Page 21 of Betrayed Pregnant Mate

But I have nightmares almost every night that I go back into that place, and when I come to, I’ve seriously hurt people I love. Sometimes it’s Aris and his family, sometimes Bigby and his wife.

Mostly, it’s Veronica. Even before I knew she was back in Rosecreek. Because she’s always been the person, I’m afraid of hurting most. It’s why I left her behind in New York City—ripping the band-aid off by joining a mission at the last second. I thought that not saying anything to her might be the kindest way to make the break, but now, looking back at it, I realize I was just being a coward.

Something inside me—likely Linnea’s voice—tells me I should talk to her about that and get our history out on the table. Apologize for leaving her the way I did. Another part of me thinks that she’s probably long over it, and bringing it up now will just make me look like an asshole.

“I can see that it’s a lock,” Veronica mutters, which pulls me out of my thoughts. She rolls her eyes, and I get the sense that even though she’s only been back in my life for a few days, and both of us have spent large chunks of that time unconscious, she’s still tiring quickly of my sarcasm. “What are you doing, installing it?”

“I wanted you to feel safe,” I say, tucking the screwdriver into my pocket. “This way, you can lock the bedroom when you go in there. Not that I’m going to try and come in—I just thought that it might make you feel better.”

“It would make me feel better,” she says, popping her hip, “if I was sleeping in there. Which I’m not.”

“I am not taking the bed while you sleep on a couch,” I insist. “That is not happening.”

“Well, I don’t want to sleep in your bed, Percy, did you ever consider that?”

I glance back at the bedroom, sighing. If I sleep in the bedroom, we’ll need to install the lock outside the door, to keep me in. But that would look deranged the moment anyone came over and saw that lock on the outside of a door.

“Veronica,” I say, my voice low. “Please, let me give you the bed. Maybe we could think about it as the very, very beginning of the reparations I owe you for everything I’ve done.”

“Percy,” she says, mimicking how I said her name, imitating my lower voice. “You don’t owe me anything—I’ve already forgiven the whole…abduction thing. I realize now that you weren’t in control of yourself. So—”

“That’s not the only thing I need to make up to you,” I say, which seems like it genuinely stuns her for a moment. She blinks, sucks in a breath, then nods.

“Fine,” she says, “I will take the bed. But I’m not locking the door.”

“You should lock the door!” I call after her, but she’s already turned on her heel and stalked back into the living room.

***

“Where are you going?”

“Oh,” I say, jumping yet again at the sight of her, although I could sense she was there, standing in the door to the bedroom, looking out at me as I stood with one shoe on, one shoe off. “Aris has called an emergency meeting.”

“I’m coming,” she says, “just wait for me.”

“No, Veronica,” I say, shaking my head. My position within the team is already tenuous enough without me bringing along a human. The human I am illegally blood-bonded to. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask for your opinion,” she says, appearing in the doorway with a backpack again. “Look—I’m in this now. Whatever happened to me, whether it was a blood-borne pathogen from some weirdo who chose to bite me or…a vampire—I don’t want to be left out of whatever discussions take place around this matter.”

She looks gorgeous, wearing black and sheer running tights that show parts of her skin and a plain black t-shirt. Her hair is pulled up into a high ponytail, her face set in an expression I would recognize anywhere—I am not going to win this battle.

“Fine,” I say, getting my other shoe on and getting to my feet. “But we have to go now.”

As she passes in front of me to go down the stairs and to the door, I grit my teeth, willing my hands not to reach out and touch her. It’s only been a day, and the pull to her is so intense it feels like staring directly into the sun.

We climb into my car—a new Ford Bronco, which Bigby calls a knock-off Jeep, and pull away, heading to the pack center. When we park outside, Veronica lets out a low whistle.

“This place always impresses me,” she says, “it’s so unexpected in a small town.”

It is impressive, especially in the timeframe the Cadells managed to get it up and running. According to Aris and Bigby, it’s bigger than the old pack center, and houses far more facilities and services. There’s free daycare here for anyone in town, not just the shifters. Several huge kitchens are situated in the back of the building, which the pack can use for catering during events, or people can use when they don’t have access to their own.

There’s a picnic area, indoor and outdoor playgrounds, grilling, a pool, and several sporting and athletic activities, like basketball, tennis, and weightlifting.

The outside is completely modern, with a greenhouse and solar lighting. It’s part of what makes me proud to call Rosecreek my home.

“Yeah,” I finally agree when we push through the doors and step inside. It looks like someone is having a birthday party in one of the adjoining rooms, but we head to the top floor of the building, which is exclusively for the special ops team.

I scan my badge on the elevator door—a badge that Aris only recently gave me—and hold my breath as we climb.

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