Page 27 of Coming Home

I sucked in a deep breath. Oh God, he felt it, too. I struggled to breathe and had to sit down on the curb to steady myself.

“Shelby? Are you okay? You don’t look so good,” he said, concern filling his voice.

“I’m fine,” I said, a little confused.

My wolf had always known. Of course I’d denied it and thought it was all fabricated from my personal desires, not an actuality. Even when he walked into my classroom and back into my life two days ago, I’d still known who he was to me.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know, that you can’t feel the call of our bond. too,” he said, looking a little worried.

I stared into his eyes and felt the same connection, the same emotions I had always felt for Benjamin Shay. I had loved him my entire life, and nine years apart hadn’t changed that one single bit, because he really was my true mate. That reality made my head spin.

“Of course I know that. Ben. I’ve always known it,” I whispered. “I just thought it was wishful thinking or something on my part. Not real.”

“Two days ago when I walked into that room to pick up my brothers, I had no idea you would be there. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to face you, especially when Mom told me you weren’t mated yet. But I was blindsided standing there, not just seeing my best friend in the entire world, but my true mate. I didn’t have my wolf to guide me before I left, Shelbs. I didn’t know. I never could have left you if I had. Never.”

All the hurt and anguish came flooding back to me and I started to cry.

“But you did,” I managed to say. “You cut me off entirely. You said you loved me, then you walked away and severed everything, even our friendship. Even if I had been mated to someone else, I still needed you in my life. I wasn’t ready to face the world alone, to deal with everything. You were gone, Maddie disappeared, I had to . . .” I stopped myself before I blurted out everything. There were some things I just wasn’t ready to talk to him about. “It doesn’t matter anymore. True mate or not, I’m not sure I can ever trust you again, Ben.”

I saw him flinch in physical pain. It hurt me to see it. That was just a sign that our bond was already strengthening. I didn’t know what to do. Of course I wanted to fall into his arms and take my happily ever after, but after everything that had happened, I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to risk the possible fallout if I did give him a second chance.

“I’ll be home for two weeks. Let me prove to you that you can trust me, that I will never let you down or hurt you like that again,” he said as he brushed the back of his fingers lightly across my cheek. That simple motion assaulted every one of my senses.

“I can’t. I’m not strong enough to resist you, Ben. I need you to just leave me alone,” I said honestly.

He grinned and my heart nearly melted at the sight. “I can’t and I won’t leave you alone, sport.”

I knew he was about to kiss me, and my body sprung to life in anticipation, but I curbed it quickly.

“Two weeks and then what?” I asked. “It was great catching up, but sorry, I have other commitments, maybe I’ll see you in another nine years?”

His eyes darkened and he growled low in his chest. “It won’t be like that this time.”

“Then how will it be, Ben?” I asked.

He sighed and looked away, then straight into my eyes. “I was shot in the back. It nicked my spine and the doctors know it. I’ve been benched, despite the fact my accelerated healing has mended it just fine. I am bound to an electric chair pretending to be temporarily paralyzed. It sucks ass, but my major goes out of his way to make sure my unit flies under the radar. He protects us and maintains our most important secrets. I’m not sure how to get out of this situation, and neither does he, because the type of injury I sustained isn’t typically recoverable for a human.”

I couldn’t believe what he was telling me. “The army knows what you are?” I blurted out, scared for him and all of us. Humans couldn’t handle the truth about us.

He nodded. “I’m part of an elite special forces unit. We’re all the same,” he said cryptically because we weren’t in an area where it was safe to talk. “It’s safe, Shelbs. I promise you. It’s just going to take some finagling to work through the paper trail and doctor reports on this one. Because of this I haven’t signed my re-up papers yet. I can sign on for another three to five years. There’s a fantastic bonus included in that. Or I can choose not to and I’m out, likely with a full medical discharge even. I do have to return for a couple weeks, maybe a month to get things sorted, but I’m not committed to staying there forever. I can come home, Shelby. We can be together, start over, settle down, raise a family, everything we always dreamed of. It’s a second chance for the both of us.”

My heart soared, then crashed to the ground. I couldn’t give him everything he wanted. Our childhood hopes and dreams had been shattered years before. Still, the look in his eyes had me biting my tongue. I couldn’t burst his blissful bubble with reality. For the first time since he returned I felt like I was truly looking at my Ben.

“How about that ice cream?” I asked, avoiding the situation entirely.

Ben

Chapter 10

It was a start, I thought as I helped her to her feet and escorted her into the ice cream shop.

The man behind the counter stopped and stared. A big smile spread across his face.

“Why, I haven’t seen the two of you around here in ages. Benjamin, welcome home. It’s great to see you two together again. Shelby, you must be mighty proud of him.”

She smiled and gave a non-committal nod.

“Mr. Elder, it’s great to see you again,” I said.

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