Chapter 16: Ada's Mate

Ada

I am an emotional mess as I follow Blake and Cooper into the clinic. This is the weirdest experience of my life – and I share a home with crazy.

“Ada,” Zoe falls in beside me. “What happened? Is Cooper okay? Were you attacked?”

“No,” I shake my head and look at her.

“What’s wrong with you?” I look at her intently. “Have you seen a ghost?”

“It’s … it’s nothing,” she stutters and avoids eye contact. “I’m only concerned about you.”

“Liar,” I glare at her. “But I will get the truth from you later. We need to figure out what the hell is going on with Cooper.”

“I … uhm … I think I know what’s wrong with him,” she says softly and I look at her in surprise.

“You do?” I ask with big eyes, and she nods. “Well, tell me.”

“I think his wolf is coming back,” she whispers.

“With so much pain?” I frown. As much as I miss Taima, I do not know if I am ready for this level of pain. For crying out loud, the pain brought a grown man to his knees – twice.

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, and she seems close to tears. “Nobody else reported this level of pain and …”

“Zoe, why are you so upset?” I eye her suspiciously. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Were there complications when the others’ wolves returned?”

“Just come,” she sighs, taking my hand and dragging me behind her.

I follow her blindly into the clinic towards the noise. I can hear Blake raging on and demanding answers to what is wrong with Cooper.

Zoe and I come to a standstill at the door and the second Cooper sees us, he gets up.

“What are you doing?” Blake barks. “Get back in bed so the doctor can fix you.”

“She’s my mate,” Cooper whispers and suddenly everybody goes quiet.

In astonishment, I look from Cooper to Zoe. There is a light in her eyes that I have never seen before, but she does not move. So, this is why she is so upset. She is concerned for her mate.

“You two are mates?” I gape from her to Cooper.

Zoe looks at him nervously and then it hits me. She has no idea if he is going to accept her. Especially since Cooper is looking at me. Is he waiting for my approval because we kissed earlier, and he said those things to me?

So, what if he thought I am enchanting? I think he is a gorgeous, sexy man with a beautiful soul. That does not mean I want to marry him and settle down in a house with a white picket fence and 2.5 five children. From what I have heard, all those feelings evaporate the moment you meet your mate. But he is a good guy and I guess he is considering my feelings.

“That’s awesome,” I smile brightly at him. “You have your wolf back, Cooper, and you found your mate, congratulations.”

“Is that true?” Blake asks. “Is your wolf back?”

“Yes,” Cooper smiles as he stares at Zoe. “Can I have a moment alone with Zoe and Ada?”

“Yeah, sure,” Reese takes a frozen Blake by the arm and drags him out. “Anything you need.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask the second we are alone.

“In the caves …”

“That doesn’t matter,” I cut him off quickly. “You didn’t have a mate then.”

“What happened in the caves?” Zoe looks uncomfortable as she folds her arms in front of her.

“We kissed,” I look directly at her. “That’s when the pain started.”

“Only kