Page 24 of Cuffed By My Mate

His eyes harden and I shake my head before he can interrupt me.

“I never told them anything. I was nevergoingto tell them anything. I already talked to them, and they know that I’m mated to you and that I’m never going back there. That’s all that they know about this place.”

“How can I trust that? You lied to me from the beginning.”

“I know, and I regret that so much. I tried to tell you a few times, but I was so scared. They told me that I was useless and you would toss me aside, and I was scared that you wouldn’t want me when you found out who I was or where I came from. I was scared that you would reject me. I was going to tell you, though. I swear. I tried to last night, before you left.”

He looks down for a minute, and I know that he must be mulling over my words.

“I swear, Crew. I would never do anything to hurt you or this pack. I was just scared.”

He looks up at me, and I hold my breath. My bear is still inside of me, and we both seem to be holding our breath as we wait to see what he’ll do or say now.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, Vera. I can only imagine what it was like to grow up in that pack, with those people.”

“It was a nightmare. They acted like I was invisible most of the time, and I learned to prefer that. I just wanted to get out, but I didn’t know how. I don’t have anything,” I admit, tears spilling onto my cheeks.

He brushes them aside, and I sniffle.

“I’ll never keep anything from you again,” I promise him, and he smiles.

He kisses me softly, and I kiss him back, trying to pour all of my emotions into the embrace. It’s awkward with my hands still cuffed behind my back.

“I should have given you the chance to explain last night,” he says as he rests his forehead against mine.

“I should have told you the first night that I met you.”

“We were a little preoccupied then,” he says with a laugh, and I grin.

My hands tug against the cuffs, and he blinks.

“Shit, let me get those off of you.”

I turn and he unlocks the handcuffs and pulls them off.

“Were those really necessary?” I ask him with a smile, and he shrugs, looking sheepish.

“I panicked. I thought that you were leaving me.”

“I was, but only because I thought that you had left me.”

“We need to be better about communicating.”

I nod in agreement, and he smiles down at me.

“There’s more,” I tell him. “I need to talk to your Alphas.”

He looks grim, but he nods as he takes my hand.

“Let’s go.”

TEN

Crew

Everyone is already gatheredwhen Vera and I walk into the Alphas’ office a few minutes later. Everyone in this room is either an Alpha, or one of the first responders who work in the Twisted Oak Pack. I look around the table, taking in everyone’s steely faces.

Logan and Harris, the pack’s firefighters, are whispering to each other about something, but everyone else’s eyes are locked on Vera and me. Tucker smiles, knowing that I’ve already made up with my mate, but the rest all look a little suspicious. I’ll have to put their minds at ease. Miles and Jensen, two EMTs, seem to relax as they see how I’m acting with Vera, and my bear starts to relax when we see that no one in this room is a threat to our mate.

---