Chapter 16

Bailey

Waking up in Dean's arms after my nap helped put things in perspective for me.

Sure, he was a bird. He couldn't go on runs with me like a wolf, but he could fly low enough to feel like we were running together. We were still both shifters.

For a girl like me who was terrified of letting a man take control after seeing how weak it had made my mother, Dean had somehow made me feel safe and secure when we were messing around earlier. Lachlan would say that I had put a negative stigmatism on sex, seeing it as a controlling factor of life where the male dominates. I wasn't sure I believed all of that, but I also knew there was some truth to it.

Dean had handed me the reins when he let me take control in the shower and then again when we were intimate this time. Even when he stepped in to regain some control, it didn't feel like he dominated me in any way. He made me feel safe.

My uncle had never hurt me physically, yet the scars were still there. I rarely remember a night that I didn't hear him hurting my mother, and I'd been too small and too weak to stop him. It was why working for Westin Force meant so much to me. I was helping those who couldn't help themselves. I was securing borders and keeping people safe the way I'd never been able to do for my mom.

I didn't fully know how to explain that to Dean. I wasn't sure I'd even admitted it to myself before now.

"You're deep in thought. Want to talk about it?"

"I don't know. I guess I was just having a bit of revelation."

He smiled warmly as he rubbed my back.

"I hope it's about this handsome raven you met and decided you can't live without."

I giggled and kissed his chest. "Maybe."

There was a comfortable silence between us and he didn't press me to talk about it, but I needed to.

"I feel safe with you. Safe to explore and be daring, to do things I didn't think I'd even want to do. Thank you for that."

"You don't ever have to thank me. You're safe with me."

"I know."

And I did know.

"Was that your big revelation?"

"Not really. Or at least not all of it. I was also thinking why this internship with Westin Force has been so important to me. It's all about safety and protecting others the way I couldn't protect my mom and keep her safe. I don't know that I'll go to work for Westin Force full-time. I guess that may need to be a discussion at some point, but I do think that a career in that field would be very rewarding to me."

He stared at me for a moment and then furrowed his brow.

"You are aware that I know a guy here pretty well that could use your skill-set and put you to work on a security team to help monitor Ravenden, right?"

My mouth opened and then closed again.

"I hadn't thought about it like that. Wouldn't that be using you, though?"

"No. I respect the work Westin Force does. And don't think I haven't noticed that you are the youngest on the team. That says a lot. But then I already know that you are far more mature than any eighteen-year-old has a right to be. Hell, I think you're handling this more maturely than me, and I've grown up a ton over the last year."

"I know you're older than me, but how old exactly?"

He grinned. "Twenty-four."

A six-year age gap wasn't all that bad. Besides, guys matured a lot slower than girls, and he wasn't wrong. The way I grew up, I'd practically been on my own for most of my life. Mom could barely handle taking care of herself, let alone anyone else. I had already distanced myself from them, emotionally at least. I wasn't convinced they'd even notice if I left Westin Pack.

That thought hit me hard. Was I really considering moving to Ravenden to be with a man I just met?

Mate , my wolf growled, clearly not liking the direction my thoughts had turned.

Yeah, I think I was. And maybe I didn't need a full college degree to work in security. I'd already learned a ton during this internship and I could take online classes as needed.

"You're concentrating pretty hard right now. What's up? Is my age really freaking you out that much?"

"What? No. It's not that."

But I wasn't ready to share with him my thoughts. Not yet, at least.

He eyed me skeptically.

I laughed. "I promise, it's not that. Twenty-four isn't exactly ancient."

"Six years, right?"

I nodded.

"I can live with it if you can."

He sounded a little insecure, something I had not sensed from him before. So instead of trying to soothe him with words, I reached up and pulled his face down to mine to kiss him. He smiled against my lips and instantly relaxed.

I loved that I had that sort of power over him.

We were still naked, snuggled up on the couch, and kissing when the door opened.

"You have got to be kidding. What the hell is going on here, Dean?"

He growled and moved to cover me with his body.

"Mom? Get out!"

"I don't think so."

"At least give us a minute to get dressed."

"Why are you naked?"

"Mom!"

"I'm going. I'm going to wash my eyes out and try to forget I ever saw this."

Dean groaned, but didn't roll off me until the door was shut and she was gone.

"Oh my God. That was your mother?"

I was trying not to freak out. I'd already heard all about how hard she was on Kim for being a Grimes, but at least she was a raven. Dean hadn't shared much about his parents with me. Obviously, he liked them enough to continue living in their house. And I'd heard enough from the girls to know he's a bit of a spoiled mama's boy as the baby of the family.

"Well, this wasn't exactly how I imagined introducing you to my mom."

I smacked him with his shirt before handing it to him.

