Page 151 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“Haven,” I corrected, frowning in confusion. “My name is Haven.”

Dr. Russo glanced back at Wes, but Wes kept glowering, with his arms crossed, still agitated by the intrusion. I couldn’t help the little thrill that went through me at his annoyance.

“Right, well, like I said, I’m happy to see you in better spirits than last night,” he said.

I gave him a tight smile. “Thank you.”

“Would you like Wesley to stay or step out?”

“He can stay,” I muttered, and Wes relaxed a little, leaning against the wall by the door.

I was still mad at him, but I didn’t want to be alone with the doctor, either. I didn’t know him, and Wesley’s presence was still calming me a little. Not as much as it did when he was next to me and touching or holding me, but just knowing he was there helped me feel safe.

“I’m going to check your wound and see if we need to replace the bandage or anything. And I’m going to go over the results of your blood tests with you,” Dr. Russo said as he sat on the bed with me.

“What blood tests?” I asked.

“We wanted to check for any infection. And we wanted to check if you were pregnant. It’s a standard procedure for emergency situations.”

My eyes widened, and my heart skipped a beat. Wesley’s face paled, and that sensation of emotions that didn’t belong to me hit me again, stronger than before.

I avoided Wesley’s eyes, though. It embarrassed me that we didn’t even talk about condoms or birth control or anything before we slept together. Not that it mattered since I was protected, but still. It should have been a conversation we had.

“It was negative,” the doctor added.

“I know. I’m on birth control,” I muttered. “The implant,” I clarified.

Relief flashed in Wesley’s eyes, and he relaxed, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. And even though I wasn’t ready for kids, seeing his relief that I wasn’t pregnant cut deep. Was the thought of being tied to me by sharing a kid really that awful?

I glared at him, and his eyes widened and his face paled even more. “No, I-I’m thinking about your career, about how you said your ex wanted to just turn you into a baby maker, and how you didn’t want that. But I want to have kids with you at some point. I mean, if you want to have kids. If you don’t want to have kids, that’s fine too. I mean—”

Dr. Russo cleared his throat and raised a brow at Wesley, who blushed and looked down at his feet.

I turned away from Wes and looked towards the window of his sitting area, wishing the blinds were open so I could see out to the lake, the forest, and the mountains. I kept my gaze on that side of the room as the doctor moved the neck of my shirt and peeled the bandages off. My mouth twitched with the hint of laughter at Wesley’s rambling, but I didn’t want him to know he amused me.

“Interesting,” Dr. Russo said as he examined the wound.

“What?” Wes asked with a strained voice.

“The wound is healing faster than I expected,” he replied. “I knew your presence would speed up the process since she’s your mate, but I wasn’t expecting it to heal this quickly.”

I turned my head to look down at the wound as best I could. Sure enough, the stitches had already dissolved, and all that was left were raised pink lines across my left collarbone and chest.

I lifted my right hand and grazed my fingertips over each line, feeling how they rose and fell as they passed over every spot where Lennox’s lycan had bitten into me.

“The scars will stay, though?” Wesley asked.

I looked up at him, and his face was pained as he watched me examine my wounds. A tiny wave of guilt that wasn’t mine flashed through me. His guilt, I realized. I was feeling his emotions.

I lowered my eyes back to the scars, a bit smug that he felt guilty. He should feel guilty for ignoring me and for what happened to me because of that.

“The mate bond sped her healing, but it’s not a magic eraser,” Dr. Russo said. “She still will heal like a human, not a shifter,” he added.

There was that word again. Mate. Wesley said it the night before when he came into the hospital room and saw my wound. And the doctor had said it twice since he’d been in Wesley’s room. And Nolan had mentioned mating that day when Wesley showed me his lycan.

I pursed my lips a little and furrowed my brow, trying to make sense of it all, trying to figure out what it meant. I looked between Wesley and Dr. Russo, watching as Wes shuffled his feet and avoided my gaze.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s a mate?”

---