Page 12 of A Prior Engagement
He stripped off his boxers and threw them into the hamper as well, then headed into the bathroom. The glass door was shut, and Mica stood, concealed by steam and fogged glass, under a stream of water.
Hayden knocked on the door, making her jump. He tugged the shower open. “Mind if I join you?”
Mica’s hair was hidden under one of those silly-looking shower caps. But her body… oh, her body! Now, this was a sight he would never get tired of seeing. Her heavy breasts were soft with their pink velvet peaks. Her round, soft belly and flared hips. The drab, baggy clothes she always wore hid so much of her. Not just her body but her vibrant personality as well.
There was nobody better suited to be his mate. Nobody else in the pack would stand up to him like she did. Nobody would give him dirty looks or tell him that he was a jackass.
Tearing his eyes from her sexy body, Hayden looked at her beautiful sea-green eyes. Exhaustion smudged dark circles beneath her eyes, but a small smile tugged at her lips.
“Are you going to actually come in or just stand there gawking at me?” she asked.
“You didn’t say I could come in.”
Mica took his hand and pulled him into the shower. Though it was fairly large, between the two of them, it was rather crowded. The heat of the water billowed steam through the air. Without a word, Mica maneuvered him beneath the stream of water and began to clean the blood from his skin.
“Are you alright?” he asked, his voice low.
“As alright as I guess I can be.” She chewed her lip as she watched the blood circle the drain. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Hayden relaxed slightly. Things had been strained between them ever since she had performed to ritual to free Echo. Both her actions and his reaction was like chasm between them. One that he didn’t like. He also didn’t like the fact that his mate didn’t fully trust him.
“I was going to tell you,” he said softly.
Her hands paused. “Tell me what?”
“What Ryder and I had decided for Echo. We had seen this before. In our experience, it’s just torment to the possessed person to leave them in that state. Eventually, their soul is so destroyed that even when we kill the demon, they aren’t there to say goodbye,” Hayden explained. His voice was a low murmur, the same pitch as the water sprinkling on them.
“Then you should have told me that, rather than acting as though you were giving me the chance to save her, when you had no intention of trying anything I found,” Mica answered. Her voice, too, was soft. “It’s an awful feeling, to have hope and then to realize that your brother and mate never believed in you.”
Hayden winced. “I didn’t think of it that way.”
“If I’m going to be your mate, Hayden, you have to let me in. I can’t just stand on the outside, being nothing more than a bedmate and nurse,” Mica continued. “I want to trust you. I want to stand with you. For that, I need you to trust me.”
Hayden turned and clasped both of her hands in his. “I know that this isn’t a normal situation, but I do trust you. There’s nobody else I trust to watch after the pack or call me out on my bullshit.”
Mica searched his gaze. A soft smile started to spread over her face. “I guess this whole thing is a learning curve, huh?”
“It really is. I hope that one day, I prove to you that you can trust me.”
“I… I trust that you want what’s best for the pack. I trust that you are a good man, Hayden. Right now, that’s enough for me to want more,” Mica said.
They lingered, each searching the other’s eyes. Hayden saw the spark of a promise in Mica’s gaze. The tension that had been making his wolf on edge eased. His shoulders relaxed. It would take time, yes, but so long as Mica was willing to give him a chance, he would prove himself worthy.
“How have things been while I was gone?” he asked.
Mica shook her head. “We’re going to run out of supplies. Our food is low, and as for everything else… I don’t know what happened, but we’ve lost a quarter of our blankets. Not to mention medical supplies.”
Hayden leaned into her touch as she resumed washing his body. “I stopped in to see Ryder. We got a message from Monroe, and I had to order Ryder to be strapped into place to keep him from leaving the medical room.”
Mica winced as she glanced up at Hayden’s face. “He’s not happy with me. But it looks like an infection might be setting in. There’s still no guarantee that he’s going to survive.”
Infection. Hayden nodded grimly. It wasn’t common for wolves to deal with infections. Usually, their healing process and immune systems were too strong for an infection to take hold. For Ryder to be showing any signs at all meant that he was far more compromised than they first realized.
“He needs to go to a hospital,” Hayden murmured. The weight of it pushed down on him. His team, his pack, was his responsibility. What was the best course of action? Was it amistake for him to have joined in on the hunt today? Should he have saved his strength?
“Monroe has the roads blockaded. The last team sent to the city can’t get back through,” Mica continued. “They’re not being attacked—yet—but we have no relief coming through.”
Hayden sighed. “Then it’s a good thing that this is going to be over soon.”