Chapter Twenty-Eight

Seth

She was mad at me. I knew she would be. Mostly because I’d made her stay away from her dad because of Jason.

Then Murdoch mind-linked me. He’d spilled the beans about Gabriel’s plan. We should have told her from the start. She was just about ready to tear into Murdoch.

I was grateful that Olivia went into labor. If she’d gone after Murdoch, I wasn’t sure who would have won...not with her anger flaring, and if Murdoch had hurt her...

Ellie was my mate and I’m not sure I could have controlled myself if anyone had hurt her. As always, Ellie put others first. This time it was Olivia.

She could have let her anger take over, but she didn’t. She made me so proud sometimes. I know she didn’t necessarily want it, but she was truly a queen.

Right now I was on my way to the hospital. Human traditions be damned. I had to see her, make things right.

Whatever happened, I was ready for a tongue-lashing. It wouldn’t be half as bad as the one she would give to her dad.

I carefully opened the door and peeked inside the room.

Olivia was on the bed, Murdoch was on one side, gripping her hand tightly. Ellie was on the other side.

Sweat was on Olivia’s forehead; it was going to be a long night.

Ellie must have been watching the door even before I opened it. As I stepped in, she gave me a cold look.

How did she know it was me? Maybe Murdoch had told her, although from the look on his face, she was giving him the same icy stare.

She only looked away because Olivia must have squeezed her hand. Her attention snapped to Olivia, giving me a chance to walk across the room without her glaring at me.

It didn’t last long. Her eyes were soon back on me.

“What do you want?” she hissed, “you can't have it all ways.”

I flinched at the anger in her voice. Earlier she had been all over me, now she could barely stand being in the same room.

“I just wanted to...”

“What?” she cut me off, “lie to me?”

“No!” I protested, “it was your dad. He didn’t want you to worry. He wanted your day to be perfect.”

I hesitated, “You do still want to go ahead tomorrow?”

I swallowed nervously, waiting for her response. She really was everything to me. I had almost lost her once before, I didn’t want it to happen again.

Ellie rolled her eyes and sighed. I could literally feel the rage draining from her. We already had a close connection and I hadn’t even marked her yet.

“Of course I do. You really think I would throw the moon-goddess’s gift back in her face?” she questioned.

Without giving me a chance to answer, she carried on.

“That doesn’t mean I’m not still mad at you...”

Her eyes flicked over to Murdoch, who received the same look of disdain that had been aimed at me.

“All of you,” she added, “and if you think I’m going to let this happen, you’ve all got another think coming!”

I exhaled slowly. This wasn’t the time to lose my temper.

“We were only thinking of you, Ellie. I only ever wanted to protect you. I didn’t trust Jason, I still don’t completely. I was afraid he might attack you while you slept.”

She rolled her eyes at me. I hated it when she did that, but now wasn’t the time to chastise her for it. I was already on thin ice.

Before she had a chance to respond, Olivia pulled Ellie towards her. She whispered something in her ear. Even with my werewolf hearing, I couldn’t make out what she said.

I watched as Ellie squeezed Olivia’s hand and nodded.

Ellie stood up and walked towards me. She sighed.

“It’s not about you insisting that I keep away from Jason, as stupid as it is,” she huffed.

“It’s not even about you being an overprotective jerk. It's about you keeping the truth from me. You told me earlier that I should believe in myself, well how can I, when you don’t believe in me either?”

Her voice cracked as she finished talking. I could tell she was upset and frustrated.

I wrapped my arms around her, pressing my nose to her crown, breathing in her scent.

“I do believe in you, Ellie, it's just I know you can sometimes be a little reckless. Like tonight when you were ready to fight Murdoch.”

She pulled away slightly and looked up at me.

“He told you? You probably thought he’d hand my ass to me on a plate,” she huffed.

I shook my head and smiled.

“I knew you would give it your all. I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be, but even if you beat him, you wouldn’t have come out of it unscathed. If anyone hurt you, Ellie...”

For the first time this evening, she looked at me and smiled.

“You thought I could beat him? Even without my wolf?”

I smirked.

“I keep telling you I believe in you, Ellie.”

Her brows furrowed.

“But you still wouldn’t let me stay with my dad?”

