“Callie girl?” he croaked.
A soft sob wrenched from my chest as I inched closer to him. “Wyatt. You’re up,” I cried.
His thick brows pulled low over his eyes as he closed them again. “Why you cryin’?”
I wiped the stupid tears that were blocking my view of him and shook my head. “I’m not.”
“Liar.”
A watery chuckle fell from my lips as I kissed his hand. “I’m just so glad you’re awake. I was so worried about you.”
“What happened?” he whispered.
“You were shot.”
He was quiet for a moment before he groaned softly and shook his head. “Fucking Paul.”
I sniffed back the tears and stood up. “I should go get the doctor.”
He shook his head again and pulled gently on my hand. “No. Stay. I need you.”
A small crack raced through my heart as I sat back down and pulled his hand to my chest. “Okay. I won’t go anywhere.”
“I’m sorry, Callie girl.”
“For what?”
He squeezed his eyes closed and grunted softly. “Promised I’d come back.”
There was no stopping the tears this time. “It’s okay, Wy. It’s okay. You’re here and you’re going to be okay. That’s all that matters.”
“Love you,” he whispered.
I stood up and very carefully leaned over to kiss his lips. “I love you too.”
It was then, looking at his pained face that I knew what I had to do. What I had to say. It had been a long time coming and I’d almost lost my chance all together. I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore.
“I have something to tell you.”
He cracked an eye open and looked at me. “What?”
I licked my lips and took a deep breath, knowing there was no turning back from this moment. “I’m pretty sure we’re fated mates.”
He continued to watch me before a ghost of a smile stretched his dry lips and he closed his eye again. “S’that all?”
I frowned at him. “Um. Yeah?”
He chuckled and then groaned, his hand covering the wound on his stomach. I jumped to my feet, but there was nothing I could really do for him. I was just as helpless now as I’d been hours ago, and that was beyond frustrating.
“Think I’m surprised about that, Callie girl?”
My eyes darted to his face, still twisted in pain. “What?”
He smiled again, but it was grim. “Of course we are. I should have known the moment you looked in my eyes and the whole damn world stopped.”
I plopped onto the chair with a huff, at a complete loss for words.
He chuckled again, but this time more cautiously. “Was that your big secret?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yes.”
His smile only grew. “And you were keepin’ it from me all this time?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Yes.”
He shook his head slowly and sighed. “What am I gonna do with you?”
“This really doesn’t matter to you?”
He opened that eye again and looked at me, his expression sober. “All it means is I’ll never have to live without you. But I’d love you even if we weren’t fated. How could I not?”
The irritation quickly left my system as I remembered the events that led us here. How close I’d been to losing him. I grabbed his hand again and squeezed tight. “I was so scared today. I didn’t know if you were going to make it,” I said quietly, worried if the words were said too loud that I’d breathe them into existence.
He shook his head before pulling my hand to his mouth and kissing my knuckles. “You aren’t getting rid of me that easily, love. Besides, you promised me a mating ceremony and I’m not missin’ that.”
I smiled and ran my fingers gently through his short hair. “I guess we’d better get planning then.”
Epilogue
Callie
“It’s almost time for your appointment.”
Wyatt sighed from over on my bed as he tossed a tennis ball in the air and caught it over and over. “Do I have to go?”
Now it was my turn to sigh. “I’m not doing this with you again.”
“But I feel fine. And my stitches look great. You said so yourself last night.”
My face heated as I thought about all the other things I’d said last night. I cleared my throat. “I don’t care what I said, I’m not a medical professional. You need to be looked at by the doc.”
He rolled over, trying to hide the wince, but I, of course, caught it. “But you’re the smartest person I know. If you think they look fine, I have total faith that you’re right and I don’t need to see the doctor.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Carter. Now get up and let’s go.”
He sighed again, this time louder and longer, but I ignored it and crossed the room to him. “I don’t need help,” he grumbled. But his hiss of pain as soon as he tried to get up himself proved that he did need my help, so I ignored that too.
It had been two weeks since he’d been shot, and thankfully, he was recovering well, but still. He needed to keep his appointments with the doctor so we knew if his healing was progressing like it should. And I needed to speak with the doc’s mate, Doreen.
I wrapped my arm around his waist as I continued to ignore his grumbles and led him down the hall to the staircase.
“Callista, I can walk.”
“Barely.”
He sighed again, but when he tried to take a step too fast, he hissed in pain and cursed
