Page 12 of Into the Dawn

His mind is struggling to process this information. I can see the conflict in his eyes, but he doesn't need to feel bad. It was my choice not to go after him and follow through on our plans, so I have to live with the consequences.

"No. There's just... nothing." Dropping into the chair opposite him, I slide my hand across the painted table and touch the back of his hand gently.

Our animals surge toward each other at the contact, making it hard to maintain my composure.

"It's the only thing I want. If I tell him I'll give you up for the money to get treatment, he'll buy it. He knows I'm desperate."

Ben looks like he's either going to tear my tiny home apart or cry, both of which would be equally devastating.

"It's okay, it's not your problem. But you asked me what he'd buy, and this is it."

I'm about to sit back when Ben's fingers snatch mine, and he squeezes them tightly, his dark expression unreadable.Our animals howl in unison at the contact, making it nearly impossible to think straight.

"We'll fix this. When I get out, I'll stay close enough that you can… that your beast will…" A deep growl traps the words in his throat, and he looks away, the muscles and veins in his neck bulging as he fights back the animal inside him.

He can't even get the words out. His beast would never allow another male near me, but he's still so determined to keep his distance, that he can't even offer the obvious solution.

The rejection cuts deep, but I refuse to let him see how much.

"Thanks," I say, brushing past it. "I don’t even know if just being close would work. But let's save all that for when we get you and John home."

"If I break out and take John with me, your dad definitely won't be giving you any money," Ben says as I stand and try unsuccessfully to pull my hand away. “Can you deal with that?”

With a sad smile, I use my other fingers to pry mine from his, ignoring how both our animals protest the loss of contact, and then set my palm down gently on the table.

"We both know he's not going to help me anyway."

The words hang between us, heavy with everything left unsaid. There's an obvious solution to this whole mess, but Ben's made it clear that's not an option. He might not be able to stand the thought of another male being involved, but he's equally determined not to step into that role himself.

I try not to let it hurt. He has his reasons for keeping his distance, and I'm the one who put them there. But watching him struggle between his beast's possessive instincts and his human determination to stay away makes my chest ache.

Maybe with some time, he'll understand I'm not trying to trap him or force his hand. I just want the family I thought we'd have together, even if I have to do it alone.

7

BEN

Igrind my teeth, furious on her behalf, that she was born into such a shitty family, and feeling unbelievably idiotic for never even considering how us being apart as mates would impact her.

The irony of her situation hits me hard. Here she is, desperate for a child, while I've spent the last month clearing land near Evan's territory, planning to build the kind of family home I always dreamt of giving her.

Yet forgiving and forgetting isn’t quite that simple.

My beast fumes at the memory of watching her last summer when I got back, long before all this mess with John started. I'd tracked her scent near the edge of Sutton, and I followed it, telling myself I was going to give her a piece of my mind, but I think, in reality, my beast just needed to know she was okay. Or maybe, I’d hoped she was miserable. I really don’t know.

She'd been playing with a little girl—not hers but with similar features and probably one of her cousin's kids—showing her the best hiding spots where we used to hang out as teens.

The sound of her laughter had stopped me in my tracks. Even from a distance, I could see what an amazing mother she'd be.But seeing her carefree and happy was also like a knife to the heart.

I started looking into real estate after that and put down a deposit on some land not too far from my brother’s house. Watching Evan with his mate had also stirred something in me, making me realize I couldn't keep running forever. Things didn’t work out with Naomi, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t build a family with someone else. Someone who wouldn’t hurt me.

But that future feels impossible now.

Vanessa leaves me at the rickety table and disappears through a door at the back, leading to a room where her scent is the strongest. My emotions are all over the place as I try to process what she's telling me while fighting the urge to mark every inch of her home with my scent.

I'm a mess.

So, for all these years, she hasn't gone into heat. None of the men in town will go near her because they think she's defective, which frankly, my beast isn't that upset about, although I am. Because no matter how angry or hurt I am that she didn't want me, nobody deserves that. Especially not Vanessa, who used to light up around cubs, who always talked about having a big family.

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