Chapter 16 - Connor
Dylan finds me at the edge of Fern’s property just after midnight.
“Thought I’d find you here.” He falls into step beside me as I pace the fence line. “You know we have other wolves who can run watch duty.”
“I know.”
“Wolves who actually slept last night.”
“I’m aware.”
Dylan sighs and shoves his hands into his jacket pockets. “You’re going to run yourself into the ground, Connor. You know that, right?”
I don’t answer. I’m too busy watching the tree line for movement and too focused on the steady rhythm of Fern’s heartbeat inside the cottage. She fell asleep about an hour ago. I’ve been counting her breaths ever since.
“How’s the mate bond treating you?” Dylan asks.
“Fine.”
“Liar.” He kicks a loose stone out of his path as we round the corner toward the back of the cottage. “I saw your face when you got that call from her. Thought you were going to tear someone’s throat out before you even made it to her cottage.”
“The thought crossed my mind.”
“Yeah, well, try to keep that under control.” Dylan stops walking and turns to face me. “Last thing we need is you going feral on some human because your wolf can’t handle the idea of someone threatening your mate.”
My mate. The words hit me somewhere deep in my chest and settle there with a weight I wasn’t expecting. Fern would hate hearing herself described that way. She’d probably throw something at my head if I said it out loud.
But that doesn’t make it less true.
“I’m not going feral.”
“Not yet.” Dylan gives me the look he always gives me when he thinks I’m being an idiot. “But you’re not sleeping. You’re barely eating. You’re spending every spare minute either watching her cottage or thinking about watching her cottage. That’s not sustainable, and you know it.”
“It’s temporary.”
“Is it?” He raises an eyebrow. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re settling in for the long haul. And I’m not sure your body can take much more of this before something gives.”
I don’t have a good answer for that, so I stay quiet.
Dylan shakes his head and lets out a long breath. “Look, I get it. The bond makes you want to protect her. That’s how it works. But she’s pack now, which means she’s got the whole town looking out for her. You don’t have to carry this weight by yourself.”
“I’m not carrying it by myself. I’m carrying it with you.” I gesture at the darkness around us. “Aren’t you supposed to be running the eastern border right now?”
“Thomas and James have it covered. I wanted to check on you first.” He cocks his head to the side and asks, “When’s the last time you actually talked to her? Had a real conversation that didn’t end with one of you storming off?”
I think about the way she looked at me in her cottage earlier. The pain in her voice when she said I’d already hurt her. The way she closed her eyes, as if she couldn’t bear to watch me leave.
“We’re working on it,” I reply vaguely.
“From what I hear, you two have been circling each other like wolves sizing up a fight. Lots of growling, not much actual communication.”
“Who told you that?”
“Luna. Who heard it from Ruby. Who apparently heard it from one of the nurses at the clinic.” Dylan grins at my expression. “Small town, remember? Word travels fast around here. Especially when it involves the most interesting couple Silvercreek has seen in years.”
“We’re not a couple.”
“You’re mated.”
