I shut the door and slid down till I was sitting with my back against it. I held my hand over my mouth as I cried harder than I have in months. I felt my hard exterior begin to chip away with every memory that was being awakened. My dad taught me to never trust anyone and what did I do? I fell in love and let my guard down, exposing everything that I worked so hard to protect. And then, he betrayed me and is apparently still alive and gunning for me. I heard a quiet knock at the door as I sat there crying. "Go away," I muttered sadly. "Can I please come in there? I can feel how hurt you are through the mate bond. Can I just....can I please just hold you?" I heard Everett's soft voice on the other side of the door. I couldn't help but smile because he was always on my side even if I may be in the wrong. I scooted over so that I was out of the way as I reached up and turned the door handle. "Hey." I smiled sadly through my tears. He walked in and closed the door behind him before squatting down so that we were eye level. He smiled back as he pushed my hair out of my face. "Hey, baby girl. Do you want to talk about it?" He asked quietly, not pushing me for details. I shook my head no as I wiped the stray tears off my cheeks. "Can we maybe just lay in the bed together?" I asked, looking at his face to see if I was making him uncomfortable. "Sure," He smiled bigger this time, showing off two dimples. How the actual fuck did I miss those? He picked me up and brought me to the bed, pulling down the covers. "I'm going to get you a t-shirt to sleep in...is that okay?" "Yeah, that'd be great," I said as I pulled out a makeup wipe that I left on the nightstand earlier today. I knew that I'd probably end up drunk, and I knew myself well enough to know that I have a bad habit of not removing my makeup at night. So, I decided to place the wipes from the bathroom in here instead. "Here's a shirt, it's mine...if that's okay," Everett said, handing over the shirt while he blushed slightly. "Thanks, big man." I smiled brightly at him as I unzipped my dress. I looked at Everett but saw that he was turning his back on me to give me some privacy. I felt my heart warm at his simple gesture. He was just too fucking adorable which is weird to say when you look at the sculpted body that he has. I pulled on his oversized t-shirt that smelled like the woods and nature. "Done," I said as I climbed underneath the covers. Everett gladly climbed in but turned to look at me. "Can I...can I hold you?" He asked, not quite meeting my eyes. I scooted closer so that I was laying my head against his chest while his arm snaked around my waist as he held me to his side. "I just want you to know that I would never betray you. I don't care if you've done bad things and I don't care who is after you. I'll stand by your side forever, baby girl," He said as he kissed my head gently. I took in a shaky breath. "I really hope so big man... Because I think I'm in trouble."--------------------------------------------Atticus's POV I tossed and turned all last night thinking about what went down at the bar. This wasn't just any random supernatural. This guy was from the council, and only dangerous wanted criminals were usually hunted down by the council. So why was my mate the one that he was after? Rose didn't give us many details on the situation before she stormed off into her bedroom for the rest of the night. I noticed Everett spent the night with her, which made Axel beyond jealous even though he was the one who pushed her too far. I know that we all felt her hurt through the mate bond which was why Everett went and stayed with her. His wolf can't handle staying ten feet away from her, especially when she's upset. A part of me longed to go make sure that she was okay but of course, the darker side of me won out. All I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms like Everett or even have a screaming match with her like Axel. But I can't do that. The truth is, I'm scared to lose control and I'm scared of trusting people. I've tried to keep my distance from her as much as I possibly can, but the more time that I spend around her, the harder it is to do. I just can't help but smile every time that I see her. She makes me want to be a good person and not the person that I've pretended to be when I'm not around Axel or Everett. I was thrown from my thoughts as Rose walked in, in only an oversized t-shirt, showcasing her long legs. She yawned, covering her mouth as she walked in and looked around, squinting her eyes. "Where the hell is everybody?" She asked, taking a seat next to me. "Axel had to go back to his clan to take care of some business and Everett had alpha duty back at his pack," I said, switching channels on the tv. "Okay, so what are we going to do today?" Rose said, knocking my shoulder with hers."What do you mean?" I said, glancing over at her. My god, she really is beautiful. She rolled her eyes. "Well, if we're stuck here all day, then let's go do something. What about playing a board game?" "No." I shook my head. "Running?" "No." "Going to another bar?" "That is definitely out of the question," I said, selecting a tv show on the remote. "Making drinks and going swimming in the pool?" She asked with pleading eyes. "No." I shook my head again. "Ugh! Come on, please, Tuck?" She said, giving me the most adorable puppy dog eyes. I groaned. I mean, how did I think that I could resist her? And the nickname she gave me, kills me. In a good way, of course. "Fine, but not for lo..." I was cut off when she gave a little shriek, hopping up and running out of the room. I sighed, leaning my head back on the couch. How the hell am I going to resist her?