the end of her bed and drop my head into my hands as every sarcastic comment I made to her runs through my head. All the times I could have told her what she meant to me...I never did. I didn't think I could. She was too good for me; she still is.

A picture of my sister's face runs through my mind, and my stomach tightens in response. I've never been able to protect those I love the most. Why would Rose be any different? And then it hits me. Love. I stand to my feet. I can't love Rose . I shake my head. The healer's soft smile plays in my mind, and I shake my head. No, I growl, a growl that's all my own and not my wolf's. Because I realize in that moment, that I did what I wasn't supposed to do. I fell for the gentle healer. Her smile, her laugh, her gentle ways, her ability to never see fault in anybody, her tender spirit, her ability to cry at the drop of a hat, her tender conscience, her determination not to give in, in spite of everything she's been through...It hits me like a ton of bricks. I love the healer. Then another thought follows on its heels. And now I've lost her.

I'm not sure how long I spend in Rose's room. Finally, I pick myself up and drag myself to my room. I close the door to my room and lean against my door for a moment, feeling like I've aged twenty years in a day. I take a deep breath and freeze. I take another breath. I let my wolf's vision take over, and I stare in earnest at my bed...at the small lump on the right side of the bed. The lump moves and then sits up. "Mav?" the most beautiful voice in the world says.

My heart stops. And then restarts again, and I realize that it's no longer my own heartbeat. It beats for Rose now. Only for her.