Chapter Nine

Jack

I poured my third cup of coffee of the day. I'd have been tired just from being up with Bryant, but, adding everything that happened with Aziz, I was running on fumes. At least Bryant was feeling better today. Two of his molars had finally cut through. The second two would manage today, based on what I could see. Once they did, he was going to be as good as new.

"Do you need me to make some more coffee?" Cook asked.

"No, this should do." I held up my mug. "I probably shouldn't be drinking this cup." What I really needed to do was suck it up, ask for help with Bryant, and take a nap. It wasn't going to happen, not with the new cubs here. I'd feel too guilty for that.

"No offense, but I think I should make more," Cook said. I thought he was teasing, but he immediately started to prepare another pot. I must've looked worse than I felt.

"Way to sugarcoat it." I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled. "I probably do need it."

"Not probably."

I took a long drink from of my coffee, wondering where Aziz was. After he left, he didn't stay in the ski lodge, or at least my beast didn't sense him there.

Ever since he came back, I could feel his presence even if he wasn't in the same room. It was weird—our connection was so much deeper now that his mate was gone. I had questions, but many of them needed to stay on the back burner. Even if they weren't a love match, he and Bella were mated and were friends. He was in mourning. The last thing he needed was me being nosey and wanting all the details on his past.

And that's what it was. His past. I was his present and future. I had no idea what that would or wouldn't look like, but we were finally heading in the right direction, and I was going to accept that as the gift it was.

Some things did need to be discussed, of course. We hadn't decided a single thing about us as a couple past acknowledging our connection. But last night hadn't been the time to discuss them. Not with Bryant there, eating his Popsicle in earshot.

He probably wouldn't understand the nuances of the conversation, but that didn't mean he needed to be exposed to it. And chances were, the more we spoke, the more emotional I'd have gotten. I'd carried his perceived rejection for so long, it would've been impossible not to. Whether he understood the words or not, Bryant would understand there were big feelings happening. He didn't need that.

"What's for dinner tonight?" I asked, more to have something to say while the coffee brewed than from curiosity. Whatever he made was good, even things I typically didn't love.

I could sense my mate getting closer. My beast might as well have been a cat from the way he was purring.

"Tacos."

"It's not even Tuesday." We didn't have taco Tuesdays, but we did have the crunchy delights fairly often.

"Is Tuesday the only day tacos are the best food there is?" Nora asked from the doorway.

"Nope. That would be every day that ends in Y." The kids and adults both loved them, and it was pretty rare we had a consensus like that. "What's on your plate today?" I was trying to keep myself busy so that I wasn't thinking about Aziz and was hoping she needed my help.

"I'm doing the order for all the paper goods. You know, the fun stuff."

"Well, have at it." That was a one-person job. We went through a lot of toilet paper, paper towels, and napkins here, but not in the volume that would require two people to count it.

"This isn't my business"—she looked directly at me—"but a certain hyena isn't looking like he's having the best day. Maybe you could touch base with him. He's by the storage sheds."

"Yeah, okay." It was a good thing that she said something because I really did need that push to go find him. Nothing was going to get cleared up unless I did.

I waited until the coffee was finished and poured two mugs—one for myself and one for Aziz.

"In the back near the yellow shed," she clarified as I went out to find him.

"Brought you coffee," I said. He turned from what he was doing.

"Oh, thanks. I figured I should organize this one a little bit. A lot of these things were just shoved in here when everyone moved in."

The sheds were by far the worst planned spaces.

"Oh, okay. Did you want me to, um..."

"You're my mate," he said, and my jaw dropped. He'd never admitted it before. But then again, could he if he was mated?

"I know."

"That must have been so hard for you."

He had no idea, but the empathy in his voice made me want to shelter him from my pain. I didn't want him to know how it tore up my heart every time I saw him. The anxiety that built, knowing that he was going to be near and worrying that he would reject me once more, was so heavy that there were days each step hurt. He didn't need to know any of it. It wasn't like he didn't have his own pain to deal with.

"It was," I said, leaving it at that. "I didn't know you had a mate."

"Yeah, I kind of kept that one to myself. I didn't want people to get the wrong idea. The wrong idea being that I had a mate, which I guess was the right idea. But we weren't that kind of mates. We were never meant to be like that. Sometimes you make decisions that are the best for the people that you care about."

A hornet buzzed around, and he swatted at it. "Maybe I should fumigate this place before I work anymore."

"Yeah, maybe," I agreed.

His phone went off, and he pulled it out. "Nora needs us in the kitchen for a minute. Something about what kind of paper towels we should get for the garage."

"Let me guess. There are options." She took her job seriously, and I adored her for it, but some details seemed too specific to me.

"Five. Come with me?"

"Okay."

We went inside to take care of business. I wasn't sure what was going to happen with us, but at least we were moving forward.