Page 75 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

“I’ve prepared a nice lunch for both of you, but I’ll run the dinner menu by you before I get started on it, Miss Beaumont.”

Bewildered, I gape after her as she carries my bag up the stairs.

“Why is she treating me like that?”

“Like what?” Robert asks innocently just as Zeno comes rushing into the room. He paws at Robert’s feet before coming to sniff me. His little tail starts wagging furiously as he recognizes my scent.

“Hello, Zeno!” I beam at him. “You look happy and healthy.”

“Ever since Mrs. Mallory returned from vacation a few days ago, the two of them have become inseparable,” Robert tells me.

Mano squirms in my arms, wanting to be released, and I drop her to the ground. Zeno pounces on her to investigate this new creature and receives a smack on his nose. It doesn’t deter him, and the two pets are soon entangled in a tussle.

I’m not worried. I can tell when Mano feels threatened and when she’s playing. Right now, my cat seems to have found herself a playmate.

“Mrs. Mallory seems nice,” I comment. “A little strange, but sweet.”

Robert chuckles. “Not every shifter has a hardened grudge against vampires. I told her about you last night; I wanted her to have a room ready for you. I wanted to share my bedroom with you, but Mrs. Mallory is a little old-fashioned about things like that before marriage, so…”

“So am I.” I give him a narrow-eyed look. “Why would you think I would sleep in the same bed as you?”

He adopts the most affronted look he is able to muster. “How can you question my motivation? Do you think getting you in bed is the only goal I have in life? Did you even consider that perhaps I was concerned about your safety and felt that my room would be the safest—”

“Oh, save it.” I can see the twinkle in his eyes.

“I am serious, though. If you want to make any changes to the house, feel free to do so.”

The thought makes me feel a little awkward. “I’m just a guest.”

“For now,” Robert grins at me. “Will you walk into my parlor? Will you rest upon my little bed?”

As he quotes these two lines of “The Spider and the Fly” to me, I give him a suspicious look. “Yes to the parlor, but not to your bed.”

He laughs uproariously. “Then we’ll work on the second one while you get accustomed to the first. Come on, I’m sure Mrs. Mallory wants you to see the room she set up for you.”

As I follow Robert upstairs, there’s a small ball of anxiety in my chest. I made this decision to come here, to accept him. But will it work out? Or will I end up with my heart broken in the worst of ways? Robert has shown me with his actions that he cares about me, and I want to believe everything he is telling me. But after facing so much rejection my whole life, it’s hard to bare my heart completely to anyone.

This is the first time I’ve wanted to try, though. Angie’s warnings about my future being uncertain ring in my head, and I let out a shaky breath.

The Unknown, indeed.

It feels like I’ve launched myself off a cliff into the dark, raging sea below, with no knowledge of how to swim.

******

I couldn’t exactly pack up my entire apartment and bring it with me. At the same time, I was terrified that Arabella might break in and destroy years of memories out of sheer vindictiveness. Robert convinced me to leave everything as it was, saying he’d arrange for someone to stay there and look after the place. So, I only packed some essentials, and Mano’s things, plus a few packets of the blood that I got from a guy I bribed at the local blood bank.

I hid those from Robert. There was probably no need to keep them a secret, but I haven’t exactly had a heart-to-heart with him about my dietary needs. I would rather not bring up that topic if I can avoid it. The small cooler I brought with me holds up to five packets; I just need to make sure I keep it stocked with ice at all times.

These past two days, Mrs. Mallory has been attentive and helpful. However, she seems insistent on treating me as if I’m the one who is supposed to run this household. It’s overwhelming and stressful, and Robert is absolutely no help whatsoever. Every time I’ve tried to bring it up with him, he simply dances around the topic, telling me to do whatever I want to feel comfortable.

As I pull on a long-sleeved shirt and pants in an attempt to hide my bruises while I’m at work, I stare at the large contusion on my forehead and the gauze covering my cheek. I haven’t had the strength to look at the claw marks yet. Robert has been tending to them for the past two days while I rested.

It’s been getting colder outside, and I move my body slowly as I put on a jacket, one sleeve at a time. Am I ready for this?

I told Jazz someone tried to break in at the cafe, and Robert was smart enough not to get the broken lock changed. He did erase the security footage, of course, including the feeds from neighboring establishments.

So, right now, Jazz thinks I’m taking a couple days off because I’m dealing with the shock of the whole situation. She was more than happy to give me time to recover.

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