Guarding His Mate Read online

  Sassy, sexy, and hard work… The moon goddess in all her wisdom had really picked a perfect match for me. Now I just had to wait for Stefan to realize it.

  6

  Stefan

  My meeting at Everglow Hospital was a shock, to say the least. The Director of Nursing, Helen Wu, was nice enough and the hospital was clean, well-staffed, and efficiently organized. But I began to feel out of place as soon as Helen showed me around. Each piece of high-tech equipment we didn’t have in Goldleaf was another reminder of how privileged people were in Everglow.

  How much better would patients in Goldleaf be faring if my colleagues and I had the latest advancements? Just another thing people like Nic and Casius don’t understand.

  “How many patients do you have on an average day here?”

  Helen tucked a lock of her short dark bob behind her ear. “Hmm… Around fifty.”

  “That’s more than triple what we see on a day in Goldleaf.” Yet the hospital seemed quiet, I realized. Almost empty.

  “Well, that makes sense. Your population is about one-third of ours. It must be nice to work in a small community like that.”

  “Yeah…” I manufactured a smile, masking my bitterness. She clearly had no idea how utterly backward our facilities were compared to hers.

  “Most of the patients we see are elderly—a hundred and fifty or older. The next most common group of patients is pregnant omegas. Do you ever take shifts in Labor & Delivery back in Goldleaf?”

  I nodded and looked around at the shiny tile floors and educational posters on the wall, advertising the benefits of a balanced diet. The whole place felt like a weird dream, vaguely familiar but ultimately foreign.

  Before I knew it, we were back at Helen’s office.

  “Any more questions we didn’t cover?” Helen asked with a warm smile.

  I shook my head and gave another convincing smile.

  She met my eyes with a look of hopeful trust. “It’s going to be great to have such an experienced professional like yourself on our team. Thanks so much for offering to help us out, Stefan.”

  “Of course, of course. I’m happy to help out.” I bit back the urge to make it clear for the record that Alpha Truitt had volunteered me against my will.

  “I’ll send you home with some paperwork to fill out…”

  “I wish I was going home,” I said.

  Helen looked at me with an apologetic grimace. “Right. Sorry. Are you staying in a nice hotel? There are a couple within walking distance of the hospital, you know.”

  “I’m staying with a friend right now, actually. But thanks.”

  “That sounds nice. Well, I hope you’ll be comfortable there.”

  I hoped I would be too.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow to fill you in on the roster.”

  “Great, I’ll talk to you then.”

  “Thank again, Stefan, I’m really glad to have you with us, even if the circumstances aren’t ideal.”

  “Yes, it will be a great learning experience for me, I’m sure.” I waved, spun around on my heel, and headed for the parking garage with a grumble of anxiety and disdain in my guts. But at least work would keep me busy. It would have been even more of a curse to be stuck in the city with nothing to do but wait around for the travel ban to lift, especially with Nic sniffing around.

  When I pulled into Casius and Julian’s driveway, I felt a familiar twisting and tugging.

  Ugh! He’s here again?

  My wolf whined excitedly and urged me to hurry up and go into the house.

  Shh! I need a minute to gather my thoughts.

  I turned off the motor but left the radio on, and then I softly sang along with the song. Then I realized Nic would have also known I was here, and now he probably figured I was just sitting in the driveway avoiding him. I couldn’t have that. That was a coward’s move.

  I pulled my key out of the ignition, grabbed my bag from the passenger seat then hopped out of the car. I groaned to no one in particular as I braced myself for battle and crunched my way up the gravel path to the front door.

  After I swung the door open and kicked my shoes off, I spotted Nic sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee in his hand. His warm brown eyes darted up to look at me as steam swirled above his mug.

  “Hey, Stefan.” He gazed at me placidly for a moment. Then he turned his attention back to the magazine in his lap.

  I blinked at him.

  I waited for more.

  He didn’t give it to me.

