Chapter 6

Bailey

I was in a foul mood from the second I woke up. I just couldn't seem to shake it off.

Trying not to rub my funk off on everyone else, I kept my head low and my mouth shut throughout morning briefing at the motel.

The second we were dismissed, I practically ran out the door, but not before Chan caught up to me.

"Bailey, wait up."

I was not in the mood for company, but I didn't want to be rude to him when I knew he wasn't the problem. I was, or rather Dean Davenport was. He was supposed to be my one true mate and that idiot didn't even seem to know it.

What was God thinking pairing me with him?

It wasn't that he was a raven. Hell, I'd crushed on my best friend Oscar for years and he was a tiger. I wasn't against interspecies mating. But just because he was a bird, did he have to be a bird-brain too?

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I snapped back. Realizing that I was taking out my frustrations on him, I took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm fine," I said, this time in a calmer voice.

"You were pretty quiet this morning. Had me worried."

"I'm not a morning person," I lied.

"We both know that's not true."

"Slow down, and wait for us," Jude yelled.

"Where are we going?" Luka asked.

"Bailey? Where are we headed?" Chandler asked.

"I don't know what you guys are doing, but I'm walking to the diner for breakfast."

"I ate the motel, but I'm down for more," Luka admitted.

I didn't know how to politely tell them to go away, so I said nothing and they followed me. I tuned them out as they chatted all the way across town.

A little bell jingled over the door when I opened it and pushed my way inside.

This had sounded like a good plan to start my day, but now with my three shadows, I found myself falling into an even deeper funk. Couldn't they just leave me alone?

"Take a seat wherever you'd like," a woman yelled out.

I chose a table in the back corner, away from the other patrons eating there. The guys followed and sat down with me.

Gia, the owner, came over to take our order. When she got close, I caught a familiar scent on her. It wasn't exactly the same, but she smelled a lot like Dean. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and I fought back a growl.

What the hell?

"Gia, when you get a sec, I have a question for you," another woman said.

"Just a moment," she apologized to us before taking our drink orders.

"I'm not staying long, so figure out what you want to eat before she gets back," I told them.

They all shared a look of concern.

I hated knowing they were worried about me. However, my own sour emotions overwhelmed me, leaving me unable to take any action regarding their concerns.

So, I concentrated on the menu, or at least pretended to so no one would talk to me. In truth, I knew what I wanted before I even set foot through the door.

"What did you need, Janice?" Gia asked the other customer.

"It's about Dean. We were supposed to hang out and have some fun last night. Dean's always up for a bit of fun, if you know what I mean. But he cancelled on me without any explanation."

Her tone insinuated just what she meant by "fun" and I thought I might just throw up.

"Look, I love my brother, but we all know he likes to have "fun" with everyone. I'm sorry, but you can't take it personally, but you already know this. He's a horn dog and we all know it. He's gained quite the reputation across all the Flocks. And if you want to tell me you're really that clueless to it, then his stupid dating rules should have been a red flag at the very least. Do yourself a favor and set your sight on someone else. Dean will never change. He's not the settling down type, at least not anytime soon."

I dared a look over their way as a sinking realization hit me. Dean was a player who was never going to settle down. So where did that leave me?

"Bailey? Are you okay?" Jude asked.

"She's growling. She's not okay," Luke insisted.

That shook me to the core. "Wait, I growled? I didn't realize."

"You're worrying me, Bailey. What's going on?"

"It's nothing. Personal stuff. Don't worry. I won't let it affect my work." I couldn't just sit there anymore listening to how my mate was having "fun" with every unmated female in Ravenden. It made me physically ill to think about. "I have to go. I'll see you guys later."

Gia was just coming over and starting to apologize as I jumped up and ran off.

Once again, I caught Dean's familiar scent on her and for a moment, I thought my wolf was going to take full control over me. I had to remind myself that it wasn't his scent, just their family scent. This was his sister, for crying out loud.

Tears pricked my eyes as I burst through the door and looked around for an escape. I needed to run. Not knowing it if was okay to run in my fur, I took off in my human form. It wasn't nearly as satisfying, but it was something, at least.

I ran until my blood was pumping and the roar of it in my ears drowned out everything around me, even the thoughts in my head.

It wasn't until I arrived that I even knew where I was running to—the cliff.

I slowed to a stop and walked around, letting my heart rate slow and the tension in my muscles ease. It wasn't enough. I needed more.

Looking around to ensure no one was in the area, I stripped out of my clothes and hid them behind a rock before shifting into my fur to go for another run. I wasn't in wolf territory, so I knew I had to be careful, but I needed this.

