Chapter 4
I groaned as I saw Mom waiting for me outside the men’s locker rooms. “I’m fine,” I said before she
could say anything.
“Are you sure? She didn’t just break your nose, she crushed it.”
“Yeah, I know. I was there remember,” I told her and waved my hand over my face. “But I healed, and I
don’t even have a bruise.” I appreciated the worry, but it also irritated the crap out of me. She wouldn’t
be mother henning Ryder, my older brother, like this.
Mom pursed her lips as she looked at my face. “Are you sure about her? I mean perhaps you were
merely fascinated by her.”
I snorted. “Really Mom? I get you all think I’m out there, but I’m not that far out there.”
She smiled and gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Sorry, it’s only she’s so…”
“I know,” I said, grinning remembering my mate in the ck dress.
Mom sighed, snapping me out of my daydream. “Okay, new rule. No mentally undressing your mate in
the presence of your mother.”
“Then let’s change the subject, because if not...” I said, waggling my eyebrows at her.
“Good lord, Dean,” Mom said with a sigh. “I’m afraid I’m going to be mending your nose quite a bit in
the near future. So are you done for today?”
I let out a breath. “Yeah, finally. I probably should be going before I get sucked into the overnight shift.
The boss is such a ve driver.”
“Your boss is a very lovely and dedicated person.”
I snorted again. “You would say that.” Especially since she was my boss.
Momughed, shaking her head at me. “Tell your father, I might not make dinner tonight. I’m trying to
work out the schedules for everyone. That ditzy, Shelley wants off yet again. This is what? Her fourth
funeral for a grandmother?”
“Right, wellter Mamacita.” I saluted her and left the hospital.
The drive home, my thoughts returned of my mate - Nicole, Brook had told me her name was. She
seemed to be more skittish than Brook was when she first arrived. I could ask Ryder — nope, I so
wasn’t going to ask him anything. He and Andy would never let me live it down. They were already
teasing me bad enough as it was. No, I’d handle this on my own. She was gun shy or something, it’s
possible she had a jerk of an ex or something. I only had to y it cool.
The house was noisier than usual, but it was expected with almost every room full. While I usually
enjoyed being around people, I wasn’t so sure I liked so many strangers here, made my instincts go a
little crazy.
“Hey Dean,” Kara said, waving me over.
“What’s up? Decide to dump Andy for a real man?” I teased.
“Yeah, where I can find one?”
I grinned, normally I’d say something crude, but it didn’t seem right to say it now.
“Uh, right,” she said. “Well F.Y.I. your mate, the girl who knocked you out, is in the gym...alone.”
I grinned and threw my arms around her in a bear hug. “You’re the bestest friend ever.”
With a grunt, she tried to p my arm. “Let me down, you dork.”
I set her down, but by the time she swung to p my arm again, I was jogging down the hall. True
enough, my mate was in the gym, lifting a dumbbell the size of my head. I swallowed. Okay, proceed
with caution. I put on my best flirty grin, I walked into the gym. “Hey Beautiful,” I said, sitting on a bench
next to hers.
Her eyes lifted to meet mine, surprised and wide, before she lowered them again and continuing to lift
and lower the dumbbell, not saying anything. When she switched arms, I figured I was going to have to
insist. “So Beautiful-”
Her head ducked lower and her shoulders tensed. “Don’t call me that.”
“Sure thing, Sexy-”
Her head shot up. Her eyes zed angrily, and her lips were pursed. “Do you want to die?”
I threw up my hands. “What I did I say?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Go make fun of someone else, I’m busy.”
“Make fun of you? I’m trying to introduce myself, Sexy.”
“I’m not stupid, got it,” she said, and I tried not to flinch as she dropped the weight to the floor. “Stop
calling me beautiful or sexy, or whatever. I’m not any of those things.”
Right, well at least we’re talking. “Well, that’s a matter of opinion, Beautiful. Now I’m Dean, a Leo. I like
long walks on the beach, cuddling, and you. What may I call you besides, beautiful or sexy?”
She got a bewildered look on her face. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“Did your mother drop you on your head? Or you get in an ident that scrambled you up here?” she
asked, tapping her finger on her temple. “Or are you just special?”
I grinned leaning back. “I think I’m pretty special, but you’ll have to take me for a test drive to find out if
it’s true or not.”
She shook her head. “Can you stop.”
“Nope, so Beautiful?”
“Stop-”
“Sexy then.”
She growled at me.
“Cutie?”
“Shut up.”
“Gorgeous?”
“Fine. Nic, call me Nic,” she said, her voice a husky, exasperated growl and I loved it.
With a triumphant grin, I sat upright. “See was that so hard?”
“Good lord, yes,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Now what do you want, I mean like really?”
I shrugged. “What else, to talk and get to know each other. We’re mates after all.”
Her eyes had widened for a second before she put on an expression of disinterest. “Right. Well, listen
here I’m not pretty, and I’m not soft. I’m not like the girls around here.”
I snapped my fingers. “That’s what it was. I had a feeling there was something different, but I couldn’t
put a name to it.”
Again she narrowed her eyes at me, but before either of us said anything, someone cleared their
throat. “Excuse me,” a big bulky man said, looking as if he wasn’t trying to smile. “Nic, your father is
looking for you.”
Nic shot up, looking worried. “How long?”
“Not long, but you better hurry.”
“Right,” she said and started toward the door and halted. “Could you…”
“Not tell your father you were talking with him? Of course,” the man said, giving her a small smile. “Go.”
I watched her leave, feeling disappointed I didn’t get to talk to her longer. I stood to leave when the
bulky man stopped me. “Careful, funny man.”
I stopped and stared at him. “Excuse me?”
“Careful,” he repeated. “You hurt her, and you’ll regret it.”
Oh, great. I wanted to roll my eyes like Nic had done earlier. “Not nning too.”
“Good,” he said, still not letting me pass. “Avoiding the alpha might be in your best interest. He doesn’t
like you, and when he discovers your her mate, he’s going to like you even less.”
“Really? And he seemed like such a great guy as he was yelling at her for something that wasn’t her
fault, yesterday.”
The man smirked down at me. “That? What you heard was nothing. He’s yelled at her a lot worse than
Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDra/ma.O(r)g!
that. Do her a favor and don’t give him a reason to do it again.” He turned around and walked out of the
gym.
My chest tightened with the urge to run him down and vow her father would never yell at her again, but
who was I kidding. He wouldn’t take me seriously. I put the weight back where it was and started to
leave when werewolf I didn’t recognize came in.
“Ah, good. Just the man I was looking for,” he said, grinning at me.
I gave him the stink eye. “You’re cute, but totally not my type. I prefer breasts.”
Heughed and winked at me. “Don’t knock it until you try it,” he teased back and shook his head. “I’m
not here for me. I have a friend who so happens to desperately need a man and I think you might be
perfect for the job.”
“Uh yeah, not interested, thank you.” Weird much? Dad should’ve done some kind of screening
because these werewolves can’t be right in the head.
“Are you sure?” the man said, the grin still on his face. “She’s about this tall.” He held up his hand.
“Shaved head, mean punch.” I crossed my arms over my chest and shot him a re. Was he talking
about Nic? “You’re listening?” I nodded. “Good. Now you see, I could go look for a guy to fit our ns,
but I don’t see the point when you are perfect and best part, you don’t even have to fake it.”
“What n? What are you talking about?”
The man grinned, looking obviously pleased with himself. “Take a seat, and I’ll fill you in.”