Page 107 of The Beta's Blind Date

“Thank you, oh wise one.”

“Maybe you can ask Wes for tips.”

I scoff. “He wouldn’t have any. Haven wasn’t going to reject him. He didn’t have to grovel. Not like I’ll have to, anyway.”

The door to Taryn’s room opens again, and the nurse and Dr. Russo exit. I jump to my feet and enter the room in long strides, eager to be near her again, no matter how angry she is with me.

She’s curled on her side, facing away from me, the blankets tucked up high around her, a pillow hugged to her chest. Her braids and curls spill across the white of the bedding, and she doesn’t move or acknowledge me as I approach her bed with slow steps.

My fingers twitch, itching to touch her, to reach for her, but I stop myself and stand there. She’s reinforced the wall between us, the wall she put up to block me out. It’s a wall of brick, stubbornness, and sheer iron will. And all it does is urge me to push harder so I can break through that barrier and claim her heart.

“Taryn?”

She hugs the pillow tighter to her chest. “Please just go, Reid. I’m tired, and I’ve been through a lot. I can’t do this right now.”

“But—”

“I want to believe you. I want to give you a chance. But you lied to me, you hurt me and broke my trust, and I don’t know where to go from here.”

“Let me prove myself to you. Let me convince you I can be the male you need. Let me show you that I—”

I bite my lip and clench my fists.

“See. You can’t even say it,” she says, shaking her head.

“Because I don’t want to say it like this. I don’t want you to think I’m just throwing the words out to paint a pretty picture for you. When I say it for the first time, you’ll know I mean it. And that’s why I’m not going to accept you yet, either.”

“What?”

“Everything in me is screaming to say those words to you—to accept you. I want it, my wolf wants it, and my heart wants it. And it’s killing me to not accept you as my mate right now. But you’re not ready for that yet. I will only accept you when you’ve accepted me first. You should have that choice. Someone already fucked with your mate bond, and I kind of did, too, so it’s only fair that I leave this decision in your hands. But I swear to Selene, Taryn, I’m all in. As soon as you accept me, as soon as you’re ready, I will be waiting, ready to accept you too.”

She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth and squeezes her eyes shut. The bond flickers, breaking through the wall for a second before it disappears again. Just the briefest snippet of gratitude, of love, but I felt it.

It gives me hope and tells me there is a way forward for us. I just have to fight for it. Just like I knew I would.

“If you need me for anything, just have someone mindlink me, and I’ll come back in a heartbeat,” I say, walking to the door.

She doesn’t respond, and I depart without another word, leaving my heart behind with her.

I shut the door and lean against it, burying my face in my hand. Goddess, I am such a fool. It will be a miracle if she doesn’t reject me. It would be what I deserve for even considering rejecting her.

“Hey, Reid,”Wesley mindlinks me.“I know it’s been a long night, and you’re probably talking with Taryn and sorting things out with her, but I’m having a debriefing with all the ranked members in my office. Totally optional for you, of course, because I know things are probably… rocky with you two, but I wanted to let you know. Nolan, Sebastian, and Haven are here, and we’re going to discuss what happened with Silver Ridge and our next steps. I’ll catch you up on the details later.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m on my way,”I say, pushing off from the door.

I shake myself as I walk, ridding myself of the remnants of exhaustion and emotional turmoil. I ask a nurse to let Taryn know I’m in a meeting with Wesley, and then I make my way to the packhouse.

The biting chill of the early morning air has me rushing across the grounds, my bare feet slapping against the cold concrete. The wind picks up, whipping around me, so cold it sends slivers of ice into my skin. I glance to the horizon, where huge, dark clouds loom, signaling an impending storm.

How fitting. An external storm of nature to match my internal, emotional storm and the storm between my mate and me.

My pace picks up more until I’m jogging the last few steps up the stairs and into the packhouse, relaxing into the enveloping warmth of the interior as soon as the door shuts behind me. A fire roars in the living area and several wolves sit there, wrapped in blankets and drinking coffee, others asleep next to them or on the floor—a mix of our pack members and members from the other two packs. Our guest rooms and suites are probably filled to capacity, and even with some of our single, unmated warriors offering their apartments in the packhouse during a situation like this, there is still only so much space available.

A few of our warriors call out to me in greeting, and I wave back, but I don’t pause. I’m in beta mode—I have a job to do.

I knock twice on the door to the alpha office and then enter, shutting it behind me. Seb and Nolan glance at me from the two chairs opposite Wesley’s desk, and Haven and Wesley look up from the laptop. Then all four of them exchange glances, matching smirks on their faces.

But none of them say anything. Yet. It’s just a matter of time before one of them makes some snide remark to me about my mate bond, about how I’ve fallen hard and fast for my girl, but I sigh in relief at the momentary reprieve from the teasing of my friends.

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