“I haven’t,” Bethany started to answer but then paused. There had been some things that she didn’t understand but hadn’t known how to bring them up to Drake. Her stomach cramped again, reminding her of the bath she had been wanting to take. So instead of diving into those concerns she said, “My stomach is hurting and I was just about to take a bath before you got here. Do you mind giving me a few minutes?”

Jen shook her head. “Chick, it’s your place. Do your thing. Do what you need. I’m not saying I won’t talk to you through the door, but by all means, soak that tummy ache away.”

Bethany grinned. She liked Jen, even if she was a little bit much to take in. “Oh, and by the way,” Bethany said as she walked into the bedroom and pulled out one of the drawers of the dresser. “Thank you for sending me clothes.” She grabbed a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, bra, and panties and then headed for the bathroom. As soon as she shut the door, she heard Jen’s voice on the other side.

“So, have you and grumpy-butt kissed yet?”

Drake’s hand was about to knock on the door to his Alpha’s office when he heard her voice in his mind.

“I’m going to take that bath I mentioned earlier so don’t worry when I, uh…”

He smiled. “Don’t freak out when you close the bond?” he offered.

“Yes, exactly. Don’t freak out.”

“How is your stomach?” Drake asked quickly before she could shut him out.

“Still hurting, but I’ll live.”

He felt her slip away from him, but not completely. She was still there, within his reach, and it brought him a level of comfort that he never thought he’d have. Drake focused back on the door in front of him and gave it two hard knocks and then waited.

The door opened and Decebel stood on the other side looking back at him.

“Drake.” Decebel’s deep voice vibrated as he stepped to the side to let him in.

“Alpha,” Drake said and bared his neck briefly.

They both stood staring at one another, as if waiting for the other to act.

“Did you need something?” Decebel finally asked after several minutes of silence.

“Your mate told me that you wanted to see me,” Drake answered as an uneasy feeling began to grow in his stomach.

“Did she now?” Decebel asked, a sly smile forming on his lips.

“You didn’t ask to see me, did you?”

His Alpha chuckled. “I believe the conversation went something like this. ‘Dec, I’m going to go check on Bethany and make sure Drake hasn’t scared her half to death. Don’t you think you should check on Drake?’ I answered with, ‘Drake will come find me when he’s ready. Why don’t we leave them be for now.’ And then she countered with, ‘Okay, I’m going to go check on Bethany now and you are going to talk to Drake.’ ”

“Do all your conversations end with your mate doing whatever she wants?” Drake grumbled.

Decebel laughed. “You just wait, my brother. Your female will have you wrapped around her little finger and before you know it you will be building doghouses for dogs you don’t even own.”

Drake chuckled. “Not every female is as high maintenance as yours, Dec, no offense.”

“True, but I don’t think there is anything such as a low maintenance female she-wolf.” Decebel walked over to a cabinet and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of amber liquid. “Since you’re here and my female has managed to manipulate us both, why not have a drink and fill me in on how things are going?”

Drake wanted to get back to Bethany, but then again she was taking a bath and it wasn’t like she was going to let him assist with that. Maybe one day. He quickly shook his head. He couldn’t think like that. He was already incredibly attracted to her simply because she was his mate, not to mention that she was beautiful and kind.

“You have that look,” Decebel said as he held out a half-filled glass to Drake.

“What look?”

“The look that a wolf gets when he’s found his mate.” Decebel met his eyes. Drake knew his Alpha understood what he was going through.

“How do you keep from claiming what’s yours?” Drake finally asked. And that was when the dam broke. “I’ve waited for her for so long and now there she is and yet I can’t touch her. She’s a grown woman but damn, Alpha, she’s a child in many ways too. And then my wolf is going crazy over the fact that she’s been in danger all these years, being treated like a damn juice box! She’s my mate. No one should have ever touched her in any way.” Drake’s voice broke. He slammed the glass down on the end table by the couch and began to pace. His fingers ran restlessly through his hair and his chest felt as though a ton of bricks had descended upon it. “On the outside I’m calm. But inside I’m going crazy.” He rubbed his hands down his face and his pacing increased. “I want to give her space and yet at the same time I want to hold her and never let her go. Being near her is torture, but so is being away from her. I’m so scared I’m going to frighten her by being too forward. I feel like I’m going to screw things up before they even have a chance.” By the time all of the words had poured out of him, Drake was leaning on his hands against the wall, his head bent and his shoulders heaving.

“It nearly drove me crazy when I met Jennifer.” His Alpha’s voice broke through the sharp silence. “I knew she was my mate, and yet there were no mating signs. My wolf was snarling inside of me to take her, to claim her, to mark her, but I couldn’t. She drove me crazy. I was terrified of what having her meant and yet terrified of losing her as well.”

“Does it ever get easier?” Drake asked.

Decebel laughed. “If it does I’ll let you know, but so far, no, it definitely hasn’t gotten easier.”

Drake was lost in his own thoughts when the scream came. His head snapped up and on the second scream he was on his feet running without a second thought.

“Jen is with her, Drake. She isn’t alone.” Drake heard Decebel’s voice somewhere behind him along with the Alpha’s footsteps. He knew that Bethany wasn’t alone, but that didn’t stop his driving need to get to her and make sure that she was alright. Her scream and the fear he felt through their bond was like the crack of a whip against his flesh that only pushed him harder. Drake could feel her heartbeat racing, or maybe it was his? He wasn’t sure. Their emotions were so intermingled that he couldn’t tell where hers started and his ended. The only difference was the amount of fear rolling off of her. Even when he’d been crouched over her as a snarling wolf, the fear coming from Bethany hadn’t been this potent. Whatever it was, it wasn’t just scaring her; it was terrifying.