Bold & Beautiful (9 page)

She took an unsteady step backwards. “I need to take my medicine.”

I punched the air as she left the room.
Patience and compromise.
I sighed. Neither patience nor compromise were helping me. I was a future alpha who was close to tears. Where the hell was my masculinity, my alpha-ness? It seemed I’d lost it the moment I discovered my mate was a human. And not just any human, a human with health issues I didn’t understand. Once she was asleep, I was going to research what she had. I needed to know how to help her. After today, I was more determined than ever. She would never be alone in anything again.

She came around the corner, watching me closely. I couldn’t blame her there. I had been a bit of a basket case today. It was my wolf. He’d been pushing me all day. Combine that with an overwhelming surge of emotions surrounding her and I was lucky I could still converse.

“Take a seat on the couch and I’ll start the movie,” I offered.

She nodded and headed for the sofa. She sat down and curled herself tightly against the back cushion on her side, with her back against the arm of the couch. She seemed so vulnerable in that moment, like she did need a protector.

I popped the movie in the DVD player. I plopped down next to her on the couch and leaned back. I glanced at her. She gave me a shy smile that warmed me to my soul. At the end of the day, it was about her. She was my world now. There would be no escaping it. There would be no controlling the gravity pull towards her. I couldn’t fight it. I didn’t want to fight it. I just wanted her. I wanted to know that she was with me on this, that I wouldn’t lose her tomorrow. That’s why I wanted to claim her. I needed to know that she was mine and that she wouldn’t leave me.

The movie started. I stared blindly at the TV, lost in my thoughts, lost in her aroma, in her proximity. I was lost to her; lost in her.

Needing to be closer, to feel her, I stretched my arm along the back of the sofa. I dropped my hand and drew lazy circles on her back with my fingers. Within a few minutes, her breathing slowed and deepened. She’d fallen asleep.

I took advantage of her dream state and studied her for a bit. Her knees were tucked as tightly to her chest as possible; she’d slumped against the back sofa cushion, her hand cradling her face as it leaned against it. Her other arm was wrapped around her midsection, her hand fisted against her left side. It was only when she was asleep that the tension left her body. It was now that her features were their softest.

Her innocence tugged at my center, at something deep inside. Perhaps she didn’t realize it, but she needed a friend and a savior.

I turned off the TV and lifted her into my arms. I carried her upstairs as carefully as possible and laid her down on the bed. She immediately turned on her side and snuggled into the pillows. I gently kissed her head, inhaling her scent from the source. My wolf growled as her essence swirled inside my lungs. Feeling him close to my surface again, I pulled back.

I left her door slightly ajar as I went to my room. I left my own wide-open, fear not allowing me to close her off in case she needed me. I grabbed my laptop and started researching.

What I found was overwhelming. Sure, it wasn’t as bad as if she had cancer, but she would be on hormone therapy for the rest of her life. And her symptoms and side effects were a mile long. Fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, memory loss… Some of them were scary to imagine.

I dug deeper into pediatric hypothyroidism and found that surgery seemed to be common. It also appeared to have a link in permanent thyroid tissue loss which could have worsened her condition.

Autoimmune disease was common in patients with hypothyroidism. I wasn’t prepared to read that it was essentially her body attacking itself, nor was I ready to read the depths of which it could debilitate a person.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. My wolf was angry, in a rage that set my soul on fire. All of this information only drove my need to protect her more. I was pissed at her mother. How the hell could you leave your child who had a medical condition for days on end with no food and no utilities? I would give her mother credit for making sure she had her medicine. The bottles appeared to have been recently filled, but that didn’t erase all of her negligence.

My phone beeped with a new text message. I slammed my laptop shut, harder than I meant to. I wasn’t coping to well with my mate’s condition. It didn’t seem fair.

I grabbed my phone off my dresser. Brody had text me.

Everything good?

I quickly replied.
Define good.

A few seconds later my phone went off again.

Guess not. Did you tell her?

No.

You in check?

Barely.

I’m here if you need backup.
Brody was always there if I needed back up. That was part of our bond, part of our future legacy as alpha and beta. He was my best friend for life, in wolf and human form.

Thanks.
I tossed my phone on my bed.

I felt boxed in. I had so much on my mind, so much in my head. Above all, I couldn’t get over the fact that she was next door to my room and I couldn’t be with her. I couldn’t cuddle with her; I couldn’t do anything.

Abruptly I heard her breathing change to short, shallow breaths. My heart raced, fear creeping through me. I dashed to her room and found her trembling on the bed. My wolf sliced my chest as dread dried my veins and dehydrated my tongue.

I rubbed her arm and called her name, trying to wake her. “Aura. Aura. Aura, please wake up. Talk to me, please.”

Her eyes shot open in alarm; her body continued to shake in tiny quivers. She must have heard the panic in my voice because she grabbed my hand and kissed the inside of my palm. “I’m alright, Jonas. I’m just cold.”

I remembered that being on the symptoms list.
Shit.
I didn’t cover her up when I laid her down. It was hot outside. I usually slept without a blanket since my body temperature was slightly higher than normal regularly. I didn’t stop and think.

I lifted her off the bed with one arm. She screeched, her eyes widened as she clung to me.

I chuckled. “Werewolf strength, remember?”

“You were serious about that,” she mused.

I threw the covers back and set her down. I pulled the blankets up and around her shoulders. I moved closer so she could see me in the limited light from the hallway. “I would never lie to you, Aura.”

She licked her lips, an innocent move that sent my wolf into a frenzy. That was a werewolf trait, something we did when we were ready to pounce on our prey, when we were thinking about how good they were going to taste.

Screw it.
I walked around to the other side of the bed and slid between the covers.