I sighed heavily. We were back to that. She wasn’t going to let this go, I should have realized that.

“That’s different, Ellie. You know as well as I do that Joel plays dirty. If he found out that Jason wasn’t still back home, then he would likely link him with the same Alpha command he gave the others.”

I watched as her shoulders sagged, and she sighed. She wouldn’t say it, but she knew I was right.

Having Jason here while he was still a member of the Crescent Moon Pack was a risk. If he rejected the pack, then any commands that the Alpha, in this case Joel, had given would cease to be effective.

As long as Jason was still linked to the pack, Joel would be able to give him the command at any time.

Jason being here could spell trouble. If he knew, he’d mind-link Jason in a heartbeat and order him to kill Ellie. One moment he’d be all smiles, the next, a ruthless killer.

If Elijah couldn’t resist Joel’s command, Jason wouldn’t stand a chance.

I reached out to Ellie.

“Let’s get you to bed. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.”

She glanced at Olivia, then back at me, shaking her head.

“I can’t leave Olivia…”

Before I could argue, Olivia’s weak voice cut in. We both turned to her.

“No...Go with Seth. You need rest.”

Olivia tightened her grip on Murdoch’s hand.

“I’ve got Murdoch here. Just promise to fill me in on everything tomorrow.”

Her gaze landed on me.

“Could you ask Emma to help her get ready?”

I nodded. Olivia was a good friend to Ellie, and I appreciated that.

Ellie frowned.

“I can’t just stay at your house, Livvie, not when you’re here.”

I laughed.

“Maybe we should ditch this silly human tradition?”

I looked at Ellie, my eyebrows raised.

It always struck me as odd that humans who planned to spend their lives together would spend the night before their ceremony apart. For werewolves, the ceremony was just a formality.

By the time it happened, mates had already marked each other. More often than not, they’d already mated too.

I knew it was different for Ellie. But she didn’t know anything about human traditions. All those fancy customs had disappeared after the war, with most humans being used as slave labor.

Ellie looked from me to Olivia, uncertainty in her eyes.

Olivia managed a smile.

“You’re more wolf than human, Ellie. Go with your mate.”

Ellie nodded.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

Olivia nodded, then winced as another contraction hit.

I wrapped an arm around Ellie’s waist, glad to have her close again. Most of her anger had faded. At least her anger towards me. Her anger towards Gabriel was a whole other story.

I led Ellie away from the hospital and the pack house. She looked puzzled.

“Where are we going?” She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

I smirked. I wanted to keep her guessing, but I didn’t want to upset her. Not in her current state.

I gestured vaguely towards our house.

“We’ve got a perfectly good house. No reason we can’t start using it tonight.”

Ellie nodded, but didn’t say anything. I could feel her nervousness. Hear her heart racing. I remembered what Gabriel had told me that morning while Ellie was with the doctor.

‘~...when you two mate, you’ll need to take it slow...’~

I wasn’t planning on mating her tonight, but it would be our first night together. That’s not to say I didn’t want to mate her, and mark her. I’d wanted her since the day she left to visit her brother.

I’d waited this long, I could wait a little longer. I just hoped it would be soon. The sooner I marked her, the more likely her wolf would return.

If her wolf came back, maybe she’d want to mark me too.

When we got to the house, I unlocked the door.

I let go of her waist and held out my hand. She put her small hand in mine.

I was starting to notice the little things about Ellie. Like how much smaller she was than me, but also how fiery and determined she was.

I led her inside and towards the staircase. I looked down at her and smiled. She bit her bottom lip, her nervousness showing.

I stopped and ran my thumb over her bottom lip, pulling it away from her teeth. Then I cupped her cheek.

“We’re just going to bed...to sleep,” I reassured her.

Her face turned pink and she smiled. I thought I saw a hint of relief in her eyes.

She’d always had to fight to survive. It would take time for her to realize she didn’t have to do that anymore. I would always protect her.

Gabriel’s little trick had set her back and I was mad at myself for going along with it. For agreeing to keep her in the dark. I wouldn’t do that again.

From now on, I’d be open and honest. I hoped that would encourage her to open up to me. To share the secrets she’d been keeping.

She wouldn’t have to face things alone anymore. Whatever happened, we’d face it together.