“But I… I don’t really remember last night,” she said. She was shifting the blankets nearest her on the bed and I could scent her agitation.
“Please don’t stress, gorgeous. We can leave you alone if you would prefer that,” Ben said, clearly having picked up on her anxiety as well.
Josie’s head snapped up from where she was diligently rearranging the blankets. “You want to leave?” she asked, her voice containing the edge of a whine, tears gathering in her eyes.
Fuck! Fix this!
“No!” Ben and I growled, causing Josie to shrink back and burst into loud tears.
“Go get Cam,” I quietly growled at Ben so Josie wouldn’t hear. For a moment, Ben looked like he was going to argue, but when Josie’s sobs got louder, he quickly ran out of the room.
“Josie, love, please don’t cry,” I said softly. “We’re not going to leave if you don’t want us to.”
Josie didn’t respond. She was buried by blankets, whimpering quietly. I had no fucking clue what to do, but I couldn’t leave her alone. Desperately hoping I wasn’t making things worse, I crawled to the center of the bed and peeled back the blankets until her face was visible. Her eyes were screwed shut and tears leaked down her cheeks.
I took a deep breath to calm myself down before gently wrapping my arms around her. I ran my hands up and down her back, trying to soothe her. Her sobs quieted down and she curled closer to me, rubbing her face against my neck and breathing me in. I didn’t know if it was intentional, if she even knew what she was doing, but my mate had just scent-marked me for the first time. Joy and possessiveness welled up inside me, and I pressed my face to her hair.She’s mine and I’m never letting her go.
“I’m sorry I’m such a mess,” she said, trying to pull away.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I said, tucking her head under my chin. Her scent was still intoxicating, even with its bitter edge. “I’ve got you, and I’m not letting you go.”
Josie’s breath hitched as she relaxed into my hold. “Is Cam mad at me?”
“Of course not, love.”
“But he’s not here, and I was rude when he was just trying to help me.”
“It’s not rude to let us know what you need or to tell us to back off when you need us to. We want you to express yourself. Cam feels bad because he thinks he hurt you, but that’s his problem. You did nothing wrong.”
I gently gripped her chin and pulled away just enough so I could lift her face and look into those beautiful green eyes.
“But it’s my fault,” she said, her eyes filling again with tears.
“It’s not your fault. You have to be honest with us.”
Josie’s brows furrowed in confusion, as if she couldn’t quite believe what I was saying. I forced myself to wait in the silence, keeping my breathing steady. And then she gave me the tiniest of nods.
A smile teased at the edges of my mouth. “Now that you’ve agreed to be honest, what do you think of your nest?” I asked.
“Well, it’s very sweet that you made it for me,” she said diplomatically.
“You being honest with me?” I growled.
She giggled, and it was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. I felt myself breaking out in a broader smile than I could remember.
“Okay, so it’s… not good.”
I laughed. “Tell me how to fix it, sweetheart. Dr. Walker said you need to get lots of rest and stay comfortable for the next few days, so we need to fix this…”
“Disaster,” Josie supplied, to my delight.
“Don’t let Ben hear you say that, love,” I said with a wink.
“We better fix it quickly then,” she said, pulling away from me. I reluctantly let her go, helping her into a seated position before sliding off the bed. Josie’s gaze snapped to mine, and to my horror, she was tearing up again.
“Angel, what’s wrong?” I asked, trying and failing to keep the edge of panic out of my voice.
“You said you wouldn’t leave,” Josie cried, her lower lip trembling.