  ‘Hey, Stefan’? What is that? Yesterday he was acting like a knight in shining armor and now he’s just a couch potato without a care in the world? What the fuck happened?

  I was disappointed, and that feeling didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t like the way he had dismissed me so easily. But as I walked toward the guest room, I realized a horrifying truth.

  This is what you actually wanted. For Nic to leave you alone and realize the two of you are not going to be a thing. This is an improvement. The pressure’s off.

  So then why did I feel like total shit?

  I lay down on the bed and fished the paperwork out of my bag that Helen had given me. Grabbing a book to lean on, I started to fill the forms out. But I quickly grew bored and had to face the reality that I was looking childish for hiding in my room just because Nic was here. I hadn’t even asked him why he was here. He might not even be here for me, and coming off as rude and immature would be worse than him thinking I was an eager puppy.

  I tossed the paperwork aside and checked my hair in the small mirror hanging on the wall by the door. One strand was out of place, so I wove it back into my quiff before heading back to the living room.

  I sat down in an armchair facing the lake, visible through the wide panes of the sliding door.

  “Nice view, huh?” I sounded a little too casual.

  Nic glanced at me over his magazine.

  “Mm-hm.” He reached for his cup of coffee on the side table and raised it to his lips. His nonchalant response left me feeling unsatisfied. I was trying to tone down my defensiveness enough to at least be platonically pleasant. Couldn’t he see that?

  “So, what are you doing here?” I examined my manicure for any faults. The nail I broke the other day seemed to be mocking me.

  “Casius invited me over for lunch. My shift doesn’t start until later in the afternoon, so I thought I’d come a little early and enjoy the view.” He smiled mischievously at me, then looked back at his magazine.

  “You’re working a night shift, then?” My guts twisted with the awkward effort I was putting in. But it was the bare minimum I could do, really.

  Nic just nodded. I watched his long eyelashes flicker as his pupils darted left and right, scanning an article about motorcycles. He turned a page of the magazine and turned his head slightly to take in a full-page photo.

  “I’ve done my fair share of those late nights. They’re not easy,” I commented.

  “I’d have to agree.” He looked up at me. The shape of his lips caught me off-guard again. The top one seemed to be reaching toward me somehow. “You’re a nurse, right?”

  It was my turn to nod. I didn’t want to encourage his questions. I had fulfilled the expectation to be friendly with him, but I didn’t need him to know much more about me. Just then, I heard Julian yawn and the padded thump of his stockinged feet coming downstairs.

  I was happy to divert attention onto him. “Hey, it’s the father-to-be. How are you feeling?”

  “Ugh.” He groaned and flopped down on the armchair next to mine.

  “That good, huh?”

  “Just amazing. Supporting another entire life is no big deal, I think I’ll do it a few times a year for the rest of my life.” He rolled his eyes dramatically.

  “Oh my god, you’re going to be the biggest drama queen in the whole maternity ward, I just know it.”

  “That means a lot coming from you.” Julian smiled at me with a sarcastic glare.

  I let out a barki
ng laugh.

  He patted my knee. “How was your meeting at the hospital?”

  “It was fine. It was weird to be in such a big, fancy hospital, though. You’ve got quite the set-up here in Everglow. Hey, do you want me to get you an ice pack for your feet?” Before Julian could answer me, the front door swung open and Casius walked in.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” Julian said with a sappy, sleepy smile aimed at his mate.

  “Hey, handsome.” Casius’s million-watt smile almost blinded us all. “How are you feeling today?” He leaned down to plant a kiss on his mate’s lips.

  “Sleepy, and my feet hurt.”

  “Well, I can help you with one of those things.” Casius plopped down on the ottoman in front of Julian and took one of the pregnant omega’s feet in his hands to rub the arch with his thumb.

  Julian sighed. “That feels amazing,” he said.

