Page 6 of You're Not My Mate

She walked back toward her house as the weeding was all done, and now she had to start fixing up her produce.

“Is that all?” Rose asked.

“Do you think it could work?” Draco asked.

“I have no idea, but it is a crazy one to have, especially as I’ve seen some of the people who have been fighting thismutation. There is a risk it could go very wrong, and I’m not denying that.” She didn’t want to even think of the possible repercussions of her suggestion. “It truly is a last resort but if Alpha has any other suggestions, then I am happy to listen to them.”

She offered Draco a smile. She knew the details about Draco. The whole pack knew what happened to him. The poor man had lost his mate, it was strange he was asking about the mutations or experiments. She didn’t have a clue what the guys were calling it.

Draco’s mate was killed by humans, and most of the people stumbling into town were human. She figured Draco would be happy to see the men and women dead, seeing as it was humans that killed his mate.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “I know this might be hard on you with everything.”

He held up his hands. “I am fine.”

“Does it bother you … you know … with everything that is happening?”

Draco opened and closed his mouth and then nodded. “Yes, it does, but not because I want to see them suffer. There is pain, and then there is suffering. I have felt both, and I don’t feel anyone should have to go through what they are going through. They must all be terrified.”

Rose nodded. It’s part of the reason she couldn’t help the tears from falling. It had been a long time since she went through her first transition, but the pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life. The fear and pain had mingled together, along with that special voice inside her head. Now, she knew it was her wolf finally breaking free, but at the time, hearing a strange voice speak so clearly hadn’t helped with her fear. In fact, it made her even more afraid.

“I’m sorry you have to go through all this,” she said.

He waved his hand. “No, I’m sorry you have to clean up the mess. It cannot be easy.”

She couldn’t deny it, it had to be one of the hardest jobs. Even her parents had struggled through the transitions when they hadn’t gone well.

All death was hard.

“I’ll see you around,” Draco said.

She watched him leave and found it strange that he would come to her for advice. Draco was not a talker.

Heading into the kitchen, she looked at the baskets of tomatoes and zucchini. Even when she tried less zucchini plants, they seemed to constantly be growing. It was like she couldn’t stop them from growing.

She went to the sink, washed her hands, and then began the prep work. She started work on the tomatoes so she could make several different kinds of sauce for the coming winter. The supermarkets always packed great stuff, but her parents had always gardened and canned their own produce, and this was her way of staying connected to them. This is what she wanted to do. It was like following family tradition which had always been so important to her.

With several pots of tomatoes, mixed with herbs, onions, and garlic bubbling in the pot, the next problem was the zucchini. She had a love-hate relationship with this vegetable, or fruit, she didn’t know what the label was. However, she had come to learn that prep work was always necessary.

She loved it grilled and seasoned, which she did, preparing it on trays and then allowing it to cool completely before flash-freezing, then bagging it. This was always a big hit for her. Some she simply grated and portioned out for the freezer.

By the time she had finished doing most of the prep, it was already dark, and she heard her stomach growl.

She breathed out a sigh, and as the loneliness started to creep up, she felt the traitorous tears she tried to keep at bay. This is not what she wanted to do. Crying randomly always annoyed her. Gripping the edge of the sink, she tried to control her emotions. Her wolf was no help, as her body was fueled with feeling as well. Being around Rocco didn’t help.

She stepped away from the sink when the tears didn’t fall. She was able to keep everything inside, and as she went to the fridge, someone knocked at her front door. Rose was not used to company.

She moved toward her door, unbolted the lock, opened it, and there on the other side was Rocco. Neither of them spoke, he just looked at her.

She wasn’t ready to deal with him. Not tonight. She was exhausted, and preserving, doing everything her parents had done. Along with the cleanup last night, and the confrontation with Rocco and Alpha, it was all too much.

“Not tonight,” she said.

He shook his head. “I’ve not come for anything.”

“Then what do you want?” she asked, figuring there was another human about to die, and she’d be cleaning up the mess.

“This.” He stepped toward her and at first, she tensed because she didn’t know what he was going to do. Only, he shocked her by pulling her into his arms. “I’m doing this for me,” he said.

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