Page 22 of Mates for the Rejected Wolf

I let out a little laugh. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know I didn’t. I’m worried about you, that’s all. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Well, if you are with me, I think I will be in more danger. It’ll probably have to be one of the wolves, if anyone at all.”

I nod. I’m disappointed, but she’s probably right. I should be a bit more cautious when making decisions. I don’t have to do what I want all the time. I need to do what is right by Fern, whatever will keep her safe. The wolves can care for her as well as Roddrur and I can.

“Okay. Why don’t you go wake them up while I cook breakfast?”

She smiles at me, warming my heart. “I’ll see who’s hungry.”

There is a weird feeling of family between us as we drink coffee and eat breakfast together once everything is cooked and the other guys have made it out of bed. Nothing about it is awkward or uncomfortable, and no one feels embarrassed or weird. I don’t know what I thought the morning after would be like, because this isn’t exactly a situation I planned to find myself in, but this is really nice. Everyone is laughing and happy, and it feels great.

It’s almost as if nothing else is happening around us. There is no threat, no nightmare, no confusion. Everything is just perfect right now. That’s all I want. I didn’t know this was what I wanted, I didn’t know this was what I needed in my life, but a family like this, unconventional as it is, would be pretty awesome. Especially with the lovely Fern at the center of it all.

If only it could be like this forever. If only we could justbe. I know we wouldn’t have all found one another without the drama of the town, but I wish it wasn’t happening so that we could just focus on us. I would love to know what this could be.

* * *

I hearthe front door open and close while trying to clean up Jace’s place a little, just to occupy my time somewhat. Since Roddrur has gone back to bed to try to sleep through his injuries some more, and Jace has gone out on a mission set by his pack alpha, I thought I would be on my own for most of the day. I edge towards the door to try to see who it is.

“Fern?” I furrow my brows in confusion. “Slane? I thought you guys were on the boat.”

“I got fired.” Fern flops down on the couch, looking like the weight of the world is pressing down on her. “Can you believe this? I lost my fucking job. After all the nice things I said about Brian this morning, he does this to me. He blames me for the shooting and all the fighting on board yesterday, and he’s annoyed that he had to give refunds to everyone. How am I the bad guy in all this? I can’t believe it. He just wants to act like I’ve never done anything good for the business. Like he should have never even hired me in the first place.” She throws her hands in the air in frustration, letting out a sharp scream of annoyance.

“It’s okay.” Slane automatically sits down beside Fern and hugs her, thankfully seeming to know exactly what she needs. “It’s going to be okay. We are here with you now. We will make sure that this all gets fixed. I know it seems hard now, but we are here for you.”

I guess I’m not as good with my words as Slane is. But that doesn’t mean I can’t help. I can…make tea. Tea helps, right? It has to. My heart races as I prepare it, though, because this isn’t just about Fern’s job. That’s a horrible part of this, but there is so much more going on. This town is freaking falling apart. Iron Mountain is really going to lose itself to the Nightshade Hunters now, and if they are after Roddrur, then there’s no telling what will happen. I can’t help worrying about it all.

My hands are actually shaking as I take the mugs of tea to Slane and Fern. But they are so distracted that they don’t even notice. Probably for the best. I don’t want to pile on the panic. But I know we have a lot more to freak out about.

If we draw the attention of the other dragons, then the fight will get a million times worse. Keeping Roddrur secret is still a priority, just as it always has been. The pressure of doing things right and keeping everyone safe is weighing down on me, and I have to make sure I don’t crack. If I crack, everything will fall apart and we will lose, and I can’t let that happen. Not when I am the one with the most responsibility.

“Where is Jace?” Fern asks. “What’s happening with him? He’s gone all the time…”

“He’s investigating something to do with the mayor and other town officials. He hasn’t said much about it, though. Maybe we should press him for more information when he finally gets back,” I suggest.

Fern sighs heavily and closes her eyes. She might not want to let on how much this has upset her, but I can tell. This has fucking broken her.

My fists ball up by my side and I find it hard to contain my rage. Why should someone like fucking Digby be the reason Fern loses her job? It isn’t right. Of course, things aren’t going to stay this way. I will make sure of it. It’s in my nature to try to fix things, but I really don’t know what I can do right now. It’s like the walls around me are closing in on me and there is no escape. I feel like I’m about to have a panic attack.

“What’s going on?” Roddrur rubs his eyes as he appears in the door frame, still looking pretty sickly. I know he wants to act like everything is completely fine and there isn’t anything to worry about, but I can see it in his eyes that he’s struggling. There’s no way he’ll be able to fight if someone makes a move soon. “Have I missed something again? I really have to stop sleeping so much.”

“Yeah, I lost my job,” Fern says wearily. “And Jace is out chasing down some lead on town officials. I think it’s time we all accept that this fight is coming to us fast. Maybe too fast for any of us to really know how to handle it. We might be in trouble.”

Roddrur’s face falls. I don’t know what he thought he was waking up to, but it probably wasn’t this. Just more drama for us to wrap our heads around. Will this never end?

* * *

It’sa relief when Jace walks through the front door. The tension has ebbed and flowed between us all day long, and not the good kind. We have all been on edge, just waiting going out of our God damn minds.

“Jace, oh my God.” Fern flies out of her seat and flings her arms around him. “What the hell is going on? Where have you been all day long? I’ve been so worried.”

“I didn’t know you would be here. I thought you were at work.”

“I got fired,” she says, but there’s no emotion to the words now, like it doesn’t matter anymore. “Tell me about what you have been doing.”

“Well, I have been doing some digging into the mayor because I don’t trust him or what he’s up to. I had a feeling he was looking the other way when it comes to the Nightshade Hunters and their illegal activities. And I was right, because they are lining his pockets.”

“I knew it!” Fern bursts out angrily. “Those motherfuckers!”

---