Chapter 41

I could hear muttered voices as we stepped inside. Kennedy darted out of my parents' living room, followed closely by my mom. Dad, Everett and Lisa - even Carter - poured through the door and into the hallway. This sea of relieved faces had both Riley and me pause.

"Thank God," my mom muttered, her shoulders slacking as she exhaled. Lisa squeezed her hand.

"Told ya they'll be alright." Kennedy grinned. "Well, eventually. You took it better than I thought, Riley," he added with a great deal of pride.

My mate - who had shied behind me from all the attention - gave him a nod.

"Riley will stay over tonight," I told my family. "He's sleeping in my room, so I'll be taking yours, Everett."

I didn't wait for my brother's okay - I knew he wouldn't be against me using his bed - and pulled Riley towards the staircase before he got overwhelmed with all the wolves in the house.

I opened the door to my bedroom and let him walk in first, before I went to rummage through my wardrobe until I found a short-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of slacks.

"Here." I handed him the clothes. "To sleep in. I can bring you a towel if you want to take a shower."

"I just want to fall on the bed and sleep," he admitted, taking what I'd offered from my hands.

"I understand." I leaned forward and kissed him on the top of his head. "I'll let you rest. Sweet dreams, Riley."

I walked out of my bedroom and into Everett's. My back hit the door as soon as I'd closed it and I let out a long sigh.

Riley is still with me.

That was all I could think of as my body slumped down, weighed by all of the soul-wrenching and heart-warming experiences of the night.

Riley is still with me.

My dry lower lip split as I grinned the largest, most gigantic grin of all.

He is with me, my mate is with me...

I got up from the floor and took my phone out, sending 'Told Riley. He's sleeping over tonight. Talk to you tomorrow' to Keri, Kelly and Anthony. Three congratulations messages - all short; probably not to bother me and my mate - lit up my screen in reply.

I knew the word of Riley accepting me would spread quickly even though it was the middle of the night. I was sure that by tomorrow morning there wouldn't be a Bullet who wouldn't greet me with a triumphant smile, happy at the outcome.

It was only after I put the phone on the nightstand that I realized I'd forgotten to take clothes to sleep in. I rummaged through my brother's drawlers - blushing slightly when I came upon my sister-in-law's bra - until I found a pair of slacks very similar to the ones I'd given Riley that would fit me.

I quickly put them on and threw myself on the bed, lying on my stomach with my arms wrapped around my pillow, imagining that it was my mate.

Soon, I told myself. Very soon I'd be snuggling Riley. The worst is over... He knows who I am. He needs some time to adjust and then we can move in our house and I can hug him forever, and ever, and ever.

I shook my head at my sappy thoughts.

But it was so tempting, the idea of wrapping my arms around my mate and spending the whole day in bed.

A single, strong knock sounded from my left, interrupting my waking dreams. I got up, careening towards the door in my haste to open it.

Riley stood on the other side, his hands behind his back and his lower lip between his teeth.

"Hi," my mate greeted.

"Hey..." I trailed off, not sure what he was doing in the hallway. "I thought it was you but... Is something wrong, Riley?"

A fleeting, but horrified though crossed my mind - what if he couldn't take it and wanted to go home? - but he looked abashed more than anything else so I quickly dismissed it.

"I want you to come to your bedroom with me," he admitted. "I can't... I can't really think about what's happened. It's like my mind is blocking it out; I can't form a clear thought. And I miss you."

If I was a feline shifter, I'd purr. I didn't even know if they purred, but I would do so anyway, in delight.

My mate misses me.

My heart did a series of happy somersaults.

I smiled and gave him a nod as I stepped out of my brother's room.

"I missed you too," I whispered into his ear, then reached in front of him to open the door to my bedroom. Riley stepped beside me and several discoloured lines under his right elbow caught my eye.

I grabbed his wrist, making him halt.

"What is that?" My voice rose and his gaze followed mine. Once his eyes fell on his own marred skin, he gulped and pulled his arm out of my grip.

