Chapter Twenty Nine

Liam

Gavin had been badgering me since we woke up. I know he feels the need to mate with Azalea, but we cannot just take her. It has to be her choice, or we will lose her forever. His pestering is starting to get hard to control. For a moment there, he began to take over and tease Azalea. Hopefully, I hid it well.

“Why don’t we finish this up and take it to the bedroom? We could put on a movie and eat in bed?” I suggested. If I could get Azalea to fall asleep soon, I could go out for a run and have Damien stay here with her. Maybe if I let him out for a little while, Gavin would be less aggressive about this mating thing.

“Sure,” she said, giving me a small smile. I could tell there was a little bit of awkwardness in the atmosphere of the kitchen. I spent half the time we were cooking trying to keep Gavin down; he was determined to take her over the counter if it meant we mated.

“Why don’t you take these upstairs, and I will grab some drinks and meet you there,” I said, handing her the plates of food as we finished.

“Sure,” she said, taking them from me.

“See you in a minute,” I started to say when a loud bang came from the front door, far louder than a knock should be. Gavin immediately jumped to the surface, overpowering me. Azalea jumped, and I could sense her fear almost instantly.

“What was that....” she started in a hushed tone.

“Go upstairs. Now. Do not come down,” Gavin growled at her. I continued to try to get control back, but he was not relenting. He felt she was in danger and wasn’t going to relent. We both knew that no one should know we were here.

“L-Liam…” she stuttered, the fear evident in her voice.

“I never wanted her to be afraid around us. You need to calm down now.”

“We don’t have time for that now. We must protect her.”

“Gavin, she’s more terrified of you right now than whatever that is.”

“I don’t care!”

He swiftly turned his gaze towards her. “Now, Azalea,” he commanded. She turned and ran from us back towards the bedroom. I could hear the Alpha authority and hoped it wasn’t affecting Azalea.

“You need to get it under control now! She is never going to trust us if you scare her anymore!” I tried to no avail to reason with Gavin.

Gavin stalked to the front door, claws beginning to grow from our hands. “No one hurts my mate!” he said.

He ripped the front door open with a bang. Looking around, there was nothing. No sign of any trespassers. Looking down, we noticed a vase of flowers. Picking it up, I realized they were azaleas. They were pink and white, just like the ones I had brought her on the night of our date. There was a note attached.

ARE YOU SO SURE SHE IS SAFE? THAT LITTLE FLOWER WON’T BE YOURS FOR LONG ALPHA.

Gavin let out a thunderous growl that echoed through the trees around us. Gavin looked around wildly, searching for any sign of the trespasser.

“You need to calm down now! We need to link Damien and the patrol. You need to let me go to Azalea now!” I shouted at him.

“I will keep her safe. She needs mated now so no one can take her from us! We’ll be stronger!” he argued.

“I know! But if we don’t want to lose her, we have to do this her way right now!” My cell phone rang as we argued.

“WHAT?” Gavin answered, screaming into the phone.

“What the hell is going on over there? The patrol said they heard growls coming from the house,” Damien replied in an irritated voice.

“Trespasser,” Gavin spit at him.

“Little less hostility, okay? What do you mean trespasser? The patrol hasn’t reported anything out of the ordinary,” he said.

“Gavin, give me back control now!” I tried desperately, fighting him for control.

“Hello? Liam, what is going on? Are you there?” Damien called through the phone as I wrestled with Gavin. Finally, I got control back.

“Yea, I am here. I am gonna send you a photo. Tighten the patrol,” I said and hung up. I quickly snapped a photo of the flowers and note and sent them to Damien. My phone immediately pinged with a message that just read, “Shit.”

I needed to find Azalea now. I brought the flowers inside and deposited them into the trash can. I went to the bedroom, hoping that was where she went. The door was closed, and I knocked lightly to see if she would open the door. After a moment of no answer, I softly opened the door, whispering, “Azalea, baby, are you in here?”

Looking around, I saw nothing. I shut the door quietly behind me and walked towards the bed. Was she hiding?

“Azalea, everything is okay. Where are you, baby?” I said calmly but a little louder. I still heard nothing.

“If we were mated, you would know where she is! You wouldn’t need to call for her because we would feel her!” Gavin nagged at me. He clearly was not happy that I was back in control for now.

I tried to push him down as I looked around for signs of her. I noticed an envelope on the bed. Walking over to it, my stomach dropped as I saw her name on it. There was a letter next to it. I read the short letter, and fury surged through me. 

“No one will take her from us! Mark her!” Gavin raged in my head. I could feel him trying to burst through the surface again.

“I won’t let that happen, but you need to calm down now!” I shot back at him. “I need a little more time! Don’t you want to meet her wolf?” I tried to reason with him.

He did not seem to have a response to that. I knew he wanted her wolf to emerge so he could have his true mate as well. Unfortunately, he was the more primal of the two of us, and reason did not always apply to him.

Trying to calm myself, I looked around. Azalea had to be here somewhere. I could hear a faint heartbeat that sounded like it was coming from the bathroom. I went to the door and knocked gently. “Azalea, are you in here?” I asked through the door. I got no response.

