Roxanne’s POV:
“Roxanne,” he called softly, then raised his hand and covered his face.
“Are you in a lot of pain?” I asked again, concerned.
He dropped his hand and looked down at me seriously.
I was very worried, and words couldn’t even begin to explain how I felt at the moment.
When I heard the sound of a gunshot coming from outside the mansion, I came running downstairs, stumbling and falling just to get to him. Although my leg had already healed, I was still in pain, yet I cared less about it. Him being okay was all that mattered to me the most.
“You will be okay,” I whispered softly as a lot of thoughts invaded my mind.
I still couldn’t stop thinking about how I stood up, leaped, and ran outside to where the scent of gunpowder was coming from.
When my eyes met my mate’s, my heart ached badly as I stopped in my tracks. There and then, I understood the situation he was in. They had opened fire on him, and he had taken them down.
As I ran to him, I felt relieved, knowing how bullets were harmless to his kind.
I asked him if he was okay, then quickly knelt down and pressed my hand on his wounded stomach.
What if they were hunters, not humans? Would he have survived?
The fear of losing him was real.
When he said he was feeling weak due to blood loss, I instantly stood up and offered him mine without a second thought.
Now that he was looking at me seriously, like he was about to get upset over me offering him my own blood, I was beginning to think it was the wrong thing to do.
“You know what? Stop confusing me with your actions,” he said, then walked past me.
I quickly turned and moved, tightly grabbing his hand.
“I don’t understand, did I do something to upset you?” I asked softly.
“No, it’s not that,” he answered, then pulled back his hand.
“Then what is it?” I asked.
“Your actions are confusing me. First, you show fear after looking at my bloody body, then you show concern and act like my injury is affecting you. As if that isn’t enough, you go on to act like a naive girl in love, and that really annoys the living hell out of me!” he yelled as I sadly linked my fingers together and lowered my gaze.
I knew he wasn’t going to treat me kindly because he wasn’t in love with me, but that didn’t mean I was immune to his harsh words.
“What if those men were hunters? Do you know that by now we both could have been badly injured, if not struggling for our lives? Learn to stay out of dangerous situations! You don’t know me well enough, yet you came out without a care. Next time, don’t ever do such a fucking thing!” he yelled as I felt a lump form in my throat.
Was he saying he didn’t want to be with me because he was afraid of someone hurting me, or was he just scolding me for how dumb I had acted?
Either way, I wasn’t going to argue with him. Not after what had happened.
“I’m sorry for acting stupid and for coming out without a second thought. But my wolf and I knew only one thing when we heard the sound of gunshots, and that was to protect and make sure you were safe. We didn’t think much about you being a stranger because we share a bond and we have feelings for you. So if you want to yell or scold me more, feel free to do so, but please first go inside and tend to yourself,” I said, then inhaled deeply to stop my forming tears from falling.
After I exhaled, I slowly walked past him and went back to the mansion.
“You did well,” my wolf whispered as tears rolled down my cheek.
“No, we made him upset,” I answered, then wiped away my tears when I reached the doorstep.
If Larson were to see me now, he would laugh so hard because I was acting exactly like those women he wanted me to act like: an emotional rollercoaster.
I never cried easily, no matter how hurt or sad I felt. But with my mate, I became the annoying woman who cried anyway because of some simple mean words.
I touched the door handle to open the door but stopped when my mate’s hand covered mine. His scent was stronger than before, but so was the scent of blood.
I instantly tensed when he rested his head against my shoulder.
“I don’t want you to cry,” he whispered, surprising me.
I kept quiet, not saying a word because I didn’t want us to argue.
“The coven will kill us both,” he went on, then raised his head.
“We might die because I can’t hand you over. No, I don’t want to hand you over to them, no matter who you are or what your father did,” he said as I quickly turned and faced him.
“You worrying about me made me feel so fucking happy, but when it sunk in how you could have been injured by those men, I got angry. I didn’t mean to yell at you or make you feel sad and alone. I just wanted to make you realize how dangerous the situation was,” he said as I raised my hand and pressed it on his shoulder.
“Mates stick together and die having each other’s backs. So no matter how hard you scream at me or how harsh your words are, I will never leave you behind in a dangerous situation. I will still choose to go where you are,” I answered seriously.
He grabbed my hand and linked it to his cold one.
“Would you like to help me change into new clothes? This shirt is a bloody mess,” he asked as I smiled widely.
“I would love that,” I answered.
“Good, then come with me,” he said, then opened the door and walked in with me as the door closed itself behind.
“You will love this place in the morning. It’s breathtaking. The problem is that it’s dark right now,” he said as I chuckled softly.
I was a she-wolf. With my werewolf vision, I could see clearly, but I didn’t want to tell him that because I loved hearing him talk openly.
Slowly but surely, we were closing the gap between us, and I could feel that his words and feelings were genuine.
“Then tomorrow, do give me a tour,” I answered softly.
“Of course, but for now, I will show you to my room, then yours,” he said as I pouted but chose to keep quiet.
There was no need for me to rush things between us. After all, he had said we were going to be here for a while.
I was looking forward to us spending some alone time without anyone interrupting us.