The hospital corridor felt impossibly long and suffocating as Jayden and Jamie walked away from Katy's room, her furious words echoing in their ears. Jayden's jaw was clenched so tight it ached, his golden eyes burning with unshed frustration and self-reproach. Jamie ran a hand through his hair, his usual calm demeanor shattered.
They didn't speak until they were outside the main entrance, the cool air doing little to soothe the inferno within them. Jayden slammed his fist against the brick wall, a dull thud that barely registered through his anger. "Damn it!" he growled, his voice low and guttural. We messed up, Jamie. We messed up everything."
"She hates us," Jamie murmured, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular. She truly hates us right now. She feels violated. And she has every right." He finally looked at his brother, his eyes reflecting the same torment. "We knew, Jayden. We knew the probability. "We should have told her, prepared her, before... before the bond took over."
"How?" Jayden retorted, turning to face him. "How do you tell a human, 'By the way, you're our destined mate, and if we have sex, you'll immediately get pregnant because we're wolves, and you're meant to carry our pup'? "She barely believed us when we told her the basics." He kicked at a loose pebble, his frustration morphing into despair. "But she's right. She's absolutely right. We took her choice. And now she's almost died because of it. "Our own recklessness nearly killed our mate and our pup."
A heavy silence descended between them, broken only by the distant sounds of city traffic. The mate bond, though strained by Katy's anger and emotional turmoil, still thrummed, a
faint, worrying pulse that told them she was still distraught. They could feel the storm raging within her, even across the miles.
Jayden's jaw was clenched so tight it ached, his golden eyes burning with unshed frustration and self-reproach. Jamie ran a hand through his hair, his usual calm demeanor shattered.
They didn't speak until they were outside the main entrance, the cool Courtenay air doing little to soothe the inferno within them. Jayden slammed his fist against the brick wall, a dull thud that barely registered through his anger. "Damn it!" he growled, his voice low and guttural. "We messed up, Jamie. We messed up everything."
"She hates us," Jamie murmured, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular. "She truly hates us right now. She feels violated. And she has every right." He finally looked at his brother, his eyes reflecting the same torment. "We knew, Jayden. We knew the probability. We should have told her, prepared her, before... before the bond took over."
"How?" Jayden retorted, turning to face him. "How do you tell a human, 'By the way, you're our destined mate, and if we have sex, you'll immediately get pregnant because we're wolves and you're meant to carry our pup'? She barely believed us when we told her the basics." He kicked at a loose pebble, his frustration morphing into despair. "But she's right. She's absolutely right. We took her choice. And now she's almost died because of it. Our own recklessness nearly killed our mate and our pup."
A heavy silence descended between them, broken only by the distant sounds of city traffic. The mate bond, though strained by Katy's anger and emotional turmoil, still thrummed, a faint, worrying pulse that told them she was still distraught. They could feel the storm raging within her, even across the miles.
They made it home, the drive a blur of their shared agony. Without a word, they went straight to their separate rooms, not even bothering with food or drink. They collapsed onto their beds, but they couldn't sleep. Their minds were a relentless reel of Katy's accusations, her pain, her pale face in the hospital bed. They just lay there, staring at their respective ceilings, suffering from the pain they caused Katy. The monstrous truth echoed in the quiet house, a refrain that hammered into their very souls: They... almost... killed... her... And that, more than anything, was an unforgivable sin against their fated mate. The weight of it was suffocating.
Jayden finally pushed himself out of bed. His muscles ached from the emotional strain, not physical exertion. He found Jamie already in the kitchen, sitting at the island, a mug of cold coffee forgotten in his hands, his eyes distant.
"So," Jayden said, his voice rough with disuse, "did she make it home yet?" He already knew the answer, the faint thrum of the mate bond confirming Katy's new location, but the question felt necessary, a way to break the suffocating silence.
Jamie, without looking up, pulled out his phone. He typed rapidly, navigating to the tracker they had secretly placed on Katy's phone months ago – a necessity, they'd told themselves, for "mate protection" in a world of humans. It showed her icon, stationary, at her home address.
Jayden pulled out his own phone, navigating to Katy's contact, his thumb hovering over the call button. He hesitated, remembering her furious "Get out!" "Do you think she'll answer?"
"No," Jamie said flatly, watching as his brother pressed the call button. Moments later, Jayden's phone vibrated with the familiar 'call ignored' notification. She needs space. She's processing something no human should ever have to comprehend, especially not while her body is fighting to recover."
"But what do we do?" Jayden asked, running a hand through his hair, the protective instinct overwhelming, warring with the pain of her rejection. We can't just leave her. Not now. Not with the pup."
Jamie finally looked towards the eastern horizon, where the first hint of dawn was beginning to paint the sky a weary grey. "We watch over her. From a distance, for now. "We give her the space she needs, but we don't disappear." His gaze hardened, a new resolve replacing some of the despair. "And we start figuring out exactly how we're going to explain this. How to make her understand what we are, and how much she means to us, without destroying her completely."
Their wolves howled in silent despair at the thought of the chasm that had opened between them and their mate. But beneath the anguish was a fierce, unwavering resolve. They would fight for her. They would fight for their pup. Even if it took a lifetime to earn back her trust. They just didn't know