“What are you doing, Jonas?” Her tone didn’t reveal much in the way of emotion.

“I’m a naturally hot blooded werewolf who can warm you up quickly.”

She worried her bottom lip, her facial features scrunching as she gazed in my general direction. “Jonas, I…” Her voice was tight; her body had stiffened. “I can’t… I mean you can’t…” She sighed. “This just won’t work. We’re from two different worlds, literally. And as great as you are, I’d rather have you as a permanent friend than a temporary boyfriend.”

My body began to cramp as my wolf broke through my surface in a moment of crushed weakness.

“Aura.” I balled my hands into fists and fought my wolf with every fiber of my being. I shot up out of the bed and put some distance between us.

Chapter 26

AURA

“Jonas.” Concern. All I had was concern for him. He face was contorted like he was in pain.

He backed towards the door. In the doorway, he gripped the frame, splintering the wood under his strength. He closed his eyes, lowering his head. His muscles were rolling and coiling but not changing, as if he was fighting the shift.

His head shot up and his eyes, glowing a bright gold, sought me. He growled a low, menacing rumble from his gut. That’s when I knew he was struggling for control.

I slid off the bed.

“Aura, don’t!” His body shook, his veins bulging against his skin.

I slowly started walking towards him.

“Aura, stop!”

I continued, never hesitating. There was one thing I was certain of: I wasn’t afraid of Jonas or his wolf.

“He’ll bite you.” He was pleading with me.

“Why?”

“Because you’re our mate.” He cried out as I heard the first snap of bone. Even though his eyes were glowing, the single word he whispered was all Jonas’. “Run.”

I shook my head. “No.”

This whole time I feared Jonas as a temporary boyfriend, if at all, because I knew he would eventually find his mate. I’d been fighting my hope, fighting my body’s natural reaction to him, my body’s instinctual draw to him, because I feared it was one-sided. I would never be a werewolf. I would never truly fit into his world. But he’d proven to me in a short time what he was willing to do for me.

He’d brought me into his world, made no excuses for my presence and didn’t shun me for our differences, physical or otherwise. He treated me how I wanted to be treated: like I was worthy of love, worthy of being taken care of, regardless of my size. He showed me in everything he did that I deserved more out of life, and he showed me with every move that he would do his damndest to offer it to me. If that wasn’t the type of guy I should commit to, then I didn’t know what was.

Even now, Jonas was trying to save me from himself. He fought his own need with my best interest at heart. He was giving me a choice when he didn’t one.

I couldn’t let him suffer like that though.

I saw the final plea in his eyes before he fell to the ground. His clothes shredded with a loud, rip that echoed through the space. He shrugged his entire body and, like magic, fur sprouted from every pore. His fingers shortened, his nails narrowed and grew. His nose elongated, his jaw breaking and reconfiguring the bottom half of his face into a snout. Even the shape of his eyes changed.

Watching every painful step of his transformation had me cringing. The pops and crunches that I heard had fear settling heavily in my chest. That couldn’t be easy to endure yet it was a magnificent sight to see. It almost felt like an out-of-body experience, like I was lost in another book experiencing what the main character did. Only, this time, it was real. Jonas was real. I was real. And his wolf was real.

I stared at the wolf before me. Even now, I knew Jonas was in there fighting to keep the wolf in place, otherwise he probably would have attacked me by now. Slowly, I lowered myself to the floor and sat Indian style. I swept all of my hair over my right shoulder. I slid my bra strap and tank sleeve down off my shoulder.

I looked at Jonas. His wolf growled and then whimpered, ever a constant battle between the two drivers. I gazed directly into his eyes. “Go ahead.”

Abruptly I heard the front door slam downstairs. Footsteps raced up the stairs.

“Stop!” I yelled, not wanting anyone to spook Jonas. His focus didn’t slip from me for a second.

“Aura!” Brody called.

“I’m fine, Brody.”

He slowly moved behind Jonas, careful not to touch his friend. He studied me carefully. “This isn’t a game to us, Aura. If he bites you, it’s a forever thing. Neither one of you can take it back.”

I lifted my gaze to Brody. “I know.”

“
What
do you know?” he angrily pressed. He mashed his lips together; his brows drew down as his eyes narrowed on me.

Hm. What did I know? Enough. I knew enough.

“I know that Jonas takes care of me better than my own mother. I know that Jonas and you stick up for me when no one else will. I know that Jonas has fought for me; he’s pushed for me to have a better life. In one day he’s turned my world upside down.

“Since the first time I saw him, I’ve felt this pull towards him. I didn’t understand it. I fought my instincts; I fought my hope, especially when I found out what you were. But at the end of the day, it’s not only my decision. It’s both of our decision. If he can look past my overstuffed curves, if he can look past my medical issues, my lack of a perfect family and my less than perfect personality and still care for me, then I can look past the fact that he’s a werewolf. I can look past the fact that there will always be stark differences between us, and I’ll care for him, I’ll love both parts of him the way he-“ I stopped abruptly. I swallowed hard as a new reality settled in.
Oh God. This just isn’t possible. There’s no way love could happen this quickly.

Brody smiled wide; his eyes lit up with amusement. He patted Jonas’ back. “Go get her.” He turned and rushed down the stairs right as Jonas dashed towards me.

Jonas jumped on me, knocking me backwards and began to lick my face. “Ew! Jonas!” I laughed.

I squirmed as he nuzzled my neck, his breath tickling my skin. I didn’t even notice he’d moved over to my shoulder until I felt the bite. Stinging pain shot away from the puncture point. As soon as the pain began to pinch, I felt his tongue licking the wound.

One minute he was a wolf licking me, the next he was human again, holding himself over me and kissing my shoulder.