  A twinge of envy hit me. I wished someone would do little things like that for me. Having a best friend was all well and good, but there was another level of care to Julian’s relationship with Casius I wasn’t sure if I’d ever experienced. Not since Mom and Grandma passed away, at least. And never with my ex, Justin. He’d claimed to love me but had never made any romantic gestures to show me that. He’d certainly never rubbed my feet.

  I looked over at Nic, whose eyes were, luckily, cast down at his magazine again. I studied his face, the way his upper lip extended outward from his face slightly, the smooth line of his jaw, his strong roman nose. He was cute, there was no doubting that.

  He looked up and caught my eye with a smugness in his expression, as if he knew I’d been considering his attractiveness. He seemed to sense what I was feeling too. There was some kind of recognition in his eyes.

  Is that something fated mates can do? I made a mental note to ask Julian later.

  Nic cleared his throat suddenly and almost made me jump.

  “Have they assigned you to a particular department at the Everglow Hospital?” he asked me with what sounded like a hint of hope in his voice.

  “No, not yet. But the supervisor asked me about Labor & Delivery, so I think they might need some help there.”

  “Do you like that sort of stuff?”

  “Yeah, at least some of the people there are happy about going through childbirth. No one else in hospital is really excited about what’s going on, you know? There’s a lot of palliative care… So, birth is a pleasant change. But it’s highly emotional, so it can get very dramatic.”

  “For some, it gets dramatic before labor even starts,” Julian added with a chuckle.

  “Sounds like the voice of experience speaking, Jules.”

  He nodded then lay his head back again and closed his eyes, clearly enjoying his foot massage.

  “What do you do when people get, uh, ‘dramatic’?” Nic asked.

  I raised my eyebrows at him. “It all depends on who’s causing the drama. Surely your combat training involved conflict resolution skills?”

  “Yeah, definitely.”

  “Then you have a pretty good idea of what’s involved.”

  Nic pursed his lips and nodded. He dropped his gaze back to his magazine and flipped the pages. He didn’t seem to be reading anymore. I started to wonder if the magazine was just an excuse to avoid talking to me. He didn’t seem even half as excited to talk to me as he had been earlier.

  Did I seriously misjudge his enthusiasm when we first met? Or has he just changed his mind? He seemed set on the Fated Mate thing but maybe my bark has stopped him from wanting to give me his bite.

  If that was the case, then he clearly had no taste or he wasn’t strong enough to be with someone like me.

  I’m a fucking catch… Not that he could ever catch up with me. He’s not quick enough on the uptake.

  I grinned at my own quips, crossed my arms over my chest, and settled back in the chair. It didn’t matter that Nic was ignoring me, and Julian and Cas were wrapped up in their own world. I was all the company I needed.

  7

  Nicolas

  Stef had seemed to relax a little more around me. I thought it would be a good idea to give him some time to get used to being around my scent and the intense feeling between us before I pursued him much more. It was paying off. Lunch was nice, and he’d even asked me a few more questions about me. Don’t get me wrong—it had killed me to stop from fawning all over him. I wanted to touch him, grab him, kiss him, bite him. But I was a senior Inner Guard. I knew how to keep my cool.

  My night shift had dragged on, and I’d found my eyes drooping as I watched the humans doing absolutely nothing in their cells for eight hours. I got through it by remembering the next day was my day off… Or at least, it was meant to be.

  “Mm, hello?” I groaned into the phone, my eyes squeezed shut and a pillow pulled over my face.

  “Hey, it’s Cas.”

  “Everything okay?” I sat bolt upright in bed with my eyes wide open. My heart was pounding.

  “It’s okay, everything’s okay. I’m sorry to call you on your day off.”

  My shoulders relaxed and I let out a heavy sigh. “You scared me, man. I thought there’d been another attack or…”

  “I just need you to come in for a minute. Alpha Hughes has called me up to the Supreme Mansion this morning to talk about the captives. He wants you there. We want you there.”