“Azalea, I need to know you’re okay. Please?” I tried again. I still got no response. I turned the knob to discover the door was unlocked. Using my wolf hearing, I tried to locate the source of the heartbeat. I looked around the large bathroom. There were not many places to hide.

I noticed the sound coming from the shower. I walked over to the frosted glass doors. Although I couldn’t see through the door, I knew she was inside.

“Azalea, baby, it’s okay. You can come out now. No one is here,” I said, trying to get her to respond. No sound came from the other side of the door. Taking my chances, I opened the door just enough to peek in.

In the corner, Azalea was curled up in a ball with her knees to her chest. As I opened the door, her head shot up, her eyes wide and face tear-stained. I rushed forward, crouching down in front of her. Her face was wrought with terror and helplessness, and pain surged through my chest. I reached for her to pull her into my arms and comfort her, but she immediately tried to shrink away.

“Azalea…” I whispered. She shook her head.

“No one is here; I am not going to let anyone get to you,” I tried reassuring her. She shook her head again, fear still evident in her eyes. I wracked my brain, trying to figure out what had scared her so bad.

“She heard me,” Gavin said.

Oh Goddess, no. “You idiot! I told you to calm down, and you just couldn’t control yourself,” I yelled at him.

“I won’t apologize for keeping our mate safe!”

“But you didn’t! You petrified her! Now she won’t even let me touch her!” I blocked him out to turn my focus back on Azalea.

“Baby, why are you scared?” I asked her gently. She looked back at me, tears still brimming her eyes.

“Was it the note?” I tried again. Maybe if I could get her to speak and tell me what was wrong, I could calm her down. She nodded her head slightly.

“I won’t let anyone take you from me, baby. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever,” I said. She looked at me, eyes still wide. “There is nothing to be afraid of, I promise.”

I looked into her face for a minute, willing her to say something. Her eyes were red and puffy; her cheeks tear-stained. I hate when she cries; I hate that she is scared. I hate that someone is trying to get to her.

Finally, I stood and said, “Wait right here, okay? I’ll be right back.” I calmly turned and exited the bathroom. First, I went to the bed, grabbing the note. I read it again. Maybe my father can shed some light on this later. I don’t know much about her parents and how they died, so I don’t know what deal could have been made concerning Azalea. I took the note to my bedside table and hid it in the drawer.

Next, I ran down to the kitchen and made a cup of tea for her. If she was scared and upset, this might help her calm down and relax. I went back upstairs and set the tea on her bedside table. I pulled an extra blanket and pillow from the closet and set them on the couch. If she was afraid of me because of Gavin, I would need to give her distance. I don’t know that I could leave her in here alone, but I could sleep across the room.

I went into the bathroom and pulled a washcloth from the linen cupboard. I ran it under some warm water to wet it and wrung it out. I took a deep breath before gently going back into the shower. She sat in the corner still, her face buried in her knees again. She looked so small and helpless; it made my chest ache.

When she realized I was there, her head popped up. She didn’t flinch away as I came closer this time. I held up the washcloth to show her. She didn’t move as I brought it to her cheek.

“Let me take you to bed, okay? I made you some tea,” I said as I lightly wiped her cheeks with the warm washcloth. After a moment, she nodded her head just a bit. I couldn’t help the small smile come across my lips.

I finished wiping the salty tears from her face and lay the washcloth down. I moved a bit closer to her so I could pick her up. I scooped her tiny frame up into my arms. She stayed tense but turned her face into my chest. I could feel her heartbeat slow as she breathed into me, our bond calming her body.

I carefully carried her into the bedroom and over to the bed. I set her down gently on the bed, grabbing the blanket to wrap around her. I knelt in front of her and grabbed her teacup for her. She took it in her hands, not making eye contact with me.

I brought my hand up to her face, grazing my thumb across her soft cheeks. “You are my whole world, Azalea. I will not let anyone hurt you or take you away from me,” I said, hoping she believed me. Her eyes moved towards the end of the bed where the note had been lying. Her eyes lingered there for a moment before moving back. She still did not look at me.

“Maybe we should get some sleep? I doubled the patrol tonight so no one can get close to us,” I told her. She nodded her head, and I stood up. She took a sip of her tea and set it on the bedside table.

I went to move away from her and was immediately stopped by her hand around my arm. Her eyes looked up into mine. “I am just going over to the couch; I don’t want you to be uncomfortable,” I said. Her grip tightened, and I could see tears starting in her eyes again.

“She thinks you’re rejecting her jackass,” Gavin spat at me.

“No, baby, I am not leaving you,” I said, trying to reassure her. She didn’t drop her hands. I knelt on the floor again, bringing myself to her level. “Sweetheart, please tell me what is going on in that pretty head of yours? I am dying here,” I pleaded with her.

She took a deep breath like she was preparing herself. “Who was the wolf?” she asked.

I gulped. “That was sort of me. It was Gavin, actually. Gavin is my wolf, and when we heard the bang on the door, he took over. It was just a warning to anyone thinking about coming for us, baby, and I promise he will never hurt you.”

“Your wolf took control?” she asked. I nodded. She paused for a moment like she was mulling something over.

“Can I meet him?” she finally asked.