Page 59 of Rough

“Doctor Ames?” It was a deep, gruff voice that came through the front door. But not Boyd’s.

Disappointment crushed my chest. God. I hadn’t realized how much I’d hoped he’d show up until now. I’d told myself I wouldn’t see him if he had, but that was a lie.

I’d secretly wanted Boyd to come here and win me back. It was too bad he was so damn respectful of my wishes.

I opened the door a crack and sucked in a breath.

Rob. Boyd’s brother.

He took off his hat and held it in front of his chest. “Dr. Ames, could I have a word with you? Just for a minute?”

I tried and failed to swallow, then nodded and stepped back.

“Oh, I don’t need to come in,” he said, his gaze falling to the stack of unopened letters in my hand.

I tried to throw them back in the trash, but my fingers wouldn’t open, so instead, I tucked my arm behind my back to hide them. I didn’t know why—he’d already seen them and probably knew with some wolf sense that they were from Boyd.

“Dr. Ames, I just wanted to try to clear some things up. Some misunderstandings.”

“O-okay.”

“My brother’s in love with you.”

I stopped breathing.

“Yes, I asked him to keep an eye on you since you’d seen him get hurt at the rodeo, but you see, Boyd was only too happy to comply with his alpha’s orders for once in his life. Because getting close to you was the only thing on his mind.”

Oh shit. I was going to cry. I did not want to cry in front of Rob. I blinked furiously.

“It’s true Boyd was quite the womanizer in the past. But it’s different with you. He… smiles. He’s the real Boyd. Most of all, he doesn’t just take my shit, even if I am the alpha. I know because I’m also his brother.”

For some reason my fingers decided to go slack, and the envelopes clattered to the floor behind me. Rob looked down at them. His expression was hard to read, but I thought I detected sympathy there. Whether it was for Boyd or for me, I wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know if he explained to you how mating works for our kind?”

My heart started pounding. I gave a tiny, frantic shake of my head.

“Wolves mate for life. According to the lore, there’s only one female who will give a wolf the instinct to mate. Wolves who don’t find their mate by a certain age... ” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “They can go moon mad. They become more and more feral until they lose their humanity completely. It’s dangerous, see. Many wolves don’t wait for the mating instinct, they choose a suitable female and start a family. Much like humans, I’m sure.”

Goosebumps stood up on my arms. Yes, it was like humans, minus the part about having one true mate. Although I guessed some humans believed in that, too.

“Wh-why are you telling me all this?” I asked, pushing my glasses up although he couldn’t miss the way my hand shook.

“You’re Boyd’s true mate.”

“He never said that.”

“Did he say you were his, that he knew all along, from the very first, that he wanted you?”

I nodded, tears lodged thick in my throat.

“He didn’t use the wordmatebecause he couldn’t share about his wolf. His wolf chose a human, for whatever reason.You.And while that’s generally against pack law, I would never presume to know better than the wolf instinct. Nature always knows best, right? I know Boyd, and he’s a stubborn bastard. There’s no way he would accept any female but you. So if you refuse him…”

I finally picked up what Rob was putting down. A giant sticky guilt trip. “He’ll go moon mad.”

“Right.”

I needed to be alone. I needed to think things over.