"Let's go inside and I'll tell you," he said and walked into the bedroom.

"Who did this to you?"

The door was barely closed behind our backs when I asked, my hands itching to punch the person responsible, to tear them with my claws until nothing but shreds of their skin was left behind.

I was shaking and my wolf was roaring inside me.

"Why don't we sit down?" Riley suggested and led by example, sitting on my bed with his legs crossed beneath him. I sat in front of him and he started, hurriedly, wishing to get it over with.

I listened in a haze, drowning in blinding rage as he told me about an ex by the name of Bobby - a name I would forever hate from this night on - who was sweet and nice and everything Riley had needed until one night sweet and nice Bobby had told my mate that he'd been messing with him, that he wasn't some pathetic fag, but even if he had been, he wouldn't have fallen for a dirty homeless boy. And then he'd burned Riley's arm.

Bobby had dared to burn my mate's arm.

The only thing that kept me from shifting and going for a mad run was my mate who cried in my arms as he recalled the torture Bobby and his friends had put him through.

I kept kissing Riley's hair, his face, his scars in attempt to ease his pain. I rocketed us back and forth to console him and calm myself dawn, but it was futile. He continued to cry and I still wanted to slash Bobby's throat and let him drown in his own blood.

I had never known a rage like that before.

I'd always known that I'd kill to protect the ones I loved, but never had I imagined my desire would be this powerful, this savage.

"What are you thinking about?" Riley asked when - at last - there were no more tears to cry.

"That I want nothing more than to slice his throat open with my claws, but that that isn't punishment enough for what he'd done to you," I admitted.

Riley turned to face me, pushing himself away from my torso.

"You cannot seriously be thinking about that!"

"Oh, I assure you, Riley, that is exactly what I'm thinking about."

"You are not going to do it thought, right?" His hands cupped my cheeks. "Bobby..."

My teeth screeched ominously as I grit them, so tight, they hurt. My fangs began to elongate, their points digging into the inside of my mouth. The wolf was preparing to emerge, to push away the remnants of my human rationality and indulge itself in animalistic rage.

Riley's thumbs moved back and forth over my cheeks and the wolf hesitated; he didn't want us to scare our mate. I could still feel him right beneath my skin, but he was still... For now, at least.

"He's in jail where he belongs." Riley went on, this time not mentioning the bastard's name. "And when the time comes for him to get out, I want you to stay away from him. For me. For us. I don't want you rotting in a cell because of something you did to him; he's not worth it."

The tremors in my muscles ceased completely, the wolf pulling back.

Our mate needs us.

Reason was coming back to me.

That son of a bitch is in jail... We can't get to him. And Riley needs our support. My human one and that of my wolf once Riley gets used to him.

"He's already ruined my past; don't let him ruin our future," my mate kept pleading. "And I do want a future with you, Rhys, more than anything else I've wanted in my life."

I closed my eyes and licked my lips, the same images of Riley and I spending the day in bed and in each other's arms flooding my mind.

"Even though," my voice was croaky, "even though I'm not human?"

"I know I should be worried about that, but I'm not," he said. "It could be shock, but I'm pretty sure it's..."

He took a deep breath and I opened my eyes to look at him. He was gazing up at me.

"I'm pretty sure it's because I love you."

My jaw went slack in shock, but my mouth curled up in a smile nevertheless at his confession. My eyes filled with tears of bliss and I sniffed before - a couple of minutes later - I managed to find my voice.

"We recognize our mate from the instant we lay our eyes on them," I told him. "I knew I needed to be with you from the moment I first saw you, Riley Rivers; love came a little bit later when I got to know you."

*****

A/N: The boys got to say those three special words; are you happy about that?

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If you want more details on what happened between Bobby and Riley, check out Ch. 21 of You are the Answer. It takes place before the boys have the werewolf talk so no spoilers of what's to come for those of you who haven't read YATA.

Have a great time wattpadding, kittens! ❤