Page 58 of Starting a New Life

“Nix has a long road of recovery ahead of him.” Rhett explained my outburst away like he always did, effortlessly turning my emotions into reason. “He’s been on the run for half a year. That would take a toll on anybody, so we’re trying not to put him on a battlefield.”

Besides… I didn’t trust those fuckers. What if they saw Nix and just… went for him? What if they had an ace up their sleeve? I couldn’t risk my mate getting harmed.

He deserved our protection without having to put his life on the line. Hell, he’d already done so not even twenty-four hours ago when he’d rushed to aid those pups.

“Okay.” Angelo nodded, rolling his shoulders. “It was just a question. I wasn’t trying to imply anything…”

Oh shit. I was still growling.

I rubbed a hand over my face and tried taking a deep breath, but my focus was shot. My wolf wanted to get this meeting over with and go back to our mate. And to be honest, I did too. Leaving him didn’t feel right, even though he was surrounded by pack members. He was safe, but I knew he didn’t see it that way.

He will, my wolf assured me.

I hoped he was right.

“I apologize,” I told him, the pull in my chest getting stronger, urging me to cut this meeting short.

He was close. Nix. He was somewhere…

“Please excuse me for a moment,” I said, then got up, the chair clattering behind me as I rushed to the door and opened it.

There.

Nix was standing opposite the door, his shoulders pulled up high, hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatpants, bottom lip pulled between his teeth.

“Everything okay?” I asked, automatically checking his body for injuries.

“Uh… yes,” he said, his shaky voice proving his answer to be a lie.

I raised my eyebrow at him, and he shrank back, his eyes firmly trained on the ground, arms going up, crossing in front of his chest in a defensive move.

“Really?”

His throat worked, fingers digging into the fabric of his hoodie. “No,” he finally said with a sigh. “I can’t seem to tolerate being among shifters without you present.”

Oh.

Ooh.

My wolf preened in my chest, but my heart fucking broke for him.

“Do you want to come in? We’re talking about how to deal with the pack hunting you, so… maybe you can help?”

Nix bit his lip, his head already shaking, but then he stopped. It took another couple of seconds until he gave a short nod, full of hesitation.

“Might as well,” he mumbled, but I was able to hear him clearly.

I wanted to wrap him the fuck up, to never let him go.

Protect, my wolf agreed. Care.

I wanted to care for him, but the care he needed right now was different from what I wanted to do.

“Okay.”

We stepped back into the small conference room, and all eyes immediately turned to Nix, who was walking a step behind me, using my body as a shield. I didn’t like that I actually felt proud about that one. I should be ashamed of feeling good because my mate was hiding behind me, but I couldn’t help the feeling of pride rushing through my body because he was searching for comfort with me.

“Everyone, this is Nix,” I said while walking to the corner and retrieving a chair for him that I placed next to mine. I’d chosen for him to sit right between me and Rhett. Not because Nix particularly liked Rhett, but because he at least knew him. And he liked Levi, soo… close enough?