Page 66 of Rejected Nanny Mate
I had suspected it, but hearing it out loud was different. We'd both been in such denial, and it wasn't until we were stuck in a life-or-death situation that we finally acknowledged that secret bond and discovered the truth.
But I'd known since the beginning that he was my mate, at least subconsciously. That's why I'd been so drawn to him, why he'd seemed so familiar to me, and why I'd been so desperate to be near him.
And why I felt so betrayed by his rejection.
“We can't ignore this,” I whispered, and he shook his head, his expression solemn.
“I know.” He reached up to cup my cheek, and his palm felt hot against my skin. “I'm so sorry, Gwen. For everything. For rejecting you. For being an asshole. For pushing you away when all I wanted to do was hold you close. I just...I was weak. But I'm not weak anymore.”
I was so tired, and my head hurt so terribly. “Joe...”
He gathered me in his arms, kissing the unhurt side of my forehead gently. “Not tonight. Let's shower and go to bed. You're sleeping next to me tonight. No complaints.”
“I wasn't going to complain,” I laughed softly. “Just don't hog the blankets, okay?”
“No promises, Omega.”
***
Incredibly, things settled back into a rhythm way faster than I would have expected.
With Mia gone, I fell back into nannying Rose almost full-time. At first, I'd been terrified she would somehow know what happened to her mother, or miss her, but amazingly, she seemed totally unbothered. I remembered thinking that Mia had been spending more and more time ignoring her daughter, but I tried not to think ill of the dead. Even if they had tried to kill me.
Her mother's identity would be something she'd grapple with when she was much older. For the moment, though, I was content to be there for Rose anytime she needed me. I loved her, and she loved me.
The day after the fight, Joe called an emergency pack meeting and told them all that he'd chosen me as his mate. While that was unexpected, it didn't come as a total shock to anyone. I'd heard people talking in the street about how I'd saved the pack, and how brave I'd been, and how they couldn't believe it. It was a miracle that the whole town hadn't already known about our bond by then.
I think they would have been happier if we'd had a mating ceremony right then and there, but Joe refused. He wanted to give me time to heal from everything, and he said that the rest of the pack should heal, too. We'd been through a lot.
It was easy to be with Joe, and we behaved like a couple, but there was an odd sort of distance between us that I just couldn't place. I started to wonder if maybe he needed some time to figure things out, and I resigned myself to moving back to my old apartment for a little while until we were both sure we wanted to be mated in the eyes of the pack.
I approached him after he'd put Rose to bed one night, and I told him that I thought it would be best if I went back to my apartment for a little while. “You need time to heal and adjust, and so do I,” I explained, breaking my own heart in the process. “It's a lot to take on after everything that's happened.”
Joe looked at me, surprised, and shook his head. “No way. You're not going anywhere.”
I bristled immediately. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.” His tone was calm and even, but I felt a flash of frustration that I knew was coming from him through our bond. “I said I would never reject you again, and I meant it. I don't want you to go, Gwen.”
I blinked a few times. I'd accepted we were mates, but I was so sure he'd need some time to come to terms with thefact that his mate was a low-level Omega from another pack. “If you're worried about Rose, I'll still be her nanny—”
“I don't want you to be a damned nanny,” he said finally, grabbing both my hands in his. “And I don't want to take things slow, or have some fucking space, Gwen. We've been through hell, and the last thing I want to do is see you moving out. Be more than Rose's nanny. Be my mate, and not just in name. Be mine.”
I stared at him, hardly able to believe what he was saying. He wanted me to be his mate, not just in the eyes of the pack, but in every way? It felt like a dream come true.
“Are you sure?” I whispered, afraid to trust that this was real. “I'm not exactly...”
I trailed off, but Joe understood. He always seemed to understand me. “Gwen, you're my mate. Of course, I want you to be mine. I want you to be my wife and her mother, in time.”
“You're all I've ever wanted,” I told him, and he wrapped me in his arms, pressing his forehead against mine. “I'm so sorry we lost so much time. I know I was stubborn, and I pushed you away so many times. But I love you, Joe.”
His lips brushed against mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close. I could feel the heat of his body, and my wolf came to the surface, wanting to feel the heat of his skin against mine. “I love you too,” he murmured against my lips. “And I promise you that I'm going to spend every day of the rest of my life proving it to you.”
I believed him.
Epilogue - Joe
It was just another Tuesday night. I wasn't sure what made it feel so different for me, but there was a sparking, electric energy in the air that told me change was about to happen.
