No, this was a peaceful, dreamless black that left me feeling well-rested and reenergized when I woke up the next morning with a huge stretch and yawn…
…to find myself alone in an enormous bed that could easily sleep four people. It was covered in what looked like a traditional starquilt. But instead of the usual eight points, this one had only four, and each tip was marked by a geometric black bear in silhouette against mustard-colored fabric.
The quilt and everything else in the room looked handcrafted—the rough dresser, the simple desk, even the giant bed’s frame.
Boone was nowhere to be found, but the bedroom door stood wide open.
I remembered waking up in my apartment the day after Boone's arrival and finding a similar open door. At least I wasn't naked this time.
I was still wearing Boone's shirt, and the orange coat I'd grabbed from my apartment before we left hung on the back of a wooden chair.
The gift from Noelle…
My chest filled with guilt and regret, remembering how I'd chickened out on seeing her and Holly the night before. Then clenched with panic at the thought of doing anything to remedy that this morning.
What is wrong with me?I asked myself for what felt like the thousandth time since Boone crashed into my life.
"When… Vik and me… bites… not… being able… need… coverage."
Boone's voice drifted in from somewhere beyond the open door. Muffled to the point I could only hear every other word. Was he talking to those two guys from last night?
I slid out of bed and followed my curiosity into a short hallway, at the end of which stood a set of stairs.
"Other than food, you did everything right, Walker." Zion's resonant baritone came from somewhere I couldn't see around the corner, clear as a bell now that I was in the hallway. "Considering the unfortunate circumstances under which you found her, we are nothing but incredibly grateful you managed to ferry our mate here to Bear Mountain."
I froze. Again wondering just how much Boone had told them about me—wait.
The rest of Zion’s statement finally caught up to my brain.
Our mate?
12/
mate?
BELL
“You know, I’m just trying not to fuck this up.” Boone’s low, gruff voice brought me back to the conversation I was eavesdropping on from behind the stairs. “That piece of human shit put her through enough. But what if I’m making it worse?”
As confused as I was, a warm feeling stirred in my chest. Boone sounded so uncharacteristically uncertain.
“You haven’t made anything worse,” Zion assured him.
Then another much quieter voice added, “You brought… her home … to us.”
Home? To us?
Was that Ravik talking? I crept forward, wanting to overhear more of their conversation before I made my presence known.
“Both Ravik and I believe we need some manner of plan going forward,” Zion started to say as I edged closer. “However, first things first, you and he should address this maul bite business before she?—”
Zion broke off with an audible sniff. “She’s arisen.”
Hurried footsteps, and then the three males rounded the corner like they were in a race. But Boone got there first, filling up the narrow hallway, nearly wall to wall with his muscular bulk.
“Hey there.” His face lit up with a welcoming smile. “You okay? Hungry? Vik made breakfast. Way better than my oatmeal.”
Zion squeezed his long, lean frame in beside Boone. “Yes, Ravik and I were rather chagrined to hear you were subjected to nothing but chili and oatmeal for days on end in Minneapolis.”
