Chapter 9

Dean

I had a mate.

My mate was a wolf.

I was struggling to wrap my head around it and I was pretty sure it had nothing to do with my injury. I reached up and touched my head. There was a knot there, but I felt like my raven had already healed the worst of it.

How stupid did I have to be to fly headfirst into a tree like that?

"Where are you staying, Bailey? I can drop you off there," Gracie said.

"No," I protested. "She stays with me."

"I hate to tell you this, but she tried to eat you, Dean. I had no choice but to leave you there alone with her, but I was terrified the whole time. I wasn't even sure you'd be there when I got back."

"I did not try to eat him," Bailey protested.

"She already told me about that. But good try."

Gracie shrugged. "I had a good feeling about her, but if I was wrong, and I rarely am, I wanted it noted that I warned you."

"Duly noted," I said, but when I started to shake my head, pain shot through it.

"Take it easy," Bailey said.

She reached out to touch me, and the pain immediately began to subside.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"For what?" she whispered.

I took her hand and placed it on my chest.

"It helps."

"Well shit. Elias was right? He'll never let us live this one down."

"Right about what?" I asked.

"He thinks you found your mate, and I think he was right. It's Bailey, isn't it?"

"Gah! Why would you say that?" Bailey blurted out.

"She's been through this already. She knows the signs."

"So it's true?"

"Yeah, Bailey's my true mate."

"You clearly hit your head harder than we thought," Bailey blurted out.

"Are you really doing to deny it? I mean, you knew before I did, right?"

"That's not the point."

Gracie laughed. "And we honestly thought there was no way possible for you to be a disappointment to your mother like the rest of us."

"Mom loves you."

"Now maybe, but she wasn't thrilled with any of us for her precious children. And you are her favorite by far. We all know it."

I shrugged. "I can't help it if I'm the most lovable."

"And modest," Bailey said.

Gracie laughed.

I flashed my girl a grin, the one that always got me whatever I wanted.

"That smile is not going to work on me," she insisted.

"Good for you, Bailey. He needs a strong woman to stand up to him. He's far too used to getting his way."

"Gracie," I groaned.

"What? It's true. You're the spoiled one."

"She's the newest member of the family. What does she know?"

"I'm going to place my bet with Elias and say I'm not going to be the newest for long."

"You can't tell anyone about this," Bailey said. "I'm here on a mission and let's just say there have been issues with teams in the past. This isn't good timing for me."

"Oh honey, it never is," Gracie told her. "And you aren't exactly a raven. This is going to be the talk of Ravenden for years to come."

"Knock it off Gracie. You're going to freak her out."

"I'm surprised you aren't freaking out."

"Pretty sure that's because of the concussion," Bailey said.

I chuckled. "Maybe."

"You guys, I'm being serious. No one can know about this."

I actually growled in response.

"I thought I was losing it, and now I know I wasn't. I was just feeling things I didn't think I should be feeling. I had to cancel a date last night because I couldn't stomach being with anyone else. Even if we don't say a word, people will notice."

She scowled at me.

"What?" I asked.

We were at a stop light, and I caught Gracie watching us through the rearview mirror.

"Sounds like your reputation proceeds you," she warned me.

I frowned. "You can't hold it against me when I didn't even know you existed."

But there was disappointment in her eyes when Bailey finally looked at me. With a sad smile, she nodded. "You're right."

Why did that affirmation cut me to my core?

Gracie parked her car in the garage of the apartment complex she and Ryan lived in. They occupied half of the top floor while Elias and Kim owned the other half.

"This isn't my motel," Bailey said.

"I know. But I figured you two probably need to talk, and Dean needs a place to rest. Come on up. You're safe here and we'll keep your secret for as long as necessary. I don't know what mating males are like in the wolf world, but ravens become quite volatile and demanding. You'll need to spend time together to keep it under control if you truly don't want people talking."

"No one's going to guess it's me. I'm a wolf."

"Yet I guessed immediately, and Elias and Ryan have been talking about it all day. They even have a bet going right now. All within the family. Don't worry. We protect each other."

"I don't know about this."

I hated the direction this conversation was going. I reached over and linked my fingers with hers. "Stay. Please."

She looked into my eyes, and I saw her resolve melt as she nodded her head.

I helped her out of the car and then quietly led her to the elevator and up to Ryan and Gracie's apartment.

"Thank you," I mouthed to Gracie as she opened the door and held it for us to enter.

She nodded.

"Gracie?" Ryan called out.

"I'm back."

"We have a situation. I should probably head into the office. No one can reach Dean, and one of the interns has gone missing."

"They're here," she said.

