I glanced up and met Sinclair's amused gaze. "Yeah."
The hyena shifter chuckled. "It happens that way sometimes."
"Yeah," I whispered again.
As freaked out as I was that this was actually happening, just because my mate was coming here didn't mean he accepted me, and I knew that. He could just be trying to find a safe place to hide out for a little while, which I would offer him whether he accepted me or not.
"Why don't you go up and clean out the room next to yours?" Sinclair suggested. "We can get some construction people in here once your new family has a chance to settle down."
My new family?
Is that what I was looking at? A family? I'd never had one. I didn't even know who my parents were. I was raised in a council orphanage from a very early age. I'd escaped as soon as I could and lived on my own until I came here to be an assassin.
What did I know about having a family?
Maybe this was a bad idea.
"Snap out of it!"
"What?"
Sinclair's eyes rolled. "Snap out of it. I can see the wheels turning in your head. Knock it off. You have a duty to your mate. You need to deal with it. If for some reason he still can't accept your claim, you'll deal with that, too, but that does not negate your duty to him."
My head snapped back. "Yes, you're right." No matter what happened with Joseph, I still had a duty to ensure he was safe and well cared for. It's what you did for your mate. "I'll go see about setting things up for them in the suite next to mine."
While I needed to go check out the suite, I also needed some time to myself to think about the way my life just gone nuclear.
I walked down the hallway then hurried to the second floor. I slowed when I reached the suite next to mine. All of the suites in the mansion were very nice and spacious. No expense had been spared when decorating them.
Over time, we had all put our personal touches on our own suites. Mine had a large fireplace, both inside and outside on my private balcony. The perfect place to curl up and read no matter what the weather.
I opened the door and stepped inside the suite. It had the same setup as my suite. A small living room, dining area, kitchenette, bathroom, and two bedrooms. I'd turned one of my bedrooms into an office library and expanded my bathroom.
I started walking around the spacious set of rooms, imagining what could be done to make them livable for three people and a cat. There was a lot we could do with the space. I just wasn't sure what.
The suite was sparsely furnished. There was a couch in the living room area, a TV on the wall, and beds in the bedrooms. That was about it. Hopefully, it would be enough for now. We could get whatever else we needed after we decided what to do with the place.
I stepped out of the suite and closed the door behind me before going to hunt down someone to make sure the beds were freshly made and there were some kid-friendly drinks and snacks put in the kitchenette.
It wasn't much, but it was a start. I wanted Joseph to know he and his son were both welcome. Hell, they were more than welcome. I wanted them here more than I wanted my next breath.
After arranging to have the suite cleaned and stocked, I stopped off at the kitchen and asked Henry to cook something up that would appeal to both Joseph and Tommy. I did mention to Henry that in all the time I'd been stalking my mate, I'd never seen him eat meat so he might want to consider vegetarian foods.
After that, Bob helped me order some things online, arranging to have them shipped overnight.
Then all that was left was the pacing.
The anxiety and worry.
Just because we were mates didn't mean Joseph would accept me. He'd rejected my claim once before. Nothing said he wouldn't do it again.
I rubbed the ache in my chest as I stopped to glance out the window then began pacing again. I wasn't sure I could take it if my mate rejected me a second time. Granted, I understood why he'd done it the first time. Cubs had to come first.
That didn't make it hurt any less.
What I didn't understand was why Joseph didn't come looking for me the second the man was single again. He should have, unless he really didn't want to be mated to me. Considering he'd been mated to a woman, there was also a possibility that Joseph wasn't into men at all and that was why he'd stayed away.
I just didn't know.
