Chapter 18

Bailey

I really tried not to listen as Doc and Dean talked, but it was hard not to. I couldn't help it that my ears were sensitive and keyed into voices.

I didn't believe in superstitions. But I also didn't believe in coincidence. Still, that wasn't enough for me to just dive into an unbreakable bond with him. And I really wished I hadn't heard the part about him having sex with every available female.

That was all pre-me. I knew that. It still didn't make it any easier to stomach. And I'd almost missed the part of him admitting that he wanted to seal our bond as I focused on his past.

This week hadn't been easy on either of us, but I felt like I truly knew him now. I trusted him and trust wasn't something I easily gave. Aside from Dean, the only person in this world I truly trusted was Oscar.

It hurt me to realize that Oscar hadn't called me at all this week. I didn't expect him to know I was in this fake quarantine, though we would have had a good laugh over it. But he knew I had found my mate here. I may not have confided who that was, but he knew enough to warrant a call to check up on me.

And I realized that I was projecting more onto that than was necessary, but I couldn't help it. Big, major, life-altering things were happening to me and it felt like the only person I could talk to about it was Dean. How the hell was I supposed to logically work through my own feelings with him?

So instead of dealing with the actual situation, I was now angry with Oscar.

Perhaps my physical boycott had been a bit immature, but the last thing I needed was to further confuse things with that. Well, that and I was still embarrassed by his mother walking in on us.

Helena had since calmed down and was actually really nice. I liked her a lot, and I thought she liked me too. Maybe the fact that Dean and I came from such different places wasn't as concerning as I once feared.

Yes, my mate was a raven. So what? He was still mine, and we lived in our skin ninety percent of the time anyway, so really what did it matter? We were no different from any other couple.

My headspace was a mess and randomly everywhere. I couldn't seem to connect the dots as I thought about everything at once. And once I started down a rabbit hole like this, there was no coming back, at least not without Dean there to physically ground me.

I was spiraling in chaotic thoughts.

Pull it together, Bailey.

I'd learned a lot about my mate this week. And I knew I was falling hard for him.

I could no longer envision a future that did not include Dean. The worst part was that it didn't scare me in the least. I was excited about it. And for once in my life, I no longer felt lonely.

I loved him despite all our differences and, more importantly, I trusted him with my present, my past, and my future.

When the two of them stopped talking and I heard the doctor leave, Dean came to find me. I walked right into his arms and let his presence surround me. I breathed in his scent and let it clear my mind.

This was what a wanted. It was what I needed. I was ready to accept that.

"Mark me," I told him.

"What? Bailey, you can't be serious."

His words cut me deeply. My eyes stung with unshed tears.

"He's just a crazy old man, gorgeous. Don't take anything he says too seriously. We aren't doing anything just because he says we have to. The sky isn't falling. Ravenden isn't going to perish. Nothing bad is going to happen if we wait to seal our bond."

Wait? Not if?

"I didn't say that because of anything he said, Dean," I whispered.

"What?"

I cleared my voice and spoke, more assured this time. "I'm not going to just hand my life over because of some superstition. To me, it's not even a matter of if we're going to seal the bond, but more of when. I heard you tell him this is what you want to."

Before he could respond, his phone started going off with a ring tone I'd never heard before.

Dean looked frustrated by it, but I was getting good at feeling his emotional state now and I knew he was worried about something, too. I didn't attribute it to anything I had just revealed.

"Do you need to check that?"

"Yes, but. . ."

"No buts. I'm not going anywhere," I assured him.

He still hesitated, but eventually he retrieved his phone to check his message.

"Shit!"

"What is it?"

"Just got a flag on a vehicle entering our territory. And since Doc is insistent on not lifting our quarantine, I'm going to have to call Patrick in and see if he can check it out for me."

"What sort of flag?" I asked.

"All vehicles along the highway are captured on camera, and the tags run through multiple databases. In this case, we have stolen rental car tags. Most of the time it's nothing, but. . ."

"But if someone was trying to come here, like a Collector, who wanted to stay anonymous or at least difficult to track down, what better way to protect a vehicle than with the wrong license plate?"

"Exactly."

