Page 70 of The Wolf's Kidnapped Mate

And I believed him. Dear goddess, I really did believe him.

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An hour after Fred dropped me off at home, I went right back out the door with my half-drunk boba in my hand and a cardigan over my shoulders. I knew Liam was spending the night in the hospital. Thankfully, his injuries weren’t bad anymore, but the nurses still wanted to keep an eye on him.

He didn’t complain too much. Especially when I appeared in the doorway and held up a mochi waffle from town. Knowing my brother, he’d been dying for something way tastier than the sludge pudding and protein bars he’d been snacking on since he got here.

In minutes, the waffle was gone. He licked the brown sugar off his fingers and collapsed into the bed with a loud groan. “That was the best present all day.”

“Better than the roses?” I touched their silky petals with an exaggerated pout. “Mom would be so mad to hear that.”

“They were her favorite.”

I stayed quiet as I tucked myself into the chair next to his bed. The cushion deflated slightly under me. Evergreen filled the air.

I tapped Liam’s wrist. “Fred came to visit, huh?”

“Yeah, he was here earlier.”

“Did you apologize to him?”

Liam frowned. “For what?”

“For the safe house—and the mission.”

He turned his wrist slowly so that my hand slid into his palm. Each of his fingers cautiously folded over mine. “Kylie, I’m sorry.”

I stared at our fingers. I didn’t want to look my brother in the eye right now. I hadn’t said a word to him since we got back. I hadn’t shed a tear or cursed his name. I didn’t want to start now. I didn’t want to think about it.

“I put you in danger. Plain and simple,” he explained. “I did you wrong.”

I squeezed his hand back. “You did me dirty.”

“Kylie, I’m sorry—hey, come here—I’m really sorry.”

He yanked me into his arms while I let the dam break. Maybe I just needed a really good cry. If I sat with my brother and cried hard enough, I could cry for our broken relationship and our dead parents. I could cry over how much the yellow roses reminded me of our mother.

I could cry about how he had almost died that night too.

He rubbed my back as I let it all out, soaking his hospital gown while his scratchy facial hair scraped the side of my neck, the same side that hosted a mate mark.

I sat back and wiped my nose. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You don’t have to worry about that much longer.”

“What do you mean?”

He gestured to the room. “I’m not going back to Canada.”

“What? You mean your mission is done?”

“No, well—” He shrugged. “Fuck the mission. I’m tired. I’m not in the same shape as I was back when we were grim dogs.”

I smiled weakly. “You and Fred were grim dogs. I’m made of rainbows.”

“Actually, you’re made of sunshine.”

I blushed.There’s my sunshine.

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