Chapter Twenty-Six

Xavier

Every instinct he had ever had was screaming at him, making his skin itch while setting his wolf on edge. He didn’t want to be here. It was too public, too exposed, and there were way too many cops around.

Just a few months ago, he wouldn’t have been caught dead at a cop”s funeral, but this wasn’t for him. He was here for his mate and because he was trying to be better, for her. She was the only one who could make him do things that he otherwise wouldn’t do. Bernie had been her friend, and he had died trying to protect her. In his eyes, the man had earned his respect, but he wasn’t going to lie and say that he wasn’t glad that the thing was finally over.

Madelyn had managed to convince the doctor to release her early so that she could attend the funeral because it had been that important to her, and they had come directly from the hospital. Melanie had even brought them both something to wear so that they didn’t have to make a stop. In the beginning, he had wanted to insist that Madelyn stay in the hospital until she was actually released, but he managed to restrain himself even though it wasn’t easy.

Xavier stood protectively behind Madelyn as she said her goodbyes over the casket. The other attendees had already left, leaving the two of them alone by the gravesite. Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from scanning the area for any signs of trouble. It was a habit that was drilled into him from a young age. Because of this, he was able to spot Melanie as she made her way back to them. At the same time, Madelyn kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them against Bernie’s casket, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

He knew that she felt responsible for Bernie’s death. She had told him so when she had recounted what transpired with Colby, but he wished that she wouldn’t. It wasn’t her fault, and even Melanie had told her that. Unfortunately, nothing they said seemed to change her mind, and he could feel her guilt as easily as if it were his own.

“Rest easy, Bernie,” she whispered before stepping back next to him and taking his hand.

Gripping her hand securely in his, they rounded the gravesite to meet up with Melanie.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come to the reception?” she asked as they approached.

Madelyn shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m just exhausted, Mel. And I haven’t been home in days. There’s just… there’s a lot I need to process.”

“Like being pregnant with a shifter baby?” Melanie teased her gently.

The corner of Madelyn’s lips turned up slightly. “Yeah, that’s definitely part of it.”

“Alright, well, give me a call if you need anything.”

Madelyn hugged Melanie and promised to do so should the need arise. Because of everything she had gone through, her boss had given her some medical leave, and he had every intention of making sure that she rested the whole time. She deserved it.

As they went their separate ways, Melanie gave him a single nod, and he did the same. They still weren’t the biggest fans of each other, but they were being civil for Madelyn’s sake. Maybe, one day, the two of them would become friends, but today was not that day.

After helping Madelyn into the car, he climbed in behind the wheel and pulled out of the cemetery. The atmosphere was tense, but he knew that he wasn’t the one she was angry or upset with. She was just dealing with a ton of emotions on top of hormones due to the pregnancy. Situations like this were what made him glad he was a bit emotionally stunted. He wouldn’t know how to process all of that either.

As they turned onto the main road, he reached over to take her hand in his again. “Are you okay, little dove?”

“No,” she admitted, glancing over at him. “But I will be. I just need a little bit of time to get my head around everything that’s happened. That’s all. A lot has happened the last few days.”

He nodded as he made a turn. “Well, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get plenty of time over the next few weeks.”

“Uh, Xavier? This isn’t the way to my house.”

A smirk spread across his lips. He had been waiting for her to notice that he wasn’t taking her back to her old place. It had taken a lot of late-night calls to Melanie while Madelyn was sleeping, and he now owed the good detective a lot of favors, but it was worth it. While he was trying to be a better man for her, there were just some inclinations that he couldn’t get rid of.

“It is now. You’re moving in with me, Madelyn. You are my mate and the mother of my child. This whole living apart shit isn’t going to work for me anymore.”

He had expected many different reactions after telling her that he was essentially moving her in with him, but he didn’t expect her to laugh about it. It wasn’t the kind of laugh she made when she couldn’t believe something either. It was a genuine laugh that made him smile.

“You know, I should be surprised and upset that you just assume that I’m going to move in with you now,” she stated. “But I’m not. It seems like the next logical step.”

“We could get married, too, if you’d like,” he teased.

“Don’t push it, Xavier,” she retorted. “But why your place? Why not mine?”

“Easy,” he replied. “There’s more room for me to run when I need to, and there are fewer people around, so it’s less likely for someone to stumble across me in wolf form. Our child is going to need that same space and seclusion after they are born.”

“I guess that makes sense,” she muttered. “I just wish you would have given me a heads up or, at least, stopped by my place so I could grab some things.”

“Everything you need is already at home,” he told her.

She laughed again. “How on earth did you manage that?”

“Let’s just say I owe Melanie a few favors,” was all he said in response.

He could feel her studying him for several moments before she spoke again. “You… you seem different.”

He cocked an eyebrow as he looked over at her. “Different how?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. You seem…less intense somehow. More…”

“Human?” he provided. When she didn’t say anything else, he just shrugged. “I’m trying something new. I’m trying to be better. For you.”

The hand he was holding gently squeezed his. “You don’t need to change for me, Xavier. I know the kind of man you are, I always have. And I fell in love with you anyway.”

Lifting their joined hands, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I know, and I love you for that. But I don’t feel like I have to change, little dove. I want to. I want to be the man that you and our child deserve. I know I can’t change who I was in the past, or what I’ve done, but I can change the present and the future.”

“Does this mean you are going to stop being so protective of me?” she asked playfully.

He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, not a chance. It’s probably going to get worse now that you are pregnant too. So, you may as well get used to it.”

This wasn’t what he was used to, having someone he loved so much he couldn’t imagine life without her. He wasn’t used to having something worth losing, but Madelyn was both of those. The thought of that scared him, but she was worth it. She was his smile, his breath of fresh air. She was the one who brought him out of the darkness and into the light. Without her, he was nothing, and he was going to spend the rest of his life showing her how much she meant to him if it was the last thing he did.

The End