Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 24: A Little Trust, A Little Hope

Layla POV

After the gang came back from the bar, Chelsea and Jackson disappearing once again into his room upon arrival, she decided to go check on Isaiah while Drake took care of a few last-minute phone calls he needed to make for his pack. It was probably a good idea he didn’t come with her anyways, Isaiah didn’t seem too fond of him and if Drake’s first reaction to the boy was anything to go by, he didn’t seem too fond of the boy, either.

When she got to the door to the room Isaiah would be occupying, she knocked softly and waited. A few seconds later, the door opened about an inch, and she could see a brown eye staring curiously at her for a moment, before he finally opened the door wide. He turned and walked to the bed, and his lack of indication that she was welcome inside gave her pause. After a quick debate on whether or not to invade his space without a clearer sign that that was what he was indicating with the open door, she sighed and slowly walked inside, shutting the door behind her when he didn’t object to her presence. She turned back to him with a soft smile and slowly approached, wary of getting too close and spooking him. But just like the other times, he quietly allowed her to come within a few feet of him, simply watching her approach.

“Hey, hon,” she said softly. “How are you liking your new room?”

“It’s nice,” he responded simply.

“Good. I bet it’s better than sleeping on those stiff hospital beds,” she acknowledged with a nervous laugh. When he didn’t laugh with her, her own laugh petered off awkwardly. To be honest, it wasn’t easy to communicate with him. He wasn’t as sociable as most wolves were, but she could understand why. His abuse, his pack letting it happen, his becoming a rogue…it would’ve made less sense if he was a social butterfly. She wondered again if he’d ever met anyone in his travels as a rogue that helped him. “Hey, I’ve been wondering something,” she began haltingly, unsure if she should even ask, “and feel free to not answer, but, um…did you ever have anyone to help you survive as a rogue?”

She watched in concern as his eyes narrowed. Did she mess up? Would this drive him away? That look almost scared her. It almost seemed deadly, as much as he also looked suspicious about something. But he was just a kid, she must be misinterpreting it. Perhaps it was just a sore topic, and he was suspicious that she was going to use whatever information he gave to do something bad. Rogues, in general, had every right to be suspicious, after all. Most packs were more than happy to kill them, very few would let them be, and even fewer would help them. In fact, she didn’t know of any other pack whose alpha would be as caring as Alpha Richard.

After a lengthy silence of him searching her eyes as if for answers on why she wanted to know, and her overthinking his look, he asked the question he’d failed to answer with his piercing gaze. “Why do you want to know?”

“I really was just curious,” she said. “I-I know it’s really hard being a rogue, especially with how most packs prefer to deal with those they find, and, after all you’d been through, I guess I was hoping that someone helped you through all that.”

He spent another moment staring into her eyes, then finally answered the question she’d asked what seemed like forever ago. “Yes. I was helped by a couple of rogues I ran into. But we got separated near this territory. That’s when I got hurt and you found me.” His gaze stayed steady the entire time, but Layla got the feeling he was withholding something.

Not that it mattered, she didn’t need to know every detail, at least, not now. If, once he got healthy again, he didn’t want to stay here any longer and wanted to find the rogues who’d helped him again, then she’d ask for information that could help her find them. But that was a ways away, and she needed to earn his trust before he’d be willing to give her that information, and that was more than fair. He barely knew her, and she couldn’t blame him for not entirely trusting her. And he did try to trust her a little, allowing her near him, to take care of him, to give him a place to rest his head and food to fill his belly. That was enough for now.

“Did they give you clothes?” she asked, breaking yet another awkward silence. He nodded mutely, getting up to open the drawers in his room’s dresser, showing they were fully stocked. “Good. And you got dinner, right?”

“Yes.”

“Was it good?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding slightly. “Um, so, I’ll just go and let you relax. I’m sorry if I bothered you, I just wanted to make sure you got moved in and were properly taken care of while I was gone. I hope you have a good night.”

“Layla.” She stopped, already having turned and started walking to the door when he spoke. She slowly turned around. He hadn’t moved an inch, but his eyes showed curiosity. “What is that big man to you?”

“Huh?” she asked, taken completely off guard at the seemingly random question.

“You told me he’s safe, I wanted to know how you know for sure.”

“Uh, well, I guess I haven’t known him very long, only a few days, actually, but…I just…I have a feeling about him. Kind of like I have a feeling about you, I guess,” she said, struggling for the right words.

He considered her answer for a moment, then reminded her, “You didn’t completely answer my question. What is he to you?”

She paused, eyes wide. She hadn’t really thought about it herself. She liked him, and he was certainly attractive as well as great in bed, but…was he a friend? “I guess,” she said, pausing and biting her lip, “I guess I’d say he’s a friend. I know he has a tough exterior, but I’ve seen how kind he can be.” She didn’t notice she was playing with her hands as she thought about what she was saying. “It’s like he wants everyone to think he’s a scary guy, which is partially an alpha thing, and partially him, I think. But on the inside, he’s just as much a softie as you or I.” Looking down, she suddenly realized what she’d been doing and swiftly put her hands in her pockets sheepishly, not seeing the spark of amusement that passed through the boy’s eyes before it was gone again.

She looked up to see him nod thoughtfully. “Okay,” he said slowly. “I think I can trust you on that.”

At those words, her heart leapt and a grand smile crossed her face. “Well, I’ll check on you tomorrow. Oh, speaking of, would you like to go to pack training with me again?” Her heart sank when he slowly shook his head, but she kept the smile on her face and tried not to show her disappointment. “That’s okay, you should only do what you want to. I’ll see you tomorrow at some point, then. Sleep well.”

He nodded and she took that as her cue to leave. As she closed his door behind her and walked towards her own, she took in the fact that he’d actually said he trusted her on something. That was progress, right?