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  He leaned down and kissed her cheek. When she woke, he would apologize to her, and hope that she forgave him. He knew that his life would be empty without her, even if they had only known one another for such a short time. To think that he had jeopardized his chance to have a mate made him ill. Every werewolf waited for the day they would find their mate, find the one person who made them whole. Connor knew without a doubt his mate was Aislinn, now he just needed to make sure he treated her as such.

  Rising from the bed, he left the flowers would she would see them when she woke, and he quietly slipped out of the room. Not wanting to disturb her, he turned the TV on low and settled into his chair.

  Aislinn slowly pulled herself out of her dreams and opened her eyes. Seeing the beautiful red and white roses on the nightstand, she sat up and looked around. She picked them up and sniffed at them, enjoying the perfume that rose from their delicate blossoms.

  Shoving the covers aside, she rose from the bed and went in search of Connor, knowing he had to have come home and left the beautiful flowers for her. Hearing the low hum of the TV, she walked into the living room, and found Connor asleep in his chair.

  She moved into the kitchen and took down a vase from the cabinet. Filling it with water, she placed the roses in the vase and set it on the counter. She was surprised to see it was almost noon. Deciding to surprise Connor, she pulled out the ingredients she would need in order to make meatloaf. Once it was prepared and she had slid it into the oven, she chopped fresh carrots and placed them in a pot of water with some brown sugar, cinnamon, and honey, letting them simmer on low.

  Wiping her hands off on a dish towel, she went into the living room to wake Connor. If the flowers were any indication, he wasn’t as angry today as he had been last night. At least, she hoped that’s what the flowers meant. She had automatically assumed they were from Connor, but what if Eric had left them as a way to cheer her up?

  She placed a gentle hand on Connor’s shoulder and shook him awake.

  “Connor, it’s almost noon.”

  He mumbled something under his breath, but didn’t wake up.

  “Connor?”

  His eyes slowly opened and she smiled at him. “I have lunch cooking, if you’re hungry.”

  He gave her a hesitant smile. “Lunch sounds good.”

  She removed her hand and started to walk away, but he grabbed her hand and held her still. With a gentle tug, he pulled her into his lap.

  “Aislinn, we need to talk. About last night…”

  She shook her head. “It’s okay, Connor. You were right, I should have told you.”

  “But I never let you explain why you didn’t, and that was wrong of me.”

  Aislinn felt her eyes tear up. She’d never had a man be as reasonable as Connor. “I was scared, Connor.”

  “Of what? Help me understand, Aislinn.”

  “I didn’t understand the power that was given to me and it scared me. But even more, I didn’t know what I was capable of and I was afraid to tell you. I knew you would ask questions I couldn’t answer.”

  “We could have figured it out together,” he told her gently.

  “I realize that now. I know that you’re different from Hugh, but… I’m not used to a man being nice to me, being reasonable about things. I’m used to everything always being my fault, always being blamed for things that are out of my control.

  “If dinner wasn’t ready on time, he would beat me, even if it wasn’t done because he’d come home early. If his beer wasn’t cold enough because the refrigerator had broken, that was somehow my fault, too.”

  “I’m not Hugh.”

  She smiled faintly. “I know. But while a part of me knows that, recognizes the differences between you, the other part of me is still afraid.”

  Connor wrapped his arms around her. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore, Aislinn. I’ll never hurt you like he did, that I can promise. I’m sorry for not listening to you last night. I can’t promise that we’ll never fight again, but I can promise that I will always listen to you. I won’t let my anger rule me again.”

  Stifling a sob, Aislinn burrowed into him. “That’s all I can ask of you.”

  Hearing her voice break, he knew she was crying. “Honey, please don’t cry.”

  She lifted her head and gave him a tremulous smile. “I’m not crying because I’m sad, I’m crying because I’m so happy I found you.”

  “Does that mean you’re wearing your ring now because you want to, because you want to be my wife?”

  She nodded. “I’ve wanted to be your wife from the moment I laid eyes on you, but I was too afraid to believe it could be real. I’ve dreamed of meeting someone like you my whole life, it just seemed surreal when I finally found you.”

  “I know we just met, but I care a lot about you, Aislinn.”

  She leaned forward and kissed him. “I care about you, too, Connor.”

  The weekend passed in a blur and before they knew it, Monday had arrived. For Aislinn, it was an exciting day, another beginning in her new life. She dressed for work with a smile on her face, anxious to start her new job with Connor, and excited that she would be with him all day.

  “You seem awfully happy this morning,” he commented as he kissed her cheek.

  She smiled at him. “I am. I’m looking forward to working with you today.”

  “The supplies you ordered should be there by this afternoon. Since you won’t have much to do for the first part of the day, I’ll show you around the job site.”

  “I have to admit that some of your men make me nervous.”

  “You mean Charlie?”

  She nodded. “He reminds me of Hugh.”

  “None of my men will hurt you. Most like their jobs too much, and the rest are just inherently good men.”

  “I won’t be afraid anymore. I know that when you’re around, you’ll protect me.”