  I ran a hand over my face and glanced at the time. The sun was up and blasting through my blinds, but damn, it was early. I could have used another few hours of sleep, but what was I going to do? Tell my best friend and superior to get lost until I had my rest? Yeah, right.

  “What time?” I reached for a bottle of water by my bedside and knocked over my alarm clock.

  “We’ll meet at eight.”

  I reached over the edge of the bed and searched for the clock, then groaned when I saw the time. “Then why are you calling me at six?”

  Casius’s grin was practically audible. “Because I wanted to tell you that Stefan is starting his first rounds at the hospital this morning.”

  “He is, huh?” The sound of his name put a smile on my face and woke up my wolf. It started nudging me to get the hell up and rush to the hospital.

  “Pretty big deal for him. He’s not happy about being stuck in Everglow. He might need some cheering up.”

  “Hint taken. Thanks, man.”

  “How’s everything going with you two?”

  “I don’t know, what has Stef told Julian?”

  “Beats me. All Julian can tell me is how much his own feet are hurting, and how squished his organs are.”

  I laughed, threw back the covers, and then hauled myself out of bed. “Well I’m trying with Stefan, but he keeps turning me down every chance he gets. Which, you know, it’s fine. I like it. I wish I had all the time in the world…”

  “Mm.” Casius’s tone dropped somberly. “Time has become really valuable these days, hasn’t it?”

  I blew air out between my lips and hoisted open my blinds. “Yeah. If we’d met six months ago, I’d just let this play out. It could take as long as it takes.”

  “Six months ago?” He sounded like he already knew what I meant, but I appreciated the invitation to explain as I stared out of my bedroom window toward the woods at the back of my house.

  “This danger, these humans. This war or whatever it is or whatever it will become. I can’t help but feel like the clock is ticking down. I don’t know. Maybe it’s not the right time for a romance.”

  Silence filled the space between us. A cardinal flew out of the largest pine tree in my view, and the branches shook in its wake. Needles fell to the forest floor.

  Casius grunted like he’d decided something. “Let’s get this human issue sorted out, for all of our sakes. Meet me at eight.”

  As I pushed my way into the Falls Café, the jingle of the doorbell hit me like a stark memory of the baby shower, and it triggered a Pavlovian response. I sniffed for Stef, but of course he wasn’t here. Maybe there was
the faintest hint of him still lingering in the coffee shop… Or maybe I was just imagining it.

  I was at the café well before the breakfast rush, and the line was short. Too short. By the time I made it to the counter, I’d barely looked through the case, and I still didn’t know what to order.

  Josie, the manager, frowned at me. “Hey, Nic, why the long face?”

  “If you were a nurse, a really sassy nurse, which of these muffins would you like?” I grabbed two from a basket on the counter, held up blackberry and pecan in one hand, and cranberry and walnut in the other.

  Josie clucked her tongue. “Honestly, they taste exactly the same.”

  “Uh, do they taste good?”

  “Buy one, then you tell me.”

  “Josie, c’mon, I need to get this guy to warm up to me.”

  “Who? You want an Americano?”

  I glanced behind me to find the line starting to form. “Yeah, the usual. And he’s uh…Stefan.”

  “Julian’s friend?”

  “Yeah.” I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Shit. I don’t think a muffin is going to do it. He’s all attitude.” She shook her head as she wrote my usual coffee order on a cup.

  I laughed but it trailed off into a frustrated sigh. “Cranberry. You can’t go wrong with cranberry, right?”

  Josie grinned and shrugged as she rang me up. “Sure. You can’t go wrong with cranberry.”

  “Oh, has Casius been in yet?”

  “You just missed him.” Josie motioned toward the door.

  “Then I better get going. Thanks, Josie.”

  She rushed my order through, and then waved me off as I left with a piping hot Americano in one hand and a bag of muffins in the other, but she called out as I reached the door. “Hey! Just be persistent. He seems like the kind of guy who would appreciate consistency. Sustained effort. You know?”