Page 15 of Her Cold Brute

“Why? Is she hurting? I should have had the healer come check her last night when we got here,” Cole states and I bite my tongue to keep from scoffing. He’s not concerned about my welfare. He’s concerned about when he can claim me and really own me, I’m sure.

“It was more about us being here…in the packhouse than anything else,” Sammy says pulling a sound from Cole I don’t fully understand. Surprise, shock, or disbelief perhaps. “You’ve got to understand where she’s coming from man. We never lived in the packhouse back home. From the day Dad brought Mom and Mora home, they were in our house. Thomas didn’t want a human child in the packhouse, so he had the house prepared just for them. We’ve never been surrounded by pack members, never had a place where others had the keys for it. Not to mention that the last time Mora was around a group of shifters was her graduation day, Cole. Since the attack, she’s only seen the healers at the hospital, a couple of nurses, and us. This is a complete change for her all on top of the fact that the last time she was near a large group of shifters, she almost died, which was only compounded by the attack where she was hurt again. I know you’re anxious to see her, but right now she just needs to sleep.”

“I see,” Cole says, his tone tighter than before and that alone tells me I was right. He’s not concerned about me at all, just with what he wants, and it makes me hate him more. “I brought over a thicker blanket for her to use. I’m sure she’ll find the house cooler than what she’s used to and for us it isn’t a bother, but I don’t want her to be cold. This suite doesn’t get as much sunlight in the morning, so it’ll take longer to warm up.”

“I’ll give it to her,” Sammy states and I relax a bit more into the bed hearing footsteps fading down the hallway.

I shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep when the door for the room opens, and Sammy comes in. He drops a kiss onto the top of my head before spreading the blanket out over me and I fight to control a soft moan of comfort as it warms me almost instantly.

“Sleep Sis, you’re safe,” Sammy whispers to me before shutting the door once more and I curl up under the blanket more.

There’s a warm, woodsy scent to the blanket and I ball my fist in it, bringing it up to my face, inhaling it with a smile on my lips. It reminds me of the morning dawn in the woods and I slip into a deep, true sleep in minutes, as my mind latches onto happy memories of watching the sunrise.

Chapter 8

Cole

I peek into the bedroom, my wolf happy seeing Mora curled up in our blanket, sound asleep still. I didn’t believe Sammy when he said she was still asleep when I stopped in this morning, but now, it’s clear my little mate did in fact need the extra rest.

I was up by seven, pacing the floors trying to give her time, but I finally had enough around nine-thirty. I needed to see her and found Sammy barring my way instead. It was only his exhaustion that had me leaving earlier—well, that and the things he’d told me that I should have realized sooner.

If Thomas was prepared to reject his true mate simply for not being a full blood, it’s not any stretch to believe that he didn’t want humans in his packhouse. I didn’t even need Barry’s confirmation that there were no human mates amongst the alpha ranks except for Mora’s mother to believe Sammy’s words. Barry’s confirmation that only a few of the pack’s omegas had human mates and that they lived in a separate building away from the packhouse, or smaller houses simply made me angry that I didn’t think of it earlier. That I wasn’t prepared for when I brought my mate home. What to expect, do, to make her feel safer.

I’ve spent the morning rectifying that and now am back to wait for my mate to wake. Seeing her sleeping so peacefully, curled up beneath my blanket calms my urgent need to speak with her. There’s a little smile on her lips and that is enough for me for this moment, no matter how much my wolf wants to sink his teeth into her soft neck and mark her as ours.

“Rest sweetheart,” I drop a kiss to her forehead, brushing her hair from beneath her shoulder, then head back to the living room letting her continue to sleep with my blanket.

My pack members made it for me, not knowing that thanks to my father’s bearen blood that the cold doesn’t bother me in the least. I couldn’t begin to refuse it and have slept atop it every night since. It’s flooded with my scent, which I’m sure Sammy was able to tell, but he still covered my mate with it telling me that he’s coming around to the fact that Mora is mine.

“She’s still asleep,” I tell him as he comes out of the kitchen with his plate of lunch I had brought up and I grab one of my own. “I didn’t have the heart to wake her.”

“She’s finally sleeping and not just napping so that’s good,” he says, his gaze holding mine and I don’t bother hiding my smile. “Look, just because subconsciously she’s comforted by your scent doesn’t mean she’s going to let it sway her to you any time soon. She’s got a deep mistrust when it comes to shifters for a good reason and your first introduction to her didn’t score you any bonus points. You’re going to have to give her time unless you want to drive her away.”

“So you’re say not to tell her the blanket is mine and that’s why it’s made her rest so much easier?” I state pulling a nod from the kid. “But you know she’s mine, my mate.”

“Yes, but until she knows it and accepts it, you’re going to have to deal with your frustrations out of his sight. You push her too much and she’s just going to run the other way,” Sammy warns and while I hate the words, I’m thankful that he’s telling me and not hiding it, not trying to keep us apart.

By two, I’m growing restless. Not because I need to be out doing something or need a run, but because I need to see Mora’s eyes, hear her voice again. My wolf starts to flip around inside my chest when we finally hear sounds of life coming from Mora’s room, and I have to smile when she walks into the living room, her eyes still heavy from her sleep. She’s dressed in a pair of thick leggings with a sweater on top and I want to pull her into my arms and hold on tight. To warm her further and also to simply feel her little body against mine again.

“Afternoon sleepyhead,” Sammy says, giving her a hug that makes my jaw tense. I should be the one that can freely touch her, not her brother. She’s my mate and should want me to hold her most out of anyone in the world, but one look her way and I know she doesn’t want me near her, let alone touching her still.

“How are you feeling, Mora?” I ask, staying where I am as she comes further into the room.

“Fine, what are you doing here?” she returns.

“Waiting for you to wake so I can show you around,” I begin but she cuts me off.

“You want me to take five flights of stairs with broken ribs still?”

“No, of course not. I can carry you until you’re recovered,” I offer, pulling a massive shake of the head from her. “Mora, you can’t stay in these rooms forever.”

“Then maybe you should have thought about that before you forced me to come here with you and put us in this tower. I don’t want to be here. Don’t want anything to do with you or the rest of your pack,” she snips, and it takes everything within me to not simply grab and kiss her, show her that she’s mine.

The only thing that keeps me in place is the warning look in Sammy’s eyes, telling me if I do anything stupid right now, he’ll step in between us. I already know if something happens to the kid, if I injure him, Mora will blame me and never accept that she’s my mate. “Alright, if you’re not up to seeing around the place yet, I won’t push, but I do think some fresh air would be good. So perhaps we can sit out on the balcony for a bit while you have something to eat?”

“Whatever,” she sighs, a frown on her face I hate.

“I’ll warm up your lunch. It’s good so no arguing with me, Sis,” Sammy says moving into the kitchen and it gives me a chance to grab the bag so Mora can hopefully feel a bit more comfortable about one thing here.

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