  “And when I’m not, you can protect yourself,” he reminded her.

  She nodded. “Yes, I can. It’s nice knowing that you can defend yourself, especially after…”

  He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. “That’s all in the past. You don’t have to worry about Hugh anymore.”

  “I know,” she said with a smile.

  Chapter Seventeen

  True to his word, Connor had shown Aislinn around the job site most of the morning. After lunch, the office supplies had arrived and she’d gotten to work on his files. After she had a stack ready to be filed, she opened the laptop Connor had bought for her and began entering them into the database she had designed. Connor would be able to pull up a client’s name and see everything that had been received or sent, along with notes from phone conversations. Once a file was cataloged, she filed it away in the large file cabinet behind his desk.

  After several hours of working and only having fifteen files done, she realized it was going to be a long work in progress, but she didn’t mind. It was nice to have something to do, to feel useful.

  She rose from her chair and stretched her arms over her head. Rolling her head from to side, she tried to work the kinks from her neck and shoulders, the muscles having grown tight from sitting at the computer for so long.

  She felt Connor’s hands on her shoulders and leaned back against him.

  “Are you ready to go home? You’ve had a busy day.”

  She nodded and turned to wrap her arms around him. While his presence had been distracting when she had first started working, she had become so absorbed in her project that she had forgotten he was around.

  “I didn’t get as much accomplished today as I had hoped, but at least I have a good start on it.”

  “You did a lot of work today, honey. It’s just going to take a lot of time to get through it all. I haven’t filed anything, not properly, since I took over the company a few months ago. And, as I’m sure you can tell, the previous owner didn’t believe in filing anything either. If you think this office it bad, you should see the main office.”
/>   She gave him a horrified look. “You mean there’s another set of files like this somewhere?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, but you don’t have to tackle those any time soon. Just worry about the ones related to this job site for now.”

  She looked around the office, aghast. “You mean, all of these are just for this one job?”

  He nodded. “For the most part. A lot of the vendors are used for multiple jobs, and I have a few things lying around for a future job.”

  “Connor, you have got to be the least organized person I know. How on earth did you let it get this bad?”

  He smiled. “Just talented I guess.”

  Aislinn shook her head and picked up her purse. “Okay, let’s go home before I decide to dive back into this mess.”

  Offering her his arm, he escorted her from the trailer and to the truck. When they were on their way home, Connor’s phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Connor, it’s Kiera.”

  He smiled. “Hey, Kiera. How are you?”

  “In labor. Can you and Aislinn meet us at the hospital? Gabriel wants the whole family there.”

  “You bet. We’ll head that way now.”

  Hanging up the phone, he smiled at Aislinn. “Kiera is in labor. Change of plans, we’re going to the hospital.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “Oh wow, I didn’t realize she was due already. Did she sound okay? How’s Gabriel?”

  He shrugged. “Kiera seemed fine, but I’m sure Gabriel is a mess. This is their first baby and he dotes on that woman.”

  Aislinn smiled and looked out of her window. Much the way you dote on me, she wanted to ask. Suddenly, the thought of having Connor’s child seemed rather appealing. Of course, she’d have to coax him back into her bed again. Maybe this time they wouldn’t be interrupted.

  At the hospital, Marin and Cole sat in seats across from Gabriel. Michael was beside him, with Chloe by his side. Connor’s brother, Colin, was leaning against the wall. Two other pack members, Austin and Hunter, were also present.

  Aislinn took in the scene with wide eyes. She hadn’t expected quite so many people to show up. She’d met Gabriel before, as well as Marin and Kiera, but the others were strangers to her.

  The man leaning against the wall looked almost identical to her husband, which was a shock. She hadn’t realized he was a twin.

  “You must be Aislinn,” Colin said with a warm smile. “I’m your mate’s brother, Colin.”

  She took his hand and returned his smile. “It’s nice to meet you, but I must confess that I didn’t realize he had a twin.”

  Colin laughed. “I’m not surprised. He was probably worried you’d prefer me over his sullen self.”

  Aislinn looked at Connor. “Sullen?”

  He shrugged. “Colin has always been the more exuberant of the two of us.”

  Her gaze swept over the waiting room. “It must be nice to have such a large family.”

  Connor tugged her over toward Gabriel. He smiled at them and gesture for them to have a seat. “It could be a while.”

  “Why aren’t you in there with Kiera?” Aislinn asked. When she heard a collective indrawn breath, she realized she might have asked the wrong question.

  “She asked me to wait out here. I think she felt I might be more hindrance than help, and she may be right. Cassie is in there with her and Matt is at home with their kids.”

  “I like Cassie,” Aislinn said with a smile. “If she’s in there with Kiera, then everything will be fine.”

  Gabriel nodded and gave a small smile. “I kinda figured the same thing.”

  Marin crossed her arms, sullenly. “I still don’t know why she didn’t want me or Chloe in there with her.”

  Aislinn wasn’t sure what to make of Marin or her comments. From what she’d gathered, Cole’s mate was sweet and rather quiet, but the woman she’d been faced with twice now seemed otherwise.