I ran into the woods, letting the wind rip through my fur as my paws pounded the ground as I pushed myself harder than ever. It was exhilarating and just what I needed.

By the time I ran back to the cliff, I was already feeling a thousand times better. When life got me down, time in my wolf always grounded me and brought clarity to my life.

When I reached the clearing, I stopped and looked around. Sensing no threat, I crept out of hiding and over to the rock pile I'd left my clothes at. I shifted back to my skin just as a motorcycle rolled up.

Great, just what I need.

I grabbed my underwear and tried to stay low as I dressed, but my foot got caught as I rushed and I fell backwards and skidded out from behind my hiding place.

Horrified, I just laid there feeling my skin burn and smelling my own blood.

He jumped off his bike and ran to my side.

"Bailey! Are you okay?"

Dean , I thought, even though he was covered from head to toe.

It was like the air shifted around me and I just knew it was him. Dazed and confused, I looked up as he pulled off his helmet.

His eyes scanned my naked body, warming me all over.

Oh God! I was lying on the ground, covered in dirt, entirely naked.

He scowled and looked around. No one else was there.

"What are you doing? Anyone could have driven by and seen you out here."

I sighed. "No, they wouldn't. I was getting dressed and tripped. I think you startled me when you drove up."

I'd never been naked in front of anyone like this before, not even for a Pack run back home. I was always discreet and shifted out of sight of others.

I knew nudity wasn't supposed to be that big a deal for shifters, at least not wolf shifters, but it had always seemed embarrassing to me. And now, here I was, naked and vulnerable in front of the one person I was supposed to care about.

He looked pissed as he pulled me up to my feet.

"Ow!" I cried when pain shot through my side.

He started running his hands down my arms and back, searching for the cause of my pain.

Then he turned me around.

I felt horrified.

"Let me finish getting dressed," I protested.

"Your entire backside looks like road rash. We need to get you back into town and have the doctor take a look at it and clean you up. What were you thinking? If I hadn't come along. . ."

"If you hadn't come along, I wouldn't have tripped like that trying to be discreet."

"You can't know that for sure." He looked around. "Where the hell is your car?"

"Back at the motel. I ran here."

He shook his head and cursed under his breath.

"Come on. I'm taking you back into town."

Ignoring his protests, I got dressed. It hurt like hell. I wasn't even thinking straight. What I should have done was shift and let my wolf heal me. Instead, I threw on my pants and shirt, leaving my discarded underwear behind, and let Dean take control of the situation.

When he saw my panties and bra on the ground, he growled, picked them up, and shoved them in his jacket pocket while cursing under his breath.

With hesitation, I obeyed his instructions and climbed onto his bike after he had taken his seat.

"Hold on tight," he said.

"To what?"

"Me."

In that instant, the pain disappeared, replaced by butterflies taking up residence in my stomach as I wrapped my arms around his waist and tried to ignore the sparks flying between us.

Mate , my wolf sighed. Mine .

"What?" Dean asked.

I hadn't realized I'd made a sound.

"Nothing."

If he was too stupid to realize what was happening between us, then I wasn't about to explain it to him.

He drove to a clinic and dropped me off with the receptionist. My heart sank when he turned and left. The physical pain I felt watching him leave was the worst yet. It was a sign of a bond forming between us, but how could that just be a one-way thing? How could he not feel it as clearly as I did?

Tears stung my eyes. The lady at the front desk mistook it for tears of pain from my injury and rushed me back to a room to await the doctor.

Fortunately, he didn't find anything wrong with me. He just cleared out the road rash, put a bit of ointment on it and told me to take it easy for an hour or so and then shift to let my wolf heal.

I felt like an idiot. I could have just done that to begin with. If Dean hadn't been there distracting me, that's exactly what I would have done.

"Thanks," I told him and then left.

I had no idea how long I'd been gone, and I was sure Patrick was going to kick me out of the program for going AWOL.

You're smarter than this, Bailey. Stop acting like an idiot, I scolded myself.

My phone rang, and in a daze, I answered without looking at the screen. I was positive it was going to be Patrick, or maybe Archie, ready to yell at me, but I was wrong.

"Hey Bailey."

"Oscar, hey."

I hadn't expected to hear from him, figuring he was busy settling into college. That's where I should be right now. I should be in college, meeting new people, having the time of my life, not stuck here in Ravenden with a mate that wants nothing to do with me. How could he just leave me there like that?

"Are you okay?"

"No. Yes. I don't know."

"What is it? Best friend here. We tell each other everything."

