Chapter 44

Rose

"Hey Mav," Amber says without looking back. "You hungry?"

"Always."

"Grab a plate and come sit. Cade's coming in a minute."

I cut up Paige's egg and hand her the small fork while Mav fills his plate. When he walks past me, I feel the touch of his fingers across my upper back; and it takes everything in me not to shiver at the touch. I look up and catch Amber's knowing smile. She looks back down and eats. He places something in front of me. "Tea," he says when my eyes meet his.

My heart softens at the gesture. "Thank you," I say softly. He nods and settles in across from me, making the space feel much smaller all of a sudden.

I take a sip of tea and close my eyes. Cinnamon, my favorite.

"Want coffee, Mav?" Amber asks.

"I'll get it."

"I've got it," Amber says and stands up to get it. Moments later, Cade joins us. After kissing Amber, he walks over to Paige and crouches down next to her.

"Hey, Princess." His voice is soft, and I look away, giving him the moment with his daughter.

"How are you this morning, Rose?"

I turn to look at him. "I'm okay."

"I'm sorry about what happened. Jacob's one of mine, and I'm sorry that I didn't stop it from happening." There's genuine sorrow in his eyes.

"It's okay, Cade. You didn't know."

"I should have." He stands up.

"Here Love," Amber says, handing him a plate of food. "Eat something."

He sits at the table with us, and the-already small area seems to shrink further. But I relax the longer I sit there. Even though the stress of figuring out what's going on is riding everybody hard, I have to admit, it feels really good sitting here all together. It's almost like...we're a family. A warm feeling bubbles up inside of me, and I can't help the smile that breaks across my face.

"Did Mav tell you about the pack party tonight?" Amber asks.

I shoot a glance at Mav. "No. The beta didn't tell me about it."

He scowls at me, and I can't help but grin back. When I look back at Amber, she and Cade are both giving me curious expressions. I shrug. "He calls me Healer, so I've taken to calling him Beta until he starts calling me by name."

Cade smirks and goes back to eating, and Amber laughs. "Oh, Mav. You have definitely found your mate." I glance over at him to see his reaction, but he's staring at me.

"I know," he says without looking away. I duck my head, trying to hide the heat that rises in my cheeks.

"Well," Amber continues on. "Tonight is the annual pack pool party. It's going to be a great time. You should come."

"Okay." I accept the invitation before I can talk myself out of it. "What time?"

"Six."

I take a breath. "Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just yourself," Amber says with a smile.

"Any shifters need healing?" I ask. And just like that, the mood in the room changes. I mentally kick myself.

"Yes. Two. I'll take you after breakfast," Amber says. I chance a glance at Cade, but he's not looking up as he eats. Amber puts her hand over mine. "We appreciate everything you are doing for our pack."

I feel the weariness in her words. "I'm sorry that it's still happening," I say softly.

She glances at Cade and nods. "I know. It makes no sense. We've switched everybody over to bottled water. Everything in our pack house has been switched over. I don't understand how they're still infecting members of our pack."

I glance over at Mav and notice he's sitting unnaturally still. "You okay?" I ask in concern.

He looks at me and then over at Cade. "The air just kicked on."

Cade nods, looking at Mav like he's lost his mind. "Yeah?"

"We weren't using the air before, but now we are because of the heat," Mav says.

Cade sits back in his chair. "Yeah. So?"

"They put it in the water, but we figured it out. What if they switched to the air system? It wouldn't affect us nearly as quickly, but over time—"

Cade stares at him. A moment later, he shoves his chair back. After picking up his plate, he bends and kisses Amber. She puts her hand on his stomach. "That could be it, Cade."

His terse nod tells me exactly how he's feeling right now. "We're on it." He puts his plate in the sink and sweeps Paige up into his arms. I take the opportunity to start cleaning off the table. "Don't worry about it," Amber says, stopping me. "I'll work on it after I get back. I want to take you to the infected shifters."

"Okay."

I turn around, and Mav is right there. "Two shifters will be outside the door. I'll be right across the hall. Get me before you go anywhere—anywhere outside this room. Okay?"

"I'm not going to bother you every time—"

"It's not a bother. Until the end of this, you're stuck to me like glue. We're going to get this figured out." His gaze is intense.

"I know you will, Beta." I bite back a smirk at my own little joke.

He scowls. "I hate it when you call me that."

"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

He leans forward, and I catch my breath. "I like it when you challenge me. Only you can get away with it."

My heart starts to beat faster. "So, are you going to call me by my name now?" I ask, feeling brave.

He smirks. "Nah. I like this battle too much. Catch you later, Healer." It's my turn to scowl. I watch him walk away. He opens the door and with a wink, disappears out into the hallway.

I take a deep breath. "I am so in way over my head."

Amber laughs. "Yes, you are; and I love it!"

I give her a mock scowl that she laughs off. "What? I've known Mav a long time and always wanted someone special for him." She sighs. "I knew it was going to have to be an angel to put up with him."

"Well, I am certainly no angel," I scoff.

She gives me a gentle smile. "I don't know about that."

"I'm not." I take a sip of my tea and wait for Amber to come back to the table. "What do you know about rogue wolves?"

