Page 10 of Beta's Virgin Bride

“Her face was bruised. She asked me to help her find a safe place for the night.”

“Fuck,” I growled, pushing away. “I told her to come to me. This time, I’ll beat the shit out of her mother and anyone who tries to stand in my way. What did she say? Is she all right?”

“I made sure of it. I’ll take care of her mother, too. Rebbie had some interesting things to say.”

“Such as?”

“She said Rowan Byrd watched out for the two of you.”

“Rowan watched out for the entire pack. He was our alpha.”

“She said the two of you had a close relationship,” he stated, and I finally turned to look at him again.

“We did.”

It was his turn to growl as he stood up. “How close, Ivy?”

“Rowan was family, Cyan, just as Raina is.”

“How close?”

“What do you want to know? If Rowan and I were sleeping together?”

That growl again, and I couldn’t let him think that. For some godforsaken reason, this stranger was starting to matter to me. What the hell was wrong with me?

“No, we weren’t. He was like a brother to me and Jasmine. Why do you think my sister sees fire monsters in her dreams? Rowan burned to death, Cyan. He burned to death, and no one could help him.”

Saying the words aloud brought it all back. The day the knock had come at the door and I’d been told Rowan was gone. Then I’d found out how. Seen the remains of the truck he’d been in. Glimpsed the healing burns on his father, who’d tried to battle the flames to get to him. Then I’d watched my sister fall apart as she’d grappled with losing the man who’d been a mixture of father/brother/puppy love for her.

I didn’t realize I was crying until Cyan had me in his arms again. This time, he picked me up, carrying me out of the kitchen and down the hall toward my bedroom. I wasn’t sure how he knew where it was and didn’t care. It felt so good to be held, as if there was someone to help me carry all the responsibilities on my shoulders. I wanted Cyan, and it scared me. Other than Rowan, I’d pushed away all other men. I’d been safe with Rowan, though. There’d been no desire between us. Cyan was anything but safe. He brought my body alive in ways it never had been.

Cradled against him, touching his flesh, I wanted to make love. I wanted to fuck. I wanted to strip naked and rub against him like a bitch in heat. I wanted him inside me in every way conceivable, and that want terrified me.

I’d sworn a long time ago I’d never share myself with a man, never mate. That vow had only been cemented with the birth of Jasmine. You see, our mother is what’s commonly referred to as a pack whore. She’ll spread her thighs for any man who’s willing. Shifter or not. She’s incapable of love. Jasmine and I are proof of that. Which is why I’d refused to be bedded, why I remained a virgin. My greatest fear was I’d have sex and become my mother. It gave me nightmares.

So when Cyan whispered to me, “Let me love you,” I cried harder even as I whispered back, “yes.”

Chapter Five

~ Cyan ~

I sat on the side of the bed with Ivy cradled against my chest. I wasn’t sure how my request to be allowed to love her had led to her sobbing, but that was where we were. My woman had something heavy weighing her down, and it was my job to figure out what it was.

Ivy was my mate. I’d known it from the moment I’d lain eyes on her. She was my chance for happiness, the woman I would fall in love with and spend the rest of my life worshipping. If I could only get her to stop crying and talk to me.

Right then, the best I could do was offer comfort. I held her to me, stroking one palm up and down her spine while she cried. I had no idea how much she had bottled up inside her, but it seemed as if far more than my question had brought this on. It made me wonder if she’d grieved for Rowan, if anyone had checked since he’d been gone to make sure she was okay? It certainly hadn’t seemed like it earlier, with the three idiots in the parking lot. How long had she been putting up with shit like that?

“I’ve got you, baby,” I tried to reassure her. There were few times in my life when I’d felt helpless. This was one of them. I wanted to say all the right things, do all the right things, but I was clueless when it came to crying women. All I knew was Ivy mattered.

“Oh, my God! This is stupid.” Ivy pushed her head off my chest and rubbed her face with her hands. “I don’t cry.”

“Nothing you do could ever be stupid.”

“Cyan—”

“Except kicking me out,” I interrupted. “That would be really stupid.”

Ivy laughed, her lips tipping up at the corners.

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