"That's genius. Did Archie set that up for you?"

"No. I did. I majored in cybersecurity."

"I didn't know that."

It seemed weird that after all our conversations, there were still things I didn't know about him.

Dean didn't call right away. Instead, he set a timer on his phone and watched it count down. When the alarm went off, he frowned.

"Well, shit."

"What's wrong?"

"If they were just driving through, I would have received a second alert. Since no alert came through, I can only assume that whoever it is stopped somewhere in Ravenden or turned off the highway."

"The alarm was set for the time it takes to drive through town?"

"Exactly."

"That's sort of genius."

He beamed back at me. "Thanks."

I sat there listening in as he called Patrick.

"Hello?" Patrick answered.

"Patrick, it's Dean. I just got a hit on a vehicle along the highway with stolen plates. It's probably nothing, but Doc was by this morning and refused to lift quarantine yet, so I was wondering if maybe you could send someone out to look into it?"

I was close enough to hear their entire conversation.

"No problem. We'll check it out. Send me the details. They could be long gone by now, though."

"I wouldn't bother you with this if that were the case. I monitor traffic in both directions so I know if an incoming alert goes off I give it so many minutes until I expect to see an outgoing alert following it. That would be someone just passing through. I did not receive a second notice. So, they're definitely somewhere in Ravenden."

"We'll check it out right away."

"Archie gave me access to real-time satellite feeds. I'm searching now as well. I've already sent you the make and model details. I'll call in Vance as well."

"Who's Vance?" I asked when he was off the call.

"Vance Thornton is one of our finest Ravenden deputies. I don't have much of a team aside from a few that assist with monitoring. I'm still working on hiring the right people on. I wasn't kidding about giving you a job if you want it. I could really use your help."

I had thought he was just saying that to be cute when we discussed it before. Maybe I was wrong. Perhaps there was a place for me here in Ravenden as more than just Dean's wolf mate.

"Vance. Hey buddy. We have a suspicious vehicle along the highway. Patrick's sending a few people out to investigate, but you know the area much better."

He relayed the details before ending the call.

Dean blew out a breath. "It's frustrating being stuck here and helpless. At first, when we agreed to go into quarantine at all, I was just excited to spend some time alone with you. And that part's been great, but I know work is piling up on my desk, too."

"Can't your assistant send you stuff over to work from here?"

"Yeah, she could."

"So why don't we do that today? To be honest, I could use something to do too. I'm not used to be cooped up like this and my wolf is getting a little stir crazy."

"Ready to bust out of here?"

"Yes," I admitted.

"I still can't believe Doc refused to let us out. And now it would look very suspicious and belittle any future real needs for quarantine if we just admitted it was all fake."

"I'm not sure Doc is going to agree to end it until we seal our bond."

"You mean if we seal our bond?"

That stung a bit.

"Bailey, I'm not going to mark you just because he says I should. I'll mark you when you're ready to be claimed."

His tone and the smoldering look he gave me left no room for confusion about what he wanted.

"Is that all you're waiting for? Because I've been ready for that for days."

Dean's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you say something?"

I shrugged. "I like talking and learning new things about you, too. Plus, you stopped trying to get in my pants and I always thought the two went hand-in-hand."

He growled and stalked towards me. In that moment, he looked far more like a wolf than a raven. It excited my own wolf.

Mine, she reminded me.

"You're going to be the death of me."

I scowled. "Don't say things like that."

"I just meant. . ."

"I know what you meant. I just don't like your choice of words."

"Are you being serious, saying you're ready to seal our bond?"

"I can't even imagine a future without you in it," I confessed. "I'm all in."

"Thank God," he said as his lips crushed against mine.

The knock at the door interrupted us. "Lunch," his mother announced.

"Maybe if we don't answer it, she'll go away," he whispered.

"Didn't we try that the other day?"

"Shit, you're right. Eat fast. You're going to need that sustenance anyway."

There was promise in his words, and I was far more excited than nervous.

"Come in," he yelled, taking a step away from me.

Poor Helena was still decked out in personal protection from head to toe. It was almost comical. Someday she may learn the truth, and something told me she wasn't going to find it funny at all.