Page 12 of Blinded
"Corta, come in. Thanks for bringing food." Bayne's voice softened as he talked to whoever Corta was. It was clear he respected her from the tone of his voice.
I inhaled, catching the scent of a female wolf.
"Happy to do it, Bayne. It gives me a chance to meet your mate." The woman sounded older.
I made sure my eyes were closed as I turned to face her.
"Brett, I'd like you to meet Corta. She's like a mother to me. She keeps the pack house running. If you ever need anything, she's the one to talk to." Bayne's hand pressed to my back.
"Nice to meet you." I offered my hand, hoping I was directing it in the right direction.
A soft hand touched mine, but instead of shaking it, she pulled me close and wrapped her arms around me. I braced myself as something about her stirred my emotions. I clung to her, unsure why, but feeling as if it was my own mother's arms around me.
"It will be okay. My boys will take care of this. You're stronger than you think. You'll get through this," she whispered in my ear. "Bayne is the best man I know. You couldn't find a better mate. I'm so happy for both of you." She kissed my cheek before pulling back. "Now, you are too thin, and you've spent a lot of energy healing. I want you both to sit down and eat. There's plenty more in the kitchen if you want it. Just let me know."
I smiled, instantly falling in love with the woman. I hardly knew her, but she just sent out an energy, a scent, a feeling of instant trust and protection. I could see why Bayne saw her as a mother figure. "Thank you." I kept my eyes closed, hating that I couldn't see her.
"I look forward to getting to visit with you later." She sounded as if she was moving farther away.
I heard the door click shut, then Bayne was at my side again. The more time I spent with him, the more I became aware of him, not just in a physical sense, but an emotional one. I was starting to feel his emotions through the link forming between us. He was nervous, almost scared of me, and I wasn't sure why. It made me question if he really was happy about us being mates.
"Let's eat, then I can wrap your eyes, and then we'll talk to Kurt and Cohen about what's going on." Bayne gently led me to the table. Once I sat down, he stayed by my side. "How can I help you?"
I shrugged. "I don't know how to do any of this. I guess tell me what's on the plate first. I can smell ham, and I think maple syrup."
"Think of the plate as a clock. You have ham at nine, eggs at two, fried potatoes at five, and on a small plate at the top left corner are pancakes. There is coffee at twelve and butter and syrup are in the middle of the table. I can help you with that if you need." Bayne's hand rested on my shoulder. "I don't want to offend you offering to help more than you need me to, so if you want help, please tell me."
I sighed. "I feel like I should hide so you won't have to watch me try and eat. This isn't going to be pretty."
"I plan on hunting with you, tearing a deer apart as we eat together. Pretty isn't something you need to worry about. Use your fingers if it's easier. I don't expect you to know how to do all this in one night. I'd be as lost as you probably are and demand raw meat until I could figure all this shit out."
I nodded. "Would you put butter and syrup on my pancakes for me? I think I can do the rest."
"Sure." Bayne quickly did what I asked. Once he was done, he kissed the top of my head. "I'm going to sit across from you, but don't hesitate to ask for more help if you need it. We're a team now, we will learn how to get this done together, okay?"
"Yeah, it's just so unfair that you have to put up with this. It's not what you deserve. You deserve a mate who is whole." I reached out and grabbed the ham, using my fingers to tear it in pieces before taking a bite of it.
"Have you ever known of mates to be wrongly matched? I don't know what it's like in your pack, or how many mated couples you know, but every single pair I've met are perfectly matched. They belong together. This isn't something that Fate gets wrong. We are meant to be. I have no worries."
I focused on the food, thinking about what he'd said. We didn't have a lot of mated wolves in our pack, my parents and a few others, but when I'd gone to college, the pack there had several, and Bayne was right, they were all perfectly matched. Still, there was so much I'd be unable to do now. I couldn't walk across the room and even find the door, let alone race through the forest in my wolf form and hunt. I sighed, imagining myself running into trees and tripping over logs.
"I get you're overwhelmed and scared. Anyone would be. Still, I know you have to feel the same thing I do. We are linked. I know we don't really know each other yet, but as we do, this link is only going to get stronger. It scares the hell out of me to feel so close to someone. I've never let myself get close to anyone really, and suddenly, here you are, and you'll feel everything I feel. We won't have any secrets between us. That's a lot to deal with, but I welcome it. I want it. I never knew how badly I wanted to find my mate until I walked through the door last night and caught your scent."
I reached out, seeking the cup of coffee. "I've dreamed of finding my mate for as long as I can remember. Even as a little pup I thought about how cool it would be to have someone I was that connected with. I always imagined catching my mate's scent and suddenly everything would just fall into place. We'd rush off to make it official, never questioning if it was right."
"Me too," Bayne said. "It can still be that way. I mean, we didn't jump right into bed to make it official, but we could. I want you. I want this."
I bowed my head, taking a deep breath. I wanted it too, but now, with my eyes gone, with my blindness, it was like forcing someone to be with me was torturing them. Even though Bayne said he wanted me, wanted this mating, I found it hard to believe.
"Tell me about yourself. What do you do? What's your life like? You mentioned school in San Diego. What did you study?" Bayne seemed to sense I didn't want to talk about the mating.
"I'm a teacher. The area we live in is smaller, and we didn't have a lot of wolves in the schools for the younger pack members. I decided teaching would be fun. I teach fourth grade. I also have a degree in American History. I guess I'll have to find a new career now that I can't see. There's no way I can teach now that I'm blind."
"You don't know that," Bayne told me. "What else? Tell me what you enjoy."
"I love to hunt, but what wolf doesn't? I also like fishing and just being outdoors as much as I can. I guess that all changes now too." I took another sip of coffee. It was easier to drink than try and figure out how to eat the food on the plate. "Both my parents are with my pack, and I have a younger sister. She's twenty-six."
"How old are you?" Bayne asked.
