Madeline’s POV
Janet was going to kill me.
I was sure of it.
She hated me from the start because she knew I was her son’s mate. She didn’t think that I was good for her son so she tried to get rid of me. She tried to make him take another she-wolf as his mate. She lied to her own son just because she didn’t like me.
Pain spread through my body when I remembered Savannah. She tried to take my mate from me. She lied to him. She tried to make him take her as his chosen mate. She lied to him about her pup.
My stomach twisted and I tried to take a deep breath.
I always wondered why Janet hated me so much and now I knew the answer. She didn’t think I was good enough for her son.
And she was right. I wasn’t good enough.
But how could I leave him? How could I go when I was in pain just thinking about not touching him and not feeling him in my arms? How could I leave the pack and never see him again?
Skye howled loudly. Her pain became my pain and every emotion inside my body doubled.
He lowered his head and buried his nose into my neck. I took a deep breath and let his scent calm me down a little.
“I love you, Madeline,” he said, making my heart skip a beat. “I love you. Please don’t leave me.”
I wasn’t going to leave him tonight. I couldn’t leave him tonight. I would try to talk to him again tomorrow. I would try to make him see that maybe it would be best if I left. Maybe it would be…
‘No!’ Skye screamed at me, interrupting my thoughts. ‘You will never leave! You will never leave our mate! I won’t let you, Madeline!’
‘Skye…,’ I spoke, but she interrupted me.
‘No, Madeline,’ she said angrily. ‘I won’t listen to you. I understand why you don’t want to stay. I understand that you are angry at Mike. I understand that you are afraid of Janet. I understand why you don’t feel good enough to be his mate, but you are wrong. You are good enough, Maddie. You are more than good enough. You are just what he needs.’
I closed my eyes and let the tears fall down my cheeks.
‘It wasn’t your fault that Mike left your mom, Madeline,’ Skye continued softly. ‘You are good enough.’
Hearing her talk about one of the biggest secrets I held had me sobbing. I never said it out loud. I never talked about it. I never admitted it to myself, but she was right. I knew why Mike left, but all those years of bullying left a trace on my heart and soul. Other kids called me a home-wrecker among other things. They told me that my father left because I wasn’t a good daughter. I knew it wasn’t true, but it hurt and it was so hard to remember the real reason why he left me and my mom.
I couldn’t even think about it now. All I could do was hold onto my mate tightly and sob.
“Oh, my love,” Alpha Dimitri said softly.
He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He held me tightly against his chest. I didn’t want him to let me go. I didn’t want to be separated from him. I’d never felt safer in my entire life.
“Let’s go home, princess,” he said softly, making me furrow my eyebrows.
But I still hadn’t shifted.
“What about shifting?” I asked as I lifted my head off his shoulder and looked at him.
He smiled and wiped the tears from my cheeks.
“Not tonight, love,” he said. “You are too tired to shift now. I am sorry. I didn’t expect you would realize that I was your mate so soon. I expected Skye to take over before you could figure it out.”
He already knew my wolf’s name? Did Skye talk to his wolf already?
‘I did and I am so in love,’ she said, sighing contently.
“Besides, I want to go home and let everyone know that I found the love of my life,” he said, grinning widely.
He wanted to let everyone know? Didn’t they know already?
“They don’t know?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.
“No,” he said as he started walking back toward Mike’s house. “I didn’t want to risk anyone telling you. I didn’t want to take the moment you find your mate away from you. I wanted you to experience it all without anyone interfering.”
My heart raced. Why did Janet hate me then?
“Also, I was afraid that someone would try to hurt you if the word got around,” he sighed. “I tried to be beside you as much as I could, but I couldn’t risk someone trying to hurt you when I couldn’t be with you. Especially when you didn’t even have your wolf yet.”
I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat. Why did Janet hate me then? Why did she hurt me? Why did she try to get rid of me?
“Can we not tell anyone tonight?” I asked quietly. “I just want to go to bed.”
Alpha Dimitri smiled and gave me a small nod.
“Of course, princess,” he said. “Anything you want. We couldn’t tell anyone except our parents tonight anyway.”
He chuckled. My stomach twisted.
“I am sleeping with you tonight,” he said, making my eyes widen. “I am not risking anything, Maddie. I don7t want you to get an idea and leave through the window.”
Sleeping with me? But…
“It won’t be the first time,” he said after seeing my confused face. “I know this may sound weird, but I’ve been sleeping with you for months. I just couldn’t stay away no matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t hold you like I wanted while you were awake, so I did it while you slept.”
To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.
“You slept with me the entire time?” I mumbled quietly.
He looked at me and nodded. I saw guilt in his eyes.
“I am sorry,” he said quietly. “I never did anything. I never even got under the blanket. I just held you. I needed to hold you.”
“I’m not angry,” I said. “I’m just a bit confused. Is that why I have been sleeping so well?”
I really wasn’t angry at him. I was a bit shocked, but not angry. I didn’t want him to feel guilty.
“Yes,” he said, chuckling.
“I thought that the mattress was amazing,” I mumbled, furrowing my eyebrows.
Alpha Dimitri laughed, making my heart skip a beat.
“Oh, the mattress sucks, love,” he said, shaking his head. “But I’ve never slept better in my entire life either.”
I gave him a small smile and leaned my head back on his shoulder. He kissed the top of my head and took a deep breath.
“I love you, princess,” he said softly. “You are my entire world.”
I closed my eyes and let the warmth of his words seep into my body. I could let myself enjoy it just a little. I could let myself believe that I was really his and that I was really made for him.
I could let myself believe it for a while.
