The door burst open and–oh fate! My entire body lit up, magnetized to the female who flew through it. Summer came rushing in.
“Nobody’s touching my mate!” she shouted and then saw me.
Her mate. She was claiming me. She still wanted me, even after what I’d done.
Before I knew what was happening, Summer’s arms flew around my waist, and she hugged me tight.
“Baby,” I said softly, setting my hand on her hair. It was a whispered prayer. A benediction. A sacred vow.
Summer was here. My wolf in me was soothed.
Fate, I’d nearly died without her. Or at least I’d wanted to. Now it felt like I’d suddenly woken up from a coma.
I was alive again. She was my reason to live and breathe. She was my sunshine. My music. My connection with other humans.
She turned to glare at Rob. “He’s safe,” she snarled, savagery in her voice. She even poked his chest once. “Nobody’s putting him down. He would never, ever hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.”
Rob’s lips quirked in a small smile. “You know, Summer, that’s what I was just telling him.”
“You were?” She adjusted her tone and dropped her arm. “Well, good. Thank you.” She lifted her face to me and frowned. “Boone, don’t ever run away like that again.”
My heart grew wings that started to flap.
I cradled her beautiful face in my hands. Her cheek was swollen and cut, which killed me. “I won’t,” I promised. “I’m sorry, baby. I…”
I realized Rob had stepped out to give us some privacy.
“I lost control,” I explained. “I scared you, and I’ll never forgive myself for–”
“No.” Summer shook her head. She spoke the word firmly enough to shut me up. “You weren’t out of control. You were perfectly safe with me. You did everything you needed to protect me and save me from Marty, and I absolutely love you for it.” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “So don’t you dare blame yourself for anything.”
Her fierceness wrung a small smile from me.
My beautiful mate showed up to fight for me. She faced down an alpha wolf. For me. She claimed me. She wasn’t afraid.
“But you ran when I still needed you,” she said. “And that hurt.”
I ran a hand through my messy hair. “Fuck, Summer. I’m so sorry. I just… I thought you’d be safer without me.”
She shook her head. “No. I need you, Boone. I don’t want to be without you. Not ever again.” Her eyes shone with tears. She poked me in the chest and screwed her face up to look stern. “You are my mate. So don’t run off ever again. That’s a rule.”
I let out a relieved chuckle. It seemed crazy that I could go from hating myself to floating six inches off the ground in the span of a few minutes, but I had. Rob didn’t hate me. Hell, he apologized to me and not the other way around.
Summer needed me. She didn’t want to be free of me. She wasn’t afraid of me. I thought I’d fucked up by killing her ex, but my actual fuck-up was leaving my mate. It suddenly felt crystal clear.
“I… I won’t leave you ever again. I promise.”
The door swung open, and Roy stomped in, followed by Ace.
“I hope you punched him in the teeth for running off,” he growled at Summer.
She drew up tall–all five foot three of her–and angled her body like she was going to protect me. “No, I didn’t. He’s suffered enough. And you guys need to work your past shit out right now,” she commanded.
My lips quirked some more. My mate was fierce when she wanted to be, and I fucking loved it.
She put her hands on her hips and told them everything I had yet to say to them. “Boone is racked with guilt over abandoning you two, but he also felt like it was the best thing to do to preserve family harmony. He thought he was too dangerous to stay and that he traumatized you by fighting your dad in front of you.”
I nearly dropped to the floor with the honor of being so well understood. Summer had just met me not two weeks ago, yet it felt like she really saw me. Like she knew me better than I even knew myself.
