Mate (Bride, #2) (12)

say that I can fend off whoever comes for me. However, if I know about a threat, I can prepare and take care of myself— ”

“I will take care of you,” he says roughly.

Oh. “Oh.”

He sighs and runs a hand through his thick, unkempt hair.

“Koen, you don’t have to— ”

“Serena.” I hear it in his voice, how little patience he has to spare. For the first time, it occurs to me to wonder what his night was like before he appeared to take care of Bob— and of me. The warning phone call from Lowe. The furious drive to reach me. The fear of being too late.

The part of me that matters isn’t interested in you, he’d said, and I do not doubt it. But even if the mate thing means nothing to Koen, even if he doesn’t care about me as a person, I’m still a hybrid who could bridge the gap between Weres and Humans. I’m under his protection, and hearing that I was in danger cannot have been easy. “Thank you,” I say with sincere appreciation. “For coming to get me. For being there right on time.”

“Don’t thank me.”

“Why?”

“I fucking hate it.”

“You hate to be . . . thanked?”

“Yup.”

“I . . . Why?”

“If I’m doing something, you can be sure that I chose to of my own free will.” He falls silent for a moment. Then his nostrils flare and he turns to scan my face, his expression increasingly horrified.

“What?” I ask. “Is a moth crawling up my nostril, or— ” I pat my cheek with my palm, and it comes back wet.

That’s what’s upsetting him.

“Oh.” Koen just killed someone without batting an eye but cannot take me shedding a single teardrop. “I’m fine,” I reassure him. His alarm doesn’t abate. It’s like I’ve just been shot in front of his eyes. “I’m okay, I promise.

I’m just tired.”

“Then go the fuck to sleep,” he orders, panicky. Big Bad Murderous Wolf in Charge of Thousands Cannot Handle Girl Crying. What a headline.

“What are you waiting for? Do you need a bedtime story?”

I chew back a smile. Settle against the headrest. “Why? Do you have any?”

“Me?”

“No— Weres. Us, I guess.”

“Sure, but they’re bleak. Humans and Vampyres coming for us if we nip our teachers too hard. The gods of nature toying with their beastly children.

Cosmic horror— that kind of shit.”

“Wow. Do children like them?”

“I didn’t. Had nightmares about them for years.”

I nod slowly. “That explains it.”

“What?”

“The many things that are wrong with you.”

Even under the beard, I can see it. A small smile. A soft snort.

“Go to sleep, Serena.” This time, his tone is a gentle push that has me instantly yawning. It’s an Alpha thing, Misery said. They’re great at making their suggestions sound like the best option for everyone involved.

So I close my eyes and let the time and the road flow by. Until I remember something. “Koen?” I’m almost fully asleep, my lids too heavy to open.

“Yeah?”

“I think you owe me an apology.”

“For what?”

“The way you stared at my tits.”

Silence. Then, instead of the I’m sorry or Go to fucking sleep I expect, he says, “I think you owe me an apology.”

“For what?”

“How spectacular your tits are.”

God, he really is an epic asshole. “You might be the worst person I’ve ever met.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised,” he mutters.

I fall asleep with a small smile on my face. And for a few hours, I don’t think about how little time I have left to live.





CHAPTER 4

He’s toweling himself off after a shower, and the call is on speaker.

It gives him hope that he may have misunderstood.

“Are you serious?” He doesn’t wait for Lowe’s reply. As a rule, Lowe doesn’t joke. “Who the fuck gave her the idea?”

“Maddie Garcia asked.”

“For fuck’s sake, the Human governor’s the one who leaked her existence to the press to begin with. She can suck shit out of a straw.”

“We cannot be sure.” A pause. “But yes. Her team likely did.

And when the knowledge of the existence of a hybrid wasn’t enough to sway public opinion, she asked Serena to publicly come forward. Serena said yes.”

“And you let her.”

“I have no say in the matter.”

“Do you realize the danger she’ll be in afterward? Being known as my mate won’t protect her in Vampyre or Human territory.”

“Serena believes that the benefits outweigh the costs. And, Koen . . .” A sigh. “However much you hate this, Misery loathes it more.”

He doubts it.

“But,” Lowe continues, “if Serena’s sister is willing to acknowledge that a lot of good can come from this, then you, too, should— ”

“I fucking won’t.”