He walked out into the living room in his suit and then stopped to stare at us. My brother rarely missed a thing, and he certainly took notice of our conjoined hands.

"Oh shit. Elias was right?"

"You bet against them?"

"Well yeah. Did you know she's a wolf? I get she's cute and all, but Dean, come on."

Gracie glared at him. "Don't you dare come between true mates."

"A raven and a wolf can't be true mates, can they?"

"Apparently they can," Dean assured him. "You know I would never joke about something like this."

"Patrick and his team are out looking everywhere for her."

I pulled out my phone and called Patrick O'Connell. He answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Patrick, it's Dean Davenport. I wanted to update you on a situation. Earlier, I ran into Bailey and asked her to take another look out by the cliff with me. We can never be too cautious, right? Anyway, there was an incident. She's completely fine, but I suffered a minor concussion. She was able to get help and we're just getting back into town now. Ryan said you were worried and out looking for her, so I just wanted to check in and let you know she's alright, but my sister-in-law is going to run a full check-up on the both of us just in case."

"Fecking hell. I've been worried sick. You're both okay though?"

"Yes, sir. She's here with me if you'd like to speak with her."

I passed Bailey the phone. I knew she didn't want to do it, but she reluctantly took the phone from me.

"Hi Patrick. I'm really sorry I scared everyone. I think I left my phone somewhere along the way, but I'm okay. I think Dean will be too." There was a pause, but I couldn't really hear what Patrick was saying to her. "Yes, sir. I think that would be for the best. I'll check back in first thing tomorrow morning as usual. . .I understand. Thank you."

She hung up the phone and frowned.

"I'm probably going to land on probation for this."

"No you won't," Ryan said. "Let me handle it."

I snapped at him. "I can manage this."

"You need to calm down and you're going to have to learn to control your emotions, especially when it comes to Bailey."

"Should we call the family in? Bailey doesn't want this becoming public knowledge," Gracie told her mate.

"Shit. Yeah, they're going to need all the help they can get."

"We're right here, asshole. And you are not bringing Mom into this. I'm not ready for that yet."

"Ah, yes. The fall from grace," he teased.

"It won't be like that," I insisted. "Pretty sure the three of you have disillusioned her to the point that nothing will surprise her, not even this."

"Um, wolf. Need I say more? Just when she thought it couldn't go any lower than Elias mating a Grimes you bring home a wolf. Yeah, she's gonna freak out."

"Behave, Ryan. You're just going to freak them out for no reason."

"I won't call in the parents—yet."

Instead, he called Gia and David plus Elias and Kim.

Gia brought dinner over.

"This had better be important because I had to call in extra help to keep the diner open this evening," my sister grumbled.

"We have a situation," Ryan said.

"Stop being so dramatic," I argued.

That's when they all turned to look at me and my gorgeous mate, who was by my side.

Kim's jaw dropped. "You were right?" she asked her mate.

"Am I?" he responded.

"Our baby brother found his mate," Ryan confirmed.

"Oh God, this is so humiliating," Bailey said under her breath.

I cringed. "I'm sorry about all of this. They're all being overly dramatic."

She sighed.

"Hi, I'm Kim. I don't think we've actually met."

"I'm Gia, Dean's sister, and this is my mate, David."

"If any of you don't know already, this is Bailey, my mate," I told them.

The girls squealed and practically dragged her away from me to begin interrogating my mate.

"She's cute," David said.

"Yes, she is."

"She's not a raven, is she?"

"Nope. Wolf."

He shrugged. "Could be worse. At least we have a strong alliance with her kind."

"What could possibly be worse?" I asked.

"She could be a cat who wants to eat you."

I started to laugh. "I guess you have a point there."

"Wolves are pack animals. If she stays and starts to get homesick, I'm happy to go running with her."

"You'd do that?"

"I never really had anyone before coming here, but you all showed me the importance of family. If she's your true mate-"

"She is."

"Then that makes her family in my book. And there's nothing I won't do for my family."

What I had really wanted was to spend some time alone with Bailey and really get to know her. Instead, I got this— dinner, a sibling attack, and the best damn welcome to the family for Bailey that I could have ever asked for.

I knew not everyone would get it and plenty out there would be skeptical. Hell, I was still trying to wrap my head around how it was even possible. Yet every time I looked at her, there was no doubt in my mind that she was meant to be mine.

Our path wasn't going to be an easy one, but I knew that someway, somehow, we'd make it as long as we stuck together.

The problem was, we hadn't exactly gotten off to the best start. I understood things better now after my raven's confirmation, but I also knew I hadn't been the nicest person since meeting her. The fact that she hadn't taken off already despite the chaos of my family gave me hope.