20

M y heart is soaring. For the first time in so fucking long, I am happy.

Until Benny crashes through the rooftop door with that look on his face. I had the walls up on my mind, while I had this moment with my miracle mate, and apparently that was the wrong decision.

The moment I let my walls come down I'm assaulted with a barrage of voices, all my men, furious.

What's going on?!

Everyone but Benny quiets.

India is here, he says as he walks across the roof with a pair of joggers for me. Wolves are used to nudity. We don't keep our clothes during a shift so while it's normal for us, I'm thankful Benny is already so thoughtful of Leera. I don't want to overwhelm or embarrass her. Not yet anyways.

What does she want? I ask, irritated that my moment with Leera is being interrupted. Fuck, how am I going to deal with this?

You, Boss, what else does she ever want? Slate replies obnoxiously.

Fuck off, keep her busy until I can get Leera settled and away from her.

That's not going to work, Boss. She's standing in between the kitchen and living room; there's no getting around her. She won't budge. She's all worked up and won't leave until she sees you.

FUCK! Okay. All hands-on deck, I'm going to bring her in with me. We're not telling India who she is, and I am going to try not to show my feelings.

Grunting is their only response until Benny pipes up, You sure that's a good idea?

Probably not but it's all I have right now.

"Leera, do you trust me?" I ask in a far more serious tone than I intended. Dammit.

She gives me a small nod, but her body language changes immediately, and I can feel her anxious energy rising already. This is going to be absolute torture.

"Someone is here and I'm begging you to ignore her and anything that comes out of her mouth."

Her eyes narrow and she barely nods. I know I just lost so much progress with her and it's making my heart ache.

Benny, I want her to go down with you. She's your priority until I get India out of here.

Another clipped nod and I can tell he's also going to be pissed at me for this.

"Leera, you're going to go in and stay with Benny please," I say as softly as I can.

Her eyebrows push together, and still only offers a small nod. My heart is shredding at having to push her away when I've only just got to touch her.

I walk through the door and down the stairs ahead of them, back into the townhouse. I'm immediately unsettled when we get inside and my home that was just full of my mate's scent is now clouded by India's.

She's standing there with her hands on her hips, glaring at the twins. When we all come into view, she quickly sheds her bitchy exterior and shifts gears into a sweet and innocent act. Little does she know, what little patience I had for her before has been completely eviscerated by having a second chance with my mate.

"What do you want?" I ask before she has a chance to say a word.

"I just . . ." she trails off as Benny comes in with Leera wearing his hoodie, and while my wolf lividly snarls under my skin, I know what he's doing, as much as I hate it. He's covering my scent. The thought infuriates me, even though I know it's needed to get through this without incident.

"Well, well, Benjamin, I didn't peg you for picking up a runt," she laughs while every man in the room snarls out loud at her, startling both her and Leera.

Fuck. Benny is whispering in her ear that it's okay and to remember what I said. Pride wells in my chest that my men are already so protective of her.

India struts across the room in her tight red dress, reaching out for me as she nears. "I've missed y . . ." She stops as I swat her hand away from me. Her eyes seem to catch fire for a moment before she remembers herself. "India, you need to leave. I'll talk to you later."

"But I just got here, and I haven't seen you in so long. I saw the hit at the game and came straight here to take care of you." She pouts, causing a sharp gasp from Leera.

Benny tries to lead her away, but she refuses. Great, she's a stubborn little thing . Then her icy blue eyes seem to shoot frozen daggers at me, while mine implore her to trust me, but it only melts her a fraction.

"I'm fine, India. You need to leave," I say again.

"But I didn't do anything wrong," she screeches and stomps her foot, arms now crossed over her chest. "I came to be here for you, and this is how you treat me just because Benny found himself a little whore to bring home?!"

My feet are moving before my brain can react. In a fraction of a second, I'm in her face, nearly nose to nose as I snarl, "You will never speak about her like that again. Do you understand me?" She frantically nods and whimpers, but I can't find a fuck to give. "NOW. GET. OUT. Of my house!"

She finally takes the hint and runs from the room, still fuming.

As soon as the door slams shut, I run to Leera and drop to my knees where she stands beside Benny crying quietly. The men all gasp clearly in shock. I go to my knees for no one. Well, one other. Until now. Until her. "Leera, please, please look at me."

"Can you please just take me home?" she whimpers, still refusing to make eye contact. Her hands are knotted together, and the tears falling from her eyes have my soul splintering to the floor.

With a lump in my throat, I rise to my feet, "Yes, of course. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Andrei can you get the car?" He nods.

"Can I ride with you?" I ask softly. She only lightly nods, so I go to my room to finish dressing myself.

Leera is saying goodbye to Matilda when I return with a shirt on, and she still won't look at me.

"Please let me explain?" I practically beg.

"Roman, I think you've explained plenty tonight, okay? It's after one o'clock in the morning. In case you forgot, it's been a really long day and I have a lot of information to process. Please, just take me home."

And with her words, my wolf begins to howl, and I want to join him.

We all ride in silence, and I pray to the Goddess that this isn't it, that she doesn't hate me, and we can get past this. Please don't let her reject me. Give me a chance to make this right.