Betrayed Forced Mate (Rosecreek Special Ops Wolves #4)

“Do you eat food?” Zane asks, eyes narrowed on me.

“What?” I laugh, letting my head roll back against the chair. “I just buy them in bulk!”

“Not anymore, you don’t,” Olivia says, crossing her arms and staring down at me. I close my eyes as the four of them whisper to one another, and I realize I always thought that when this finally happened—when my heart finally gave out on me—I’d be alone. Someone would find me slumped over my desk.

Instead, I’m surrounded by people who care. Who woke up in the middle of the night to make sure I was okay. Even my brother came when Olivia called him, and I was half convinced he’d have skipped town by the time I got around to calling him.

“Man,” Percy says, his hand landing on my shoulder. “You have to start taking care of yourself better.”

The rest murmur their agreements.

My pack.

My family.

Chapter 22 – Olivia

I’m pacing back and forth in the living room, waiting for Byron to come out of the bathroom. The others left just ten minutes ago, Zane being the last one out the door.

“Hey,” he’d said, his voice low, “tell By to call me, okay?”

“Okay,” I’d said, still feeling a little guilty that I called him at all. When Byron started having the attack, I was so afraid that it was serious, that something bad would happen to him. I thought he might want the chance to see his brother, despite whatever grievances they hold toward one another.

Veronica said that while he didn’t have a heart attack, it doesn’t look like his heart is in awesome shape, and she wants to do more tests in the morning. I put my fist to my lips and come close to the bathroom door, raising my fist to knock just as it swings open.

“Gods, Olivia,” Byron laughs, his hand coming to his chest. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

“Not funny,” I say, shaking my head at him. “You’re taking the bed.”

“What? No.”

“I am not making you sleep on the couch when you just had a medical emergency!”

“It wasn’t a medical emergency,” he mutters, “I’ve always been this way.”

I stare at him, heart thumping. How could I have known him this long and not known about it? How could he know and still drink those drinks?

Before he can stop me, I turn and walk back toward the couch.

“No! Olivia,” he says, following closely on my heels, and we end up smushing onto the couch at the same time. We grab for the pillow, tugging it back and forth.

Being this close to him is torture, need already curling low in my belly for him, my body heating up at his presence. Even after I’ve just watched him nearly die in my arms, all my body wants is to have him.

“I am not letting you sleep on the couch,” he says quietly, and then our hands touch, fingers curl together, and we sit on the pillow. We’re turned toward each other, both breathing hard.

“Byron—”

“Listen, Liv,” he says, sighing and running his hand through his hair. “Seeing all that stuff through your eyes—I just—”

I can’t bear to hear what he’s going to say next—probably apologizing for how he hurt me, but holding firm that we can’t be together. So, I open my mouth, blurting something out to keep him from finishing that statement.

“I could try drawing him.”

He blinks, shaking his head a bit.

“What?”

I clear my throat, shifting, unaware that our hands are still linked together. I want nothing more than to pull him into me, but I don’t.