  Without conscious thought, Aislinn reached out to Marin with her senses, lulling the woman into a calm state before probing what was wrong. With a gasp, she realized that she knew why Marin was upset. She wasn’t sure if she was more startled by what had been revealed or by the gift itself. She would have to ask Eric about this new-found ability when she was able.

  Rising from her seat, she walked over to Marin and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She sank to her haunches and looked the other woman in the eyes, no longer surprised by the pain and suffering she saw in their depths.

  She tipped her head to the side, motioning toward the door. “Let’s take a walk.”

  Marin’s eyes widened in surprise, but she rose with Aislinn and followed her from the room. When they were alone, she blew out a breath.

  “You know, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  Marin shook her head. “But how? Even my mate doesn’t know.”

  “When the sorcerer saved my life, he transferred some of his abilities to me. I realized, sitting in that waiting room, that I could read your emotions and your body.”

  “That’s pretty amazing,” Marin said with a grin.

  “Why haven’t you told your mate?”

  “I don’t want to worry him. There’s nothing he can do to save me, and that’s going to tear him apart.” Marin sighed and looked at Aislinn with teary eyes. “Why make him suffer more than he has to? He’s going to have to bear so much before long; I just want to make his time as happy as possible before then.”

  “Marin, you have to tell him.”

  A deep voice interrupted them. “Tell me what?”

  Aislinn looked over her shoulder at Cole and Connor. The two had obviously followed them, wondering what was up. It wasn’t her story to tell, so she looked at Marin.

  “You need to tell him. He’s strong and his strength will help you.”

  Marin nodded and sniffled. “Stay with me?”

  Aislinn nodded and gripped her hand for support.

  Marin faced her mate with tears trailing down her cheeks. She held out a hand to him. When his fingers clasped hers, she fought back a sob. It was so unfair that she might lose him after all they’d been through.

  “I… I can’t tell him,” she said brokenly, looking to Aislinn for help.

  Aislinn nodded and looked at Cole. “I’m sure you’ve noticed some changes in your mate. Her personality isn’t what it normally is, for one.”

  Cole nodded.

  “There are some other changes to her as well, physical ones. Marin has cancer.”

  The blood drained from Cole’s face and her words sunk in and his hand began to tremble.

  “How long?” he rasped.

  Aislinn looked at Marin, trying to read her body again. “I’m not sure, but I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure she stays with you.”

  Connor stepped behind Aislinn and placed a hand on her waist, giving her his support. He was proud of her and wanted to lend her his strength. Whatever she needed, he would give her.

  “Ovarian cancer is quick and deadly, but I may be able to reverse it, or at least arrest it. I won’t know until I try, and I prefer to have Eric around when I do. He knows more about my powers than I do.”

  Cole nodded and pulled his mate into his arms, burying his face in her neck. His silent tears soaked her hair and his shoulders shook as he cried at the thought of losing her. Marin placed an unsteady hand on his back and held him close.

  “Come to Connor’s when you’re ready and we’ll begin,” Aislinn told them before walking back to the waiting room with Connor.

  The other pack members looked at them with questions in their eyes, but they held silent. Aislinn wouldn’t tell Marin’s secret. If the other woman wanted the pack to know what she was going through, she would tell them. Otherwise, the secret would remain between the four of them. Well, five if you counted the sorcerer. Aislinn hadn’t been joking. She didn’t want to try a healing without Eric nearby.

  Two hours later, a nurse brought out a pink wrapped squalling baby and handed her to
Gabriel.

  “Your wife is fine and is being moved to another room. She said to tell you that your daughter’s name is Radha Elaine Andrews.”

  “Radha?” Gabriel asked in surprise.

  “Your wife said it’s Irish and pronounced Row-a. She said it meant a vision.” The nurse smiled at the baby. “And she’s certainly a vision.”

  Gabriel smiled down at his tiny daughter. “Yes, she is.”

  “I’m going to put Radha in the nursery. We’ll come get you in just a few moments and take you to see your wife.”

  Gabriel handed the small bundle back to the nurse and sat back down, waiting rather impatiently to see his wife.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It was hard to believe a week had passed since they had discovered Marin’s illness. Aislinn had mentioned it to Eric and had asked if it were possible to heal her. In order to prepare her for the task ahead, he had taken her to a small hospital in Mexico in order to train her on the art of healing.

  By the end of the day, Aislinn had been soaked in sweat, deathly pale, and worn out. But she’d learned how to set bones, heal influenza, the common cold, and several other injuries. None of the patients had cancer so she wasn’t able to practice her healing on someone that sick, but Eric assured her he would take her to another low income hospital where her talents would be much appreciated and she would be able to practice more.

  So far, they hadn’t taken that trip. She was worried about Marin, but the woman didn’t seem to be getting any worse. At least, not yet, but it was only a matter of time.

  A commotion outside of the work trailer drew her attention. The men were gathered in a circle around something and seemed to be arguing. Unable to stop herself, Aislinn stepped out to see what was going on. As she drew near the circle, she knew something wasn’t right.