Page 95 of Healer's Call

He smirks. “Nah. I like this battle too much. Catch you later, Healer.” It’s my turn to scowl. I watch him walk away. He opens the door and with a wink, disappears out into the hallway.

I take a deep breath. “I am so in way over my head.”

Amber laughs. “Yes, you are; and I love it!”

I give her a mock scowl that she laughs off. “What? I’ve known Mav a long time and always wanted someone special for him.” She sighs. “I knew it was going to have to be an angel to put up with him.”

“Well, I am certainly no angel,” I scoff.

She gives me a gentle smile. “I don’t know about that.”

“I’m not.” I take a sip of my tea and wait for Amber to come back to the table. “What do you know about rogue wolves?”

She takes a drink of coffee before answering. “Honestly, not a whole lot. I know that they’re wolves who for one reason or another lose connection with the part of them that makes them human.” She pauses and cocks her head. “Or at least the part that helps them to think like a human. They become ruled by their wolves.”

“Mav said they don’t have souls,” I add, taking another sip.

She thinks about it for a minute. “I don’t know about that. I mean, I get how he could think that. I guess in a way, it’s sort of like that if you consider your soul is what helps you make decisions and be fully human.”

“What makes them turn rogue?”

She looks at me in surprise. “You don’t know? It’s because they don’t find their mates.”

I stare at her, feeling gut-punched. “That’swhy they become rogue?”

She nods sadly. “Yeah, it’s a terrible thing.”

Sitting back in my chair, I study her face. “That’s what will happen to Maverick if he doesn’t mate me?” I ask softly.

“Yes.”

“But what about the wolves who don’t find their mates? That’s not fair.”

“You’re right. It’s not,” she says sadly. “But that’s the reality of it. That’s why mates are so incredibly important to us and why they’re guarded fiercely, especially you human mates who can’t protect yourselves.”

I frown. “Hey—”

“I mean you don’t have a wolf inside of you to protect you. I mean I get it.”

“You get what?” I ask curiously.

“Why Mav is so protective of you.”

“He’s not really, not like some of the wolves from the Northwoods Pack,” I argue.

She lifts her eyebrows. “Rose, he’s obsessive about your protection. I mean, he won’t even let you walk through the building without protection. He told you to come get him when you leave here.”

I wave a hand. “That’s just because of the attack.”

She stares at me, and I feel like I’m missing something. “Rose, Mav pays shifters in our pack out of his own pocket to keep twenty-four seven protection around you every hour of every day.”

My mouth hangs open. “I’ve only noticed the wolves after everything happened.”

“That’s because he didn’t want you to know; he’s not supposed to care about you, remember?” She smiles a moment before it falls. “He won’t let himself fall for you, but he would never forgive himself if something happened to you. He’s a little obsessive about it, and it’s made worse because of what happened to his sister.”

“What about when I was in the Northwoods Pack?”

“Oh, he was a mess. He called the alpha at least once a day to get a check on you, and he also offered to pay shifters there; but the alpha wouldn’t let him. Maverick argued with him multiple times, but Alpha Garrett kept insisting you were protected.”

---