"You're not having second thoughts about us, are you?" he asked out of the blue. My eyes shot to his.
"No, I'm not," I reassured him, giving his hand a squeeze. It was nice to see him unsure of where he stood with me, especially from a player who was always so confident.
I liked the effect I had on him and it made me smile.
"I'm ready to mate," I blurted out. I'd never dated and I didn't have any experience about what was acceptable or not.
My statement had taken him by surprise.
"Are you sure?" he asked after he'd managed to recover a few moments later.
"Yes," I assured him. No one was forcing me into this. I wanted it and so did he.
It would enable me to shift into my wolf and make me stronger, but it was more than that. I wanted to make this thing between us work despite all the lies that had marred it, and I needed to be able to protect myself.
Twice I'd gone up against Richard and both times I'd nearly died. There would be a third time and I needed to make sure I was strong enough to kill him.
Blake's eyes brightened while he watched me and I felt a little self-conscious at the way he was looking at me. It was like he could see deeper inside me.
At that moment Curtis walked into the room and interrupted the moment I was having with Blake. He'd come to check me over before he discharged me.
"You can leave," he told me. "But just take it easy for the next day."
I gave him a nod to tell him I would follow his instructions.
"You keep an eye on her," he instructed Blake who was still in the room.
"I will," he assured Curtis.
Before I left I went to visit my mom. The bouts of coughing were getting worse and worse. It was hard to see the person you loved dying bit by bit and not being able to do anything for them. I wanted to be able to take the pain she was enduring and make it my own so she wouldn't have to suffer, but life didn't work like that.
Blake stood beside the door and watched while I talked to my mom.
"I love you, Mom," I whispered to her as she gave me a weak smile.
"I love you too, baby," she whispered hoarsely back. Her eyes moved to Blake briefly before they settled back on me.
"I want you to be happy, baby," she said. "I want you to find your mate and I want to know that you will be cared for."
I hadn't planned on telling her about Blake before but things were different between us and we were going to try to be the mates we were meant to be. Another thing that made me want to tell her was that she would be able to die knowing that I'd found my mate.
"I've found him," I whispered to her, giving Blake a side-glance.
My mom's eyes went to Blake and then they settled back on me.
"I'm so happy for you," she said, tears glistening in her eyes, true happiness shining in her pained features.
"Me too," I replied, feeling emotional at her response to my news.
"I'm trusting you to love and care for her," my mother told Blake. He walked over to me, stopping beside me before he rested his hand on my shoulder.
"I will," he promised my mom, and I felt my heart squeeze at his words.
"It's all I ever wanted for you—to be loved—and I can see you are," she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek.
Blake cared for me, it was part of the connection, but I think my mom saw what she wanted instead of what was really there. It would take a lot of work to get to a place where we loved and trusted each other. It was difficult to keep the emotion from my face and I felt the sting of tears. I'd been able to give my mom the peace she'd needed before she died, and that made me happy.
A little while later Blake walked me back to my room. I didn't have to invite him in, he walked in right behind me, seeming to be at ease around me.