She takes a drink of coffee before answering. "Honestly, not a whole lot. I know that they're wolves who for one reason or another lose connection with the part of them that makes them human." She pauses and cocks her head. "Or at least the part that helps them to think like a human. They become ruled by their wolves."

"Mav said they don't have souls," I add, taking another sip.

She thinks about it for a minute. "I don't know about that. I mean, I get how he could think that. I guess in a way, it's sort of like that if you consider your soul is what helps you make decisions and be fully human."

"What makes them turn rogue?"

She looks at me in surprise. "You don't know? It's because they don't find their mates."

I stare at her, feeling gut-punched. " That's why they become rogue?"

She nods sadly. "Yeah, it's a terrible thing."

Sitting back in my chair, I study her face. "That's what will happen to Maverick if he doesn't mate me?" I ask softly.

"Yes."

"But what about the wolves who don't find their mates? That's not fair."

"You're right. It's not," she says sadly. "But that's the reality of it. That's why mates are so incredibly important to us and why they're guarded fiercely, especially you human mates who can't protect yourselves."

I frown. "Hey—"

"I mean you don't have a wolf inside of you to protect you. I mean I get it."

"You get what?" I ask curiously.

"Why Mav is so protective of you."

"He's not really, not like some of the wolves from the Northwoods Pack," I argue.

She lifts her eyebrows. "Rose, he's obsessive about your protection. I mean, he won't even let you walk through the building without protection. He told you to come get him when you leave here."

I wave a hand. "That's just because of the attack."

She stares at me, and I feel like I'm missing something. "Rose, Mav pays shifters in our pack out of his own pocket to keep twenty-four seven protection around you every hour of every day."

My mouth hangs open. "I've only noticed the wolves after everything happened."

"That's because he didn't want you to know; he's not supposed to care about you, remember?" She smiles a moment before it falls. "He won't let himself fall for you, but he would never forgive himself if something happened to you. He's a little obsessive about it, and it's made worse because of what happened to his sister."

"What about when I was in the Northwoods Pack?"

"Oh, he was a mess. He called the alpha at least once a day to get a check on you, and he also offered to pay shifters there; but the alpha wouldn't let him. Maverick argued with him multiple times, but Alpha Garrett kept insisting you were protected."

"I can't even." I take a breath.

She reaches out and puts her hand on top of mine. "I know it's been difficult with Mav. I'm sure you've felt confused, but he's always protected you, even when he wouldn't let himself claim you as his own. Well, now that we got that taken care of." She puts her coffee cup in the sink. "Ready to check on the infected pack members?"

I nod, feeling like I've been thrown for a loop. She scoops up Paige and heads out the door, and I follow behind. We walk over to the meeting room. "Do I need to knock?"

She shakes her head. "Just go on in. Mav will be expecting you."

I open the door and push it open slowly, trying to stay quiet. Cade's talking, but Mav's eyes meet mine the second I step into the room. Cade goes quiet, and everybody turns my way. "Uh, Mav, I was going to go check on those shifters. Uh, you—" He pushes his chair back and stands to his feet.

He glances at Cade. "Keep me updated."

Cade nods at him and continues on. Mav walks over to me and puts his hand on the small of my back and ushers me out the door. Amber smiles at us and then tells Mav which shifters it is before she leaves us.

"Healer." I turn at the sound, and Mav lets out a low growl. I tense as Daniel walks over to us.

"I've been trying to get to you to talk to you, but Mav's guard dogs won't let me close."

I take a step back at his anger, even though he deserves to be angry. It's my fault his best friend died. "Back off," Mav warns.

"I just want to talk to her," Daniel says, not backing down. Knowing how quickly this can escalate, I put a hand on Mav's chest.

"It's okay. Let him talk." I look up at him, and his eyes bore into mine. I turn back to Daniel, even as I feel Mav take up a protective stance behind me. It almost makes me smile, but I don't want Daniel to think I'm happy about what happened to Jacob. My heart tugs at the thought of him. "I'm sorry about what happened to Jacob," I say softly.

Daniel huffs out a laugh. "No, you're not. You couldn't stand him. Every time he tried to talk to you, you ran away from him."

I bite my tongue. Nothing I can say in this moment is going to help him. He's wallowing in grief, and he has every right to. I struggle to know what to say to him. "I don't know what it's like to lose a best friend; I can only imagine how awful it must be. It was never my intention to hurt him or to wish him ill will." Mav growls low at my words, but I ignore him. "I didn't want him to die. I would have stopped it if I could have."

"He had his hands around your neck," Mav bites out.

"I'm sorry it happened," I say again.

"Want to take this outside and settle it?" Mav asks.

I whirl around. "No." But his eyes aren't on me; they're on Daniel.

"Because if you're threatening my mate, I will end you just like I did Jacob."

I flinch at his name and hate this entire situation. I watch as Daniel deflates and then turns around and walks away. I breathe a sigh of relief and turn to Mav.

"You need to stop threatening him; he's grieving."

"Well, he can do his grieving without threatening my mate." His words are harsh, and I know he said them loud enough that Daniel can hear them as he walks down the hallway, away from us.