He smiled faintly. “That’s what mates do, right?”
The word hit me square in the chest.Mates. Hearing it from him filled me with a warmth I couldn’t put into words. I didn’t even care that Cooper was probably pacing his office by now.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “That’s exactly what mates do.”
Inside, Cooper was sitting behind his desk, paperwork stacked neatly beside him. To my surprise, he didn’t look angry.
“Sit,” Cooper said, motioning to the chair opposite him.
I obeyed, bracing for the lecture I knew was coming.
But instead, Cooper leaned back and said, “You handled the situation better than I expected.”
That threw me. “You’re not mad?”
“I’m not thrilled there was another fight involving you,” he admitted. “But you did what you had to do, and you did it without anyone getting seriously hurt. Griffin filled me in.”
I exhaled slowly. “I didn’t want to fight him. He shifted first,” I told him.
“I know,” Cooper said. “And you kept your control. That’s what matters.”
It took a second for his words to sink in. Praise from Cooper was rare.
“What’ll happen to Theo?” I asked.
Cooper’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’ll let him and his band perform at the New Year’s event. After that, he’s banned from Pecan Pines. This pack doesn’t need his kind of trouble.”
I nodded. “That’s fair.”
Cooper gave me a look that was almost fond. “Go home, Mark. You’ve had a long night.”
I stood, still a little stunned at how painless that had been, and left his office.
Zack was waiting in the hallway, sitting on one of the benches with his elbows on his knees. He jumped up the moment he saw me.
“Well?” Zack asked. “I didn’t hear any shouting, so I’m guessing that’s good?”
I laughed. “Better than good. Cooper didn’t chew my ass off. Said I did well.”
“See? Told you you’d be fine,” Zack said, relief flickering across his face.
I smiled. “You wanna stay over at my place tonight? It’s late, and I could use the company.”
Zack hesitated only a second before nodding. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
The drive to my family’s cabin was quiet and comfortable.
The woods outside blurred past, moonlight silvering the branches. When we arrived, the house was dark except for the porch light I’d left on earlier.
“Try not to wake anyone,” I whispered as we stepped inside.
Zack grinned. “You saying we’re sneaking in?”
“Exactly.”
We tiptoed through the hall, muffling our laughter until we reached my room.
I shut the door behind us and finally let out a long breath. The tension of the night started to slip away, replaced by something softer.
