Page 57 of Jesse
“Jesse,” he said, low and firm, “no one’s saying you don’t care. No one’s questioning your ability. But the rest of us see how stretched thin you are. If you go down, what then? You can’t protect anyone if you collapse.”
“I’m not going down,” I growled, voice sharper than I meant it to be. “Beck’s not just some responsibility I can pass off like paperwork. He’s?—”
I stopped myself, chest heaving.
He’s mine. My mate.
Even if I hadn’t said it out loud, the word rang between us. My wolf snarled with possessive fury just thinking about anyone else being assigned to Beck. Touching him. Watching over him.
No. Absolutely not. Colton studied me, and something in his expression softened.
“You should tell Cooper that,” he said simply. “He wants to talk to you. Today.”
I nodded stiffly.
“Yeah. I will.”
Colton clapped a hand on my shoulder, and for a second, his scent changed. It was less stern pack member, and more worried cousin.
“Just take care of yourself too, Jesse. We need you sharp. Beck needs you sharp,” Colton reminded me.
Then he left. I stood there for a beat, breathing through the fury, letting my wolf settle back down. It didn’t like being told I couldn’t handle my responsibilities. It didn’t like being told to share my mate.
I turned, looking around my apartment. The bed was still rumpled from my quick rise, the coffee table where Beck had left his water bottle last night, the blanket he liked to steal off my couch.
Beck was quickly becoming part of my life. The food truck, the late nights, the exhaustion, I could handle all that. But the idea of letting someone else be responsible for his safety made me feel like I was failing already.
I didn’t waste time. I splashed some water on my face, yanked on jeans and a clean shirt, and ran my fingers through my hair in the mirror. I grabbed my keys, slammed the door behind me, and got in my truck.
The drive to the pack compound was quiet, the roads still mostly empty in the morning haze. I tapped the steering wheel, thoughts racing faster than my truck could take me.
Cooper wasn’t wrong to call me in. Colton wasn’t wrong, either. But they didn’t feel what I felt when Beck leaned into me,trusting me with his safety like it was the most natural thing in the world.
They didn’t know how his scent clung to my clothes, how his laugh made something quiet in me ache with want.
They didn’t hear the way my wolf went silent whenever Beck touched me, like it didn’t have to guard, or fight, or snarl. Like it was home.
I pulled into the gravel lot outside the compound, engine idling for a few seconds before I killed it. I sat there, staring at the building, heart thudding against my ribs like a war drum.
I wasn’t going to hand Beck off to anyone else. I didn’t care how exhausted I was. He was mine, and I’d find a way to make all of it work.
By the time I pulled up at the pack compound, my nerves were stretched tighter than an overworked wire.
The gravel crunched under my boots as I crossed the yard, the sun barely peeking above the treeline. I shoved open the doors, bracing myself for whatever lecture Cooper had in store for me.
I found him in his office, already seated behind his desk, flipping through a folder like he’d been waiting. His eyes lifted the second I entered.
No smile. No nod. Just sharp-eyed scrutiny that immediately put me on edge.
“Sit down, Jesse,” Cooper said.
I obeyed without argument, dropping into the chair across from him. I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees. My leg bounced once, twice.
“I want an update,” he said, cutting straight to it. “Where are you with the case?”
I let out a slow breath. “Nowhere,” I admitted. “No new leads. No new evidence. The fair’s been packed, but I’ve ruled out the other food trucks. Their staff and schedules check out.”
He didn’t look convinced. “How thorough were you?”