------------------------------------------ I was waiting outside in my swimming trunks with a cold beer, waiting for Rose. I felt a little nervous since we haven't really talked much with just the two of us. I heard the glass door slide open behind me, "Why are you nervous? I can feel it through the bond." Rose said, walking out of the house. My eyes widened as I took her in from head to toe. Axel picked out her swimsuits when we went shopping for her clothes, and damn, did he do a good job. She had on a bright red bikini that really accentuated her tan skin, long legs, and well, other areas. I flicked my tongue out, wetting my dry lips. "Uh, just nervous about coven stuff," I said, even though I was full of shit. "Oh, cool," She said, her smile slightly fading. I always feel so confused when I'm around Rose. I know that she's keeping secrets from us, but everyone except for Axel is too scared to ask her. I mean, she blows up on you if you ask her just a simple question. "Have you ever been a part of a coven?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't pushing her too far. She let out a loud exhale. "No," She said quietly before taking a sip on her beer. "You don't have to feel weird about telling me that. I won't ever judge you, Roe." I chuckled. She looked up into my eyes as she whispered, "You wouldn't say that if you knew the stuff that I've done. The people that I've hurt." I couldn't help but feel sorry for my little mate. She acts like she has her shit together like she doesn't need anyone else. But in reality, she needs us more than we thought. I shrugged. "You also don't know what I've done, what Axel has done, or what Everett has done. So who are we to judge you?" I said, looking into her blue-green eyes. She was absolutely stunning, standing out here in the sun with her long blonde hair framing her face and flowing down past her breasts. She gave me a little smile. "I guess that's true." Her smile then turned to an outright devious one. She started stepping closer to me, as she put one hand on my chest. The sultry lookshe was giving me as she slightly pushed me back in her skimpy bikini gave me a serious hard-on. "You look like you could cool down," She said as she pushed me. But little did my mate know, I wasn't stupid. I reached out and grabbed her wrist at the last second, pulling her into the deep end of the pool with me. She let out a little shriek as we plunged into the cold water. I broke through the surface of water first, followed by Rose only a second later. "Asshole," She said, smiling from ear to ear as she splashed me with water. I've never seen her so off guard before, she looked much more at peace when she was like this. It was like she was always waiting for danger to appear. Like she could never go a moment without the fear of being watched...or hunted. I gave her a sly smile. "Considering you're the one who pushed me in, I wouldn't be talking, Roe," I said, splashing water right back at her. There was a lingering pause before she spoke again, "Why do you seem to put me at a distance from you?" She asked quietly. I turned my head away from her slightly. I really didn't think she'd even pick up on it. I'm not the one she looks at the most out of our group, so I never thought she was paying me much attention. I shrugged. "I guess I just have problems trusting people. I didn't even think you noticed if I'm being honest." It was hard for me to open up to other people, but the mate bond made me trust Rose whether I wanted to or not. "Of course I noticed, Tuck. How could I not? You're my mate." She looked at me in confusion. There goes that nickname again. I would have lit anyone else on fire for calling me that, but if that's what Rose wants to call me, then I won't say a damn thing. I turned away from her, swimming to the shallow end as I spoke. "I've never been someone's first choice. I've learned to never fully trust anyone. I mean, it's been engraved into my mind since I was younger. My dad wasn't a good person, he taught me to be ruthless. I'm afraid for you to see that side of me," I said quietly. I felt her small hand wrap around my bicep as she turned me towards her. "I've never been able to fully trust someone else. I'm tired of it, Tuck. I'm so fucking tired of it. I just want to feel normal for one second in my entire life. I don't want to always feel like I have to defend myself in every situation. It's exhausting," She said, tears welling up in her eyes. Looking down into her eyes, I don't understand why I wanted to resist her so much before. All I wanted to do in this moment was wrap her up in my arms and protect her till the day that I die. I quickly grabbed the back of her head and crashed my lips against hers in a passionate kiss. She met my kisses with hungry ones of her own as she wrapped her legs around my waist. I held one hand against the back of her head as the other one held her up by the thigh. I could feel my erection straining against the confinements of my swimming trunks. She rubbed herself slightly against me, making me groan while she let out a soft moan. We were rudely interrupted by a scowling Axel. "We're back," He said in a slightly tense tone. I looked down as he turned and walked away, noticing the semi hard-on in his pants. I hadn't even noticed him standing there, but I always did know that Axel liked to watch. I bent down and gave Rose another soft kiss before looking into her eyes. "I won't push you away anymore, Roe," I said, pushing the hair out of her face as I stroked her cheek. "I think I need you more than I thought I did. I think you can help us trust again." I leaned in kissing her forehead. "And I think we can help you too."