It was true. Once upon a time, I thought maybe there was something between us. It hadn't panned out, and we both knew we were better off as just friends. Besides, he was a tiger, and I was a wolf. It never would have worked.

I froze and then snorted.

"What's so funny, Bails?"

"Remember when we used to think maybe a tiger and a wolf could make it in this world?"

He laughed. "Yeah. I love you, just not like that."

"I know. But then we thought if Jenna and Chase, a panther and a wolf, could make it, then surely there were others like them."

"A tiger and a mouse," he said.

"A wolf and kangaroo."

"A tiger and an elephant."

My breath caught in my throat as a choked back a hysteric sob.

"A wolf and a freaking raven," I yelled. My voice cracked, and I began to cry.

"Bailey?"

"A wolf and a raven," I said again, sadly this time.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"A wolf and a raven," I whispered.

"Bails, did you meet your true mate in Ravenden?"

"I'm barely eighteen. I shouldn't even be here. I should be at the ARC with you."

"Should I take this as a yes?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. My wolf says I have. But he certainly doesn't feel it. What am I going to do, Oscar? Am I going crazy? Is this even real?"

"What do you mean, he doesn't feel it? How can he not?"

"No idea, but I'm telling you, he doesn't look at me like a mating male should. I just want to get out of here and forget this ever happened."

"If he's really your true mate, it's not going to be that easy. You can't just hide from this."

"I can try," I said stubbornly.

"You could, but it would probably only hurt you more, and then I'd have to quit school and drive to Arkansas just to kick this guy's ass. With my luck these days, that would start some sort of inter-species war between the wolves and the ravens. Kyle might even shackle me in one of the caves and leave me there to starve or something."

"Someone's feeling dramatic, huh? Besides, didn't those caves collapse?"

"I'm sure he'd dig them back out just for this occasion."

"You're insane."

"But you're smiling. I can hear it in your voice."

"Maybe."

"It's going to be okay. I remember Aunt Jenna saying that the mating order for panthers and wolves is different. It freaked her and Uncle Chase out when they were feeling things more pronounced and out of order. Both their species' mating signs compounded their bond."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I think I heard that ravens don't form mating bonds until their birds meet. Have you met his raven yet?"

"No."

"Then maybe he really doesn't know who you are to him."

"But you said Jenna and Chase felt both of their mating signs, so wouldn't he feel mine then?"

"Maybe, but maybe that has him more freaked out than he's letting on. Just something to consider. If this guy is truly your mate, then you need to see this through, Bails."

"I don't want to see this through, Oscar. He's mean and rude. He snapped at me the first time we met for no reason at all. He scowls whenever he looks at me. And I've heard the rumors. He sleeps with everyone and probably has dozens of little secret raven babies around here. I've never even kissed a guy."

"Hey, we kissed."

"That was like kissing my brother or making out with a pillow. Kissing your best friend doesn't count as a real kiss."

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that, because ew. . .like kissing your brother? Seriously? I wasn't that bad."

"It was bad and you know it."

I thought back to that awkward day. Oscar and I had been friends for years. I was there when he shifted for the first time at sixteen. He'd been terrified of anyone finding out, so I'd kept his secret and would have taken it to my grave if needed.

Experiencing something like that together had brought us closer and for the last two years, we'd practically been inseparable. Everyone thought we were a couple, but we weren't.

Over the summer, he'd finally come clean about who and what he is, first to his aunt and then to his parents. His Aunt Lily had supported him all the way. Oscar had been on cloud nine that day leaving a family reunion to hang out with me instead.

That night, we'd decided to give things a try and we'd shared our first kiss. I'd been so nervous, but the second his lips had touched mine, I knew it wasn't right. It had lasted all of two seconds before I burst out laughing. He'd been a little put off at first, but even he had to admit there was nothing more than friendship between us.

Being a tiger in a wolf pack had made him a little paranoid and he kept others at arm's length, but not me. Neither of us had ever dated anyone before because we had each other. It had been his first kiss too, which sort of made it special for the both of us, but not something we ever intended to repeat.

We'd stayed up late talking that night and he'd made the decision to come out to his parents about being a tiger. I knew how hard it had been for him to do that, so when his parents didn't exactly take it well, both of us were devastated.

I understood that they weren't really upset about him being a tiger; they were just hurt that he'd lied by omission for over two years. Still, while he was working to make amends with them, I wasn't sure I could ever truly forgive them for hurting my best friend.

"Bailey?"

"Yeah?"

"Everything's going to be okay."

"I hope you're right."

"If not, I'll risk the caves and shackles."

"Love you, Oscar."

"Love you too, Bails."