Page 46 of Rejected Bullied Mate

"Are you alright?" I asked. She was so quiet that I was starting to worry I'd hurt her.

"Yeah," she said softly, "I'm just...processing."

"I can't say I blame you. That was intense." Kiera was my weakness, but the connection had been so intense this time that I was still seeing stars. "How's the heat pain?"

"Gone," she said with an enormous yawn, "But it will be back once we're no longer tied."

It was all the excuse I needed. "Stay with me tonight, Kiera. I'll get you through it. You won't have to hurt."

She hesitated, and I couldn't tell what was going through her mind. Finally, she nodded. "Okay. You're...I..." Finally, she sighed, "Thank you, Samson."

My heart lurched. She shouldn't be thanking me. Although spending the time together would help her, I was still a selfish man, and I wanted to have her as many times as possible before the sun rose. Her heat was just a clear-cut reason that didn't make me have to examine why she affected me so powerfully.

"You're welcome, Kiera."

***

After spending an entire night with Kiera in my bed, I should have been satisfied enough to let her slip my mind. But after taking Kit to school and returning home to see that she had left for work without saying goodbye, it seemed impossible to focus on anything else.

It didn't help that she'd left a note thanking me for the night together. It was so damn formal that it set my teeth on edge, and I wanted nothing more than to go into town and find her. I could have gone back to sleep—I didn't get enough rest, especially after the last few nights—but I knew there was no chance of that. Not with Kiera's scent still lingering on my sheets.

My wolf was restless, pacing through my mind, demanding that I go find our mate. My wolf had never been wrong about anything before, which made the fact that it was so insistent all the more irritating.

She was my mate, but my obsession was bordering on dangerous. No matter how much I wanted her, I couldn't afford to let her consume my every waking thought. Not with the pack and work to take care of, and not with the attack that had nearly taken me out. Someone was gunning for me, and if I let myself be distracted, they would win.

I wasn't going to be able to shake the urge. I needed to see her, just to know that she was safe, and that things weren't irreparably changed between us.

I stopped at Kiera's old job, grabbing two coffees to have an excuse to see her, and I'd almost made it to Emerald Blooms when a familiar figure waved me down from the other side of the sidewalk.

"Samson," Scott called, jogging over, "Didn't think I'd run into you here."

"Scott," I said, bristling. With so few possible identities for the attackers from the other night, Scott had risen pretty far on my list. I couldn't pinpoint what exactly he would get out of such an attack, but he'd shown interest in Kiera when she worked for him. "What are you doing here?"

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Just taking a stroll. What about you?"

"Bringing coffee to my mate," I said, trying not to snap at him. It was harder than I expected. Even though I couldn't tell what he wanted, the fact that he was standing between me and Kiera was setting off every protective instinct I had. "Why in the hell am I finding you here in my territory again?"

Scott didn't rise to the bait. "Come on, Sam. Because of the coffee shop. We've been over this."

"You're not at the coffee shop now, asshole," I pointed out, wishing like hell my hands weren't full of cardboard cups. "In fact, you're a hell of a lot closer to where Kiera is working now than you are to Crescent Moon."

He cocked his head. "Don't tell me you're still stuck on the idea that I'm sniffing around your mate."

"I don't need to tell you anything," I snapped. "I'm telling you now to get off my territory before I make you."

"Up until right now, I was under the impression I had free travel privileges here from you and Joe. Hell, Samson, my territory is just a few miles away. You can't be serious about this."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" I growled. I was about to throw the coffees to the pavement and show Scott just how serious I was, but before I made the decision, I heard the shop door of Emerald Blooms open and a gust of magic-tinted wind push Scott and me both a few feet away from one another.

My eyes darted to Kiera, who was standing in the doorway of her shop with a murderous expression on her face. "You're upsetting my customers."

I blinked, my rage evaporating at the sight of her. She looked gorgeous, even dressed in a ridiculous apron with dirt all over her hands.

"I wasn't harassing anyone," I said defensively. "Scott and I were just having a conversation."

Scott snorted. "A conversation about your territory."

Kiera's gaze landed on Scott and narrowed. "There are way better places for a talk like that. Scott, please go. Samson, come in."

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