Page 35 of Blinded
"Thanks, and again, I'm sorry. I know you two were tight. He talked about you all the time," Jared told me.
"Thanks." I didn't know what else to say. "I'll be around. I decided to move here, so I'll keep in touch."
"That's great. Glad you're staying. If you need a job, we're always hiring." Jared laughed.
"Thanks, but I'm not sure how my eyes will heal. Until then, I'm just laying low." I reached for Bayne's hand.
"You sure we can't pay for this?" Bayne asked.
"Nope, you're good. It's a thank you for trying to get Mary to open up," Jared said. "Enjoy your breakfast."
"Thanks." I was relieved when Bayne turned us away from the counter and led us to a booth to sit down.
"Anything?" Bayne asked as he seemed to be moving the food around in front of me.
"No, nothing at all." I sighed. "I was hoping it would be this easy, but I should have known better."
"Where else did you two go around town?"
"He took us to a bakery where Mary worked. It was on the main road, I think. Then had to stop by the store for his mom, but I think we went there last night. Um, we stopped by some gaming store to pick up a new game he wanted to try. I don't remember where that was. Then we went to the bar and a few of his friends' houses over the next few hours."
"Okay, I know the bakery and the gaming store. We can go pick up a new game or something for the pack house. Those guys are always playing something or other. Then later we can hit the bakery. I'll give Kurt a call and we can hit the bar later tonight."
"That's a lot of time for us to stay dressed." I lowered my voice as I grinned.
"Damn right it is, but think how good it will be when we finally get back home." Bayne's hand covered mine. "Sandwich is in front of you, hash brown to the left, and coffee to the right."
"Thanks." I gave his hand a squeeze before reaching for my food.
"So, was the relationship with Mary that serious?" Bayne asked.
"I didn't think so, but I only got Bridger's side of things. He didn't do serious very often. It was all about the sex to him. I mean he treated his partners good enough. Was loyal and never cheated, but he wasn't someone to let his heart get involved. He liked the company, and he loved the pleasure."
"Well, it sounds like it was more for Mary. Maybe that was the problem."
I took a sip of my coffee before answering. "It could be, but that wouldn't explain how she would know about wolves. I just can't see Bridger telling anyone. I don't see him losing control. I saw him work. He was in complete control."
A wave of jealousy shot through the link I shared with Bayne.
I smiled. "We shared submissives, we had sex in the same room, but the two of us were never together." I reached over, offering my hand to Bayne. When he took it, I gave it a squeeze. "Even if we had been, everything in my past failed to matter the moment I caught your scent and found my mate. You are the only one for me. Now and forever. There's no need for jealousy. My past is forgotten. It's only you now. Use our link and see for yourself. I belong to you completely."
Bayne sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't feel that way. It's just hard to think about you with others. I'm sure it's the same for you to think of me with anyone. I don't doubt us. I don't worry I'll ever lose you to someone, but I hate that any other person has ever touched what is mine."
"I love you." I sent a wave of love through our link.
"I love you, too." Bayne released my hand. "Okay, enough of that. I will learn to control this somehow. It's just so new, so raw."
"For both of us." I finished off my hash brown. "We'll get through it together. We're not the first to go through this."
"All of it together," Bayne told me.
"You ready?" I asked, hating I couldn't see if he was done.
"Yeah, we can take the coffee with us." Bayne stood.
I stood beside him, holding my coffee in one hand as I linked my arm through his. We had a busy day ahead, but hopefully, we'd figure out who was attacking wolves, or at least be one step closer to finding out. I looked forward to having this over with so Bayne and I could get on with our lives and put this all behind us.
