Page 34 of My Unbearable Mate

Clover rubbed her temples and squeezed her eyes closed. “I think she spelled me.”

I growled, not giving a damn if I offended any nearby human sensibilities. It was about time I reminded people that I was not a creature to be messed with, especially after that old witch had just spelled my mate in the middle of a busy bakery.

“What did she do, and how do you feel?”

“It was when she touched me. I wanted to pull my hand away, but I couldn’t. And it felt gross, like I was rejecting my Nana. But that’s what’s different, Bellamy. I’m sitting here looking at you when you’ve been nothing but amazing to me, and now it’s pissing me off.”

Fuck. I’d fallen for it again. This woman was absolutely maddening at every turn.

I raised a brow. “You’re pissed I’ve been helping you? Because if that’s the case, I don’t have to.”

“That’s exactly it.” She slammed her hand on the table and then looked down at it and frowned. “But I didn’t feel like that until right now. Things have been weirdly good between us. I want your help. More than that, I need it. Which is more than I expected, or I deserve. The curse, wait, did I just call it a curse?”

“You did, and that might be entirely accurate.”

She shook her head and sighed. “I’m aware of it. Like there’s an angel on my shoulder and a devil. More accurately, two bears. One of them is telling me that you might be behind the locket’s disappearance. And the other is telling me that everything I know about my life so far is a complete fucking lie.” She swallowed hard and met my gaze. “Including rejecting you.”

I nodded. Her panic was as tangible as the box of fancy cupcakes sitting in front of us. But that wasn’t why I could sympathize with it. I was pretty sure we’d all been lied to.

She just said that she didn’t mean to reject you, my bear said, like I’d missed the most important part.

I certainly had not, but there was no way I could claim her until we uncovered the truth about our clan.

I leaned forward and took her hands in mine. They were trembling. Not like Clover at all. “What are you gonna do about it?”

Chapter

Sixteen

I’d Keep Telling Myself That Until I Believed It

Clover

Bellamy’s smoldering gaze made my mouth water. I was almost ready to tell him anything he wanted to hear, but that would be as cruel as rejecting him. Whatever happened next would definitely be messy, but it had to be real.

“I want to find the truth.” My voice barely had volume.

“Me too.” He nodded and fastened the lid of the cupcake box. There was something final and declarative about it, and yet so damn sexy that this big beast of a man cared about my cupcakes. “Are you ready to head to Choppers by Lowe?”

“Yeah. Motorcycles and wolves might be just the thing to clear my head.” My heart was still pounding. “What if we run into Nana again?”

“You handled yourself like a badass. I’m having a hard time with this too, so I can’t imagine how you’re feeling. Just remember why you’re doing this.” Bellamy stood and carefully placed the cupcake boxes into their paper shopping bag. “I’m proud of you, Clover.”

“Thank you.” I swallowed hard to make sure no emotion came to the surface. That too would be messy, and I had to keep my head on straight. Nana shouldn’t feel like an enemy. She’d practically raised me. We’d worked together to call my magic.

What if she was working to suppress it? My bear asked a question that made a chill go down my spine.

Bellamy held the door open for me, and I followed him, shell-shocked as we headed down Main Street toward Choppers by Lowe. I’d expected him to reach for my hand, and I hated to admit I was disappointed he didn’t. Clover Crowley certainly didn’t need a man, but it would’ve been nice to have someone to hold on to.

As we walked past the cute shops and restaurants, I wondered what life would be like as Bellamy Laredo’s mate. If he’d always pay this much attention to me if he knew I belonged to him.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked.

“About five years,” he said. “It’s a great place to live. The local wolf packs are making big strides, and there’s a lot of fun things to do. Still, I considered leaving, because we only had a satellite office here. Wasn’t much need for security teams in Sawtooth Forest. The shifters handled their own shit. But with the Werewives in town, and now all these cases coming in, looks like I’ll be staying put.”

“Are the cases local, or would you have to travel?” I asked. I cursed the stupid pang I felt at the thought of him going away. We weren’t a couple, I reminded myself, and I liked it that way. I was a client. Nothing more, nothing less, no matter how hot those kisses or that sex on the kitchen island had been.

“It’s a bigger scope than we’ve taken on before, but there would probably be some travel. Barrett and I would like to have all the new guys trained so we could trust any one of them to lead a case.”

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