"Are you laughing about this?"

"Come on, it's kind of funny."

"It isn't funny. I've already got my cards stacked against me and something tells me she's going to hate me for this."

"She's not that bad."

I shot him a look. "I've already talked to your sisters, remember? I knew coming here was going to be a bad idea."

I finished getting dressed, and he pulled me to my feet and hugged me tight.

"I'll admit, this isn't exactly ideal, but what's done is done. We can only move on from here. You're my mate. We weren't doing anything wrong."

I groaned. "Your mother walked in on us in a compromised position."

"Just smile and we'll get this over as quickly as possible."

I sighed and sat back down on the couch. My hands were sweating and my heart was beating hard in my chest.

He opened the door. "Well, come on in."

I hadn't really seen her the first time because Dean was so quick to cover me. But now I took a good look. She was tall and slender with long, silky, jet black hair. I could see it peeking out from under her hair covering. She was otherwise covered from head to head in similar quarantine gear Dean and I had arrived in. From what I could see she didn't look old enough to be his mother, let alone have three older children. She was absolutely stunning and carried herself with a righteous authority I could never pull off.

I rose to face her.

"Hello," I managed to say.

She didn't respond to me. Instead, she turned to talk to Dean.

"What is going on here? Your father said the doctor put you and one other person in quarantine for possible exposure to some sort of virus. I gear up to come and check on my son and find you naked with this whore. What the hell, Dean? You never bring one of your girls home like this."

I didn't have to see his face to know he was pissed. The set of his shoulders and the way his body trembled told me all I needed to know.

"She isn't one of my girls," he said.

If I didn't already understand what he meant by that, I'd probably be in tears running for the door.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever. I saw the two of you. You were naked and kissing. I just can't believe you'd bring her here."

"We're on quarantine, remember?"

"I know that's what we were told, but now I'm wondering if it's not just some made up bullshit so you can take off work and play with your new friend here."

Dean growled at his mother.

She took a step back.

I walked over to him and touched his arm, then ran my hand up and down his back.

"You have to calm down now. That's your mom," I reminded him.

He shuddered and then nodded.

The woman was far more shocked than pissed now.

"What's going on here?"

"Mom, this is Bailey. Bailey, my mother, Helena Davenport."

A man half dressed in personal protective gear ran in.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I came up to check on Dean and found him making out with this girl."

"She didn't even knock."

"I thought you were sick."

"It comes and goes. A minor concussion from yesterday. This is more of a precaution than anything," he said.

I could get on board with that explanation because really it wasn't a lie.

"A concussion from yesterday? What's that all about?" she demanded.

I could tell Dean was getting even more angry by the second. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut, but I couldn't just stand there and say nothing.

"We were on a run yesterday down by the cliffs where I'd seen a few possible concerns on a satellite image of the area. It really wasn't a vulnerability, after all. Nothing to worry about. Anyway, I was running; he was flying. He got a little disoriented and flew headfirst into a tree. That's where the concussion came from. I carried him back to the clearing where I found Gracie, who got him the help he needed."

His mother stared at me like I had two heads or something, but I stood my ground and did not let her intimidate me.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, finally calming down.

It was easy to see that her frustration over our situation was immediately replaced by concern for her son.

"I'll be fine."

"So that's it?" his dad asked. "Doc is concerned because you got disoriented in the woods?"

"Yeah, something like that," Dean muttered.

"And he's running tests to find out why?"

"Yes."

"Why does he suspect a virus?"

"Because Bailey was noted to be spacing out today, which isn't like her. Patrick raised an alarm on that and Doc agreed with him. So here we are."

"Just biding your time in quarantine. Making the most of things. Is that it?" his mother asked.

Her words felt like a slap in the face to me, but Dean and his father just ignored it.

"Why did Patrick raise an alarm?" his dad asked.

"Because the Collectors are exterminating entire dingo tribes in Australia and because of our abilities and issues in the past with them, he's concerned that there's a connection."

"But the dingoes are half a world away."

"And we don't yet know how they are destroying so many so quickly," I explained.

"So a virus is a possibility?" he asked me.

"We don't know, but it is a working theory. And if they can take out a tribe of dingoes in a few days' time, what do you think they could do to a Congress of ravens?" I pointed out.

Helena grabbed her mate's arm.

"Edward?"

"I haven't heard anything about this possibility."

I hated worrying them needlessly. We weren't sick with some virus. We were just facing the crazy reality of mating. Not that the virus theory wasn't a valid concern, just that it wasn't happening right now.

"We should go and leave you two alone. Your mother will ensure dinner trays are sent up soon," his father said.

His mother, on the other hand, leaned in and whispered to him. "She seems like a nice young girl. So stop corrupting her and leave the poor thing alone."