Page 41 of Shattered

Mackenzie scrubbed his stubbled chin. Damn it, he hadn’t even shaved. “I guess I get really tired. I feel like I haven’t slept in weeks. I usually pass out—naked and the next thing I know, I’m waking up to my alarm.”

“Are you tired when you wake up? Do you know you’re falling asleep?”

“No and no,” he said. “It’s not every night, either. But, it only happens at night.” He left out the parts about waking up covered in his cum or the fact sometimes he smelled like trash or worse, like night blooming jasmine and honeysuckle.

“I think I know what it is,” she said. “I need you to hear me out before you say anything.”

“Sure,” he said. “What could it hurt?”

“That’s the spirit.” She sat forward, folding her hands on the desk. “I think you’re experiencing what we’d deem, if you were human, DID—Dissociative Identity Disorder. I think your wolf spent so many years protecting you because of your fragile condition, you’ve become two beings within the same body—your wolf and you the human. When your wolf wants out, he takes over, shifts and does whatever your wolf does.”

Mackenzie stared at her. “DID? You think I’ve got a mental illness?” He laughed. “Feral sounds a hell of a lot better than some kind of split-personality shit.”

She pursed her lips. “Mackenzie Raferty, you’re not feral!”

“Sure, Dani,” he replied.

“Are you saying you doubt me?”

“No, I’m saying, you love all of us and admitting I need to be put down rips your heart open. You want so badly for me to have this...this DID, so you don’t have to face reality.”

Danielle stood, slamming her hands on the desk. “You listen to me, Mackenzie Raferty! You arenotferal. You’re a fucking mate!” She gnashed her teeth at him. “I have tried to be easy about this. I have tried to give you time to figure it out and to put yourself back together. You and I know I’m telling you the truth, and so does Kalkin. Now, I don’t understand fully what’s going on in your head, but all of this...this crap is because you won’t recognize him or her.”

Mackenzie reared back. “Horseshit.” Aurora had someone. He saw the mark.

“Your wolf, I have a feeling, is going to your mate when you’re losing time, and you’re feeling too goddamn sorry for yourself to see it!” she snarled.

“I don’t have a damn mate, Dani!” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I’d think I’d know if I had one.”

“Like you pretended to have with Holly?” She crossed her arms. “Who were you trying to protect, Mac? Hayden or yourself?”

He stood abruptly. “I have stuff to get done. If you don’t need me here, after all, I’ll be going.”

Danielle sighed. “Mackenzie Raferty, you’re a stubborn asshole. You’re worse than Kalkin and Caden put together.”

“I’ll take the compliment.” He started for the door.

“I did need you, though,” she said. “We’re having an issue with the water heater. It warms up a little but not all the way.”

He took a deep, cleansing breath and let it out slowly. “Sounds like the thermostat isn’t regulating the temperature. I’ll grab my gear and take a look.”

She placed her hand on his arm. “Thank you. Listen, I know I can be a shit when it comes to protecting our family. You should be happy, too. You’ve been through too much shit over the years. It’s time to start enjoying it again.”

He frowned. “Dani, I hate to break it to you, but I don’t get a happily ever after. I screwed that up the day I walked away with Marjorie.”

He finished working on the water heater at the same time his phone rang. Shit, in the last few weeks, he’d become popular. He pulled his phone out of his pocket after he placed his toolbox back in the bed of his truck. The District Attorney, Charles Frank’s office number was on the screen.

“Well, hello, DA Franks,” he said, answering the phone.

“Mr. Raferty,” the DA replied. “Can you come by my office for a moment? I have some information I need to go over with you before you start testifying tomorrow.”

He glanced down at his watch. He still had a couple of hours before he had to meet Abby at school. “Sure. Make it quick, though. I have to pick up the kids from school.”

“Not a problem Mr. Raferty.”

He hung up with Franks then got into his truck. He supposed talking it through with the DA before he could say stupid shit on the stand made sense. He pulled away from the orphanage and headed for the courthouse on the other side of town. Though he’d been worried about the case, he hadn’t given himself a chance to even contemplate much about what would be said. Sure, he understood they’d tear into his past, which parts on the other hand, he didn’t know. He also realized Holly’s attorney would try to pull him apart.

When he arrived at the courthouse, he was surprised to see Royce, Kalkin, Hayden and Nico, minus—Emmeline. He didn’t know what to think. Sure, all of them would be testifying, maybe Franks wanted to get it over with, with one go. He raised his hand in greeting as he joined the rest of his family.

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