Page 43 of You're Not My Mate

Enzo got to his feet, putting his knitting down. “Through here.”

Rose followed him, stepping into the warmth of the main clubhouse. She saw Rocco who smiled at her, but she couldn’t smile back.

There was a room full of cheers. Rose knew she should be happy they had accepted her as Rocco’s mate, but it would seem the story of her and Rocco would always be overshadowed by the mess that was going on.

Rocco stepped toward her. Silence fell around them.

“What is it, Rose? What’s going on? What has happened?”

She looked into Rocco’s eyes. Her mate. The last few months, she had hated those eyes, hated looking in his face, but in that moment she didn’t hate him. She needed him. Just by looking into his eyes, she felt grounded, like she could face anything.

“What is it?” he asked again.

“Draco has been taking care of an infected woman in the cabin on the opposite side of the forest. She has been in and out of transition, but he has fed her blood. His blood.”

She told them everything she knew, and she knew Draco was never going to forgive her.

Chapter Twelve

“You’re upset,” Rocco said the following night as he glanced down at a very naked Rose. He’d already made love to her in the hope of distracting her from whatever guilt she was feeling. After she told the club what Draco had done, they had no choice but to see the truth for themselves.

He’d been shocked to see Draco able to handle a human female. Not only had he taken care of her, he also opted to give blood. What was even more surprising was how protective he’d become of her. Even hinting that if they thought to terminate her, he would claim mating status. This was a change for the Draco books.

None of them wanted to kill any humans infected by blood. They truly wanted to find a way to keep them alive. He was offering it himself as a kindness. It wasn’t what he wanted to do. There was no other choice.

“Yeah, did you see the way Draco looked at me?” she asked.

“I know, but there are secrets you can keep within a pack, and secrets that truly need to be told,” he said.

She sighed, sitting up as she ran fingers through her hair. “And yet, I feel like I betrayed his trust.”

“You didn’t.”

Rose snorted. “Come on, Rocco. I totally did. He told me his secret and I went running to the pack leaders.” She closed her eyes. “I don’t know what has happened to me.”

“It’s simple, Rose. You love the pack.”

This made her laugh.

“You can try to hide it any way you want, but we all know you love the pack. You take care of us in your own way by just being there to help when we need it. You clean up the mess, and so what if you don’t join in half the fun or do any of that shit? It’s not about that anyway. We both know that.” He ran his hand down her back, gliding up to cup the back of her neck. “You did what you had to do.”

“I was afraid she would attack him, or something else.” She blew out a breath. “I’ve seen the mess. It’s not pretty.”

Rocco shook his head. “It’s not pretty. It’s worse than any kind of horror movie I’ve ever watched. Not that you wouldknow because you don’t have a television.”

Rose laughed. “That really does surprise you, doesn’t it?” she asked.

“It’s fine. I’m a big boy and I can handle the fact that you don’t want a television.”

“Graham doesn’t seem to mind.”

“Graham loves reading,” Rocco said.

“And you don’t?”

“Well, you see, I don’t mind doing other things with my mate.”

“Your mate?” she asked.

---