His True Mate

Book 1 Chapter 20

VERITY

I felt something soft underneath me and voices around, but I couldn't place anything or anyone.

After what felt like hours, I slowly stirred and slowly blinked away the blurriness I had.

I moved slightly till I heard a voice.

"Verity," she spoke. "Verity."

I could hear the concern in their voice.

I tried to rack my brain at what had happened, but my mind was fogging.

What the hell happened to me?

I opened my eyes and spotted Sandy looking at me; tears stained her cheeks as she saw me. When her eyes met mine, she smiled.

"Peggy," she called out, "She's awake."

I moved, but I winced in pain in my leg.

What the hell happened?

"Careful," Sandy said, placing her hand on my arm, which made me look at her. "You were injured."

I didn't say anything but looked around till my eyes landed by the door.

There in the doorway stood Peggy, looking on concerned, but something else in her eyes was hard to figure out.

Sandy helped me up slightly in bed and made sure I was comfortable.

I watched as Sandy sat in the chair and looked over to Peggy, who was entering the room, but she never sat down. Her eyes were on me as she leaned on the wall.

"You okay?" Sandy asked as I looked back at her.

"Yeah," I said.

"Why were you in the forest?" she asked. "You shouldn't have been going there, not when it gets dark."

I stared at her but had to close my eyes.

I had pain penetrating part of my head that was making my whole face hurt, and like a flip of a switch, everything I went through in the forest came flooding back.

Walking through the forest and getting attacked by the wolf, but the image of Bow coming to my rescue and the both of them shifting. Both men were werewolves.

I should have known.

Axel told me, he told me what to look for when we were together, but I was so blinded by the way I was feeling for him that I never placed everything together.

I slowly opened my eyes and looked at Sandy, who looked worried, but I quickly turned to Peggy.

"Bow saved me," I said.

Peggy stared, and neither woman spoke.

"I know what he is," I said.

Peggy stared at me but sighed. She moved toward me and sat down; I kept my eyes on her as she took my hand.

"What is he?" she asked. "I need you to tell me."

I stared at her, but I whispered, "Werewolf."

I felt Sandy move slightly, but I didn't look at her as I kept my eyes trained on Peggy.

Peggy nodded.

"You know you can't say anything about what you saw, right?" she said.

I stared at her, but something changed within her as her eyes changed slightly; they went from her brown eyes to yellow and back to her brown ones.

She was one too.

"I won't say anything," I murmured, "You are one too."

Peggy gave a slight nod.

I sat there and leaned back into the bed but kept my eyes on her.

Silence filled the room, but Sandy broke it.

"You seem really calm about all this," she said, making me look at her.

I stared at her and realized she must be one too, as she acted like this was a typical conversation between friends.

"I know about your lot," I said with a small smile, "Well, I was told more about what you were. I have never seen anyone shift before."

Sandy nodded.

"The man you were running from, I take it," she said. "He was one."

I nodded and sighed.

"I was with someone," I said, "I hooked up with him for nearly six months. He only gave me a few pointers, and the only reason he told me was that his wolf took over one time."

Sandy nodded.

I looked over to Peggy, who stared back at me.

"What's going to happen now?" I asked as I took my eyes off her and scanned over my body. The bottom part of my leg was bandaged up.

I knew I couldn't move for a few days, but after that, I could leave.

"Nothing," Peggy exclaimed, which made me look back at her, surprised.

Peggy gave me a small smile.

"Bow and I don't want you to leave," she said, leaning toward me and placing her hand in mine. "You had us worried, and when Bow heard you scream, he went off running to save you."

I stared at her, relieved that I didn't have to leave.

"I want to thank..." I started to speak of the devil, and just like that, he appeared as Bow walked in through the door. He stopped as his eyes landed on me and gave me a small smile.

I smiled.

"I was going to say," I said, "Thank you for saving me."

Bow grinned and moved closer to Peggy, touching her shoulder.

"There's no need to thank me," he said.

I stared at Peggy and Bow, but something about them made me want to ask.

"Are you two mates?" I asked.

Bow and Peggy's eyes widened.

"How do you know about mates?" Peggy asked. "The wolf you met, he told you."

I knew all three of them were looking at me, and I knew I had to tell them the real reason; there was no more point in hiding behind it.

"Yeah," I said, "That was why I left. I didn't want to hang around and watch as he was with someone who was meant for him. I had started to catch feelings for him. He told me all about mates when he arrived, and that was the last time I would see him as he would look for his mate in his pack."

Peggy's face softens.

"What a low blow," she said, looking toward Bow with a smile as he spoke.

"Yeah, Verity, no wolf should do that to anyone," he said, "And yes, Peggy and I are mates."

I smiled.

"How did you guess?" he asked.

"It's how you look at each other," I said, smiling.

Bow grinned.

I looked at Sandy, who looked like she was staring into space.

"What about you?" I asked as she c****d her eyebrows up at me. "Do you have a mate?"

"You know I'm a werewolf," she said, making me slightly laugh.

"I figured out that you were," I said. "You are close with Peggy and Bow. So I assumed that you were as when I mentioned what Bow was, you didn't flinch."

Sandy stared but smiled.

"Yeah, I am a werewolf," she said, "But no, I don't have a mate. Not anymore."

I stared at her as her eyes glazed over.

Clearly, whoever it was, hurt her.

Sandy shook her and cleared her throat.

"My mate rejected me," she said, "He hurt me by being with someone else."

I could see the pain in her eyes.

I moved toward her and pulled her into a hug. Sandy rested her head on my shoulder as I felt hot tears cascade down my shoulder.

"I am so sorry," I murmured to her, "You shouldn't have gone through such pain."

Sandy pulled back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

"I hate being like this," she said and sighed.

"I don't think about him," she said as she looked at me, "I ran away from my pack and ended up here; that's where I found Peggy and Bow. They took me in and heard my story. They helped me and made me feel like part of the family."

I smiled.

"They are your pack now," I said, which made everyone look at me weirdly.

I looked between each of them. They were holding something back; I could feel it.

I frowned.

"That's what it is called, right?" I said, looking between them, "A pack."

Peggy cleared her throat, but it was Bow who spoke again.

"Verity," he said, "we're not a pack. We are what our kind call rogues. We don't live with a pack, we all live near each other, and that is it."

I stared at them.

"Rogues?" I said, looking confused.

"Yeah, sweetheart," Peggy said, "Rogues. We are them, but two types are around."

She looked at Bow and Sandy, "There are our types that don't mind banding together to be safe and look out for one another, and even humans," she said, "And there are the ones you saw in the forest; they are dangerous, and they will kill whoever they want without remorse, even humans."

I stared, starting to feel slightly scared.

Bow let a low growl escape, making me look up at him with wide eyes, but when his eyes met mine, they softened.

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to scare you."

I nodded, but he carried on.

"The rogue in the forest was new," he said, "He only came to town. We told him to leave, but he must have scented your scent."

I stared at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice a little scary.

"I meant the wolf knew you were human," he said, "I didn't think he would have noticed, but something about you lately has had a few other wolves question what you are."

I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"There's something wrong with me," I asked, looking at them.

Peggy was about to speak, but she didn't as a know came on the door, which made us all look, and a woman was standing there, smiling.

"I may be able to answer that," she said with a smile.