Echoes of Fire (The Mercury Pack #4)(74)

Before Bracken could even think to respond, Nick turned to his mate and pulled her to her feet—making it clear he was done with the conversation—and Bracken figured the male didn’t like speaking too much about his personal failures. It was an Alpha thing.

Keeping Shaya’s hand in his, Nick said, “We’ll get going. When will you announce to the pack that you’re now mated?”

Madisyn held up a hand, face scrunched up. “No official announcement. Just tell everyone about it. If they want to pass on their congrats, they can text us or something.”

Shaya grinned. “You’re as bad as Harley when it comes to dealing with that kind of thing. Any plans for the mating ceremony yet?”

“No, not yet,” said Bracken. “Me and Madisyn will talk about it and then get back to you.”

“Great.” Shaya gave a little wave. “You two enjoy the rest of your morning.”

Once the Alphas were out of hearing distance, Bracken put his mouth to his mate’s ear. “I have some ideas for just how we can enjoy the rest of our morning.”

Madisyn shot him an apologetic look. “You’ll need to put a pin in them. I have to be at the shelter soon.”

He tightened his arms around her, biting back the urge to ask her not to go. He didn’t want to be away from her. Didn’t want her out of his sight. But he also didn’t want to stifle her. So instead of trying to sneakily seduce her into bed and keep her with him all day, he said, “Sleep here again tonight.”

Madisyn smiled, sensing his struggle, and felt pleased that he’d fought the drive to push her. “Okay.”

He kissed her forehead. “Good girl.”

“But I have to go home first, so I can pick up some clothes.”

“Or you could pack a bag when I drop you off at your apartment this morning. You’ll need to go get your car, remember?”

“Shit, I forgot about that.”

He smoothed his hand up and down her thigh. “What time will you be done at the shelter today?”

“Five.”

“I’ll meet you there and then follow you here.”

Her brow creased. “You don’t need to do that. It won’t take long for me to get here.”

“I don’t care. I need to be sure you’re protected. Hence why I followed you to the shelter every morning last week before I headed home.”

“Yeah, but you weren’t driving back and forth then, were you? You were driving from my house to your territory.” She tilted her head. “Remember that conversation we had about how good I am at protecting myself?”

“Remember that I’m unlikely to care?”

She sighed, rubbing her nose against his. “I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, you will. Because I’ll be there to make sure that you’re fine.”

Annoyance pricked at her, but Madisyn forced the emotion down, understanding why he felt driven to act this way. It was something they needed to get past, though, because she couldn’t deal with being unable to go anywhere alone. But there was no way he’d easily back off, which meant she needed to come up with a compromise. Inspiration struck her, and she smiled. “How about this?”

“No.”

Her cat snarled, bristling at the overprotective behavior, feeling that her strength had been disregarded. Madisyn held his face between her hands. “I know why you worry. I do. But how hard was it for you to deal with the pack worrying and fretting over you like you weren’t capable of protecting yourself?”

Bracken winced. They’d made him feel many things. Incapable. Broken. Weak. Fragile. That he couldn’t be trusted with his own safety—or the safety of others, for that matter. “I don’t ever want to make you feel that way.”

“I don’t feel that way right now. But if you make it a pattern to follow me everywhere I go, that’s exactly how I’ll begin to feel.” And that would eat at her. She’d either end up playing down her dominance just to keep the peace, or she’d become ten times more defiant than ever just to make a point. Either road would make them both very unhappy. “What I was going to say was that Makenna finishes work at the same time I do today. How about I ask her to take a different route to Phoenix Pack territory and pass here on the way?”

He frowned. “You’re okay with Makenna following you here, but not me?”

“Makenna won’t want to follow behind me. She won’t be doing it out of overprotectiveness. She’ll be doing it to give me a break from your overprotectiveness, so I won’t feel the need to bristle at it. And it means you’ll get what you want, which is for me not to be alone on the journey here.”

He let out a heavy breath. “I really, really don’t like this idea. Not at all.” But he positively loathed doing anything to make her feel inept and weak. He wanted to be someone who made her feel exactly what she was—strong, confident, and beautiful. “Fine. But if she can’t follow you home for some reason—”

“I’ll call you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

He grunted. “Good. Now get inside, strip off your jeans, sit on the couch, and spread your legs. If I’m going to spend the day without you, I can at least spend it with your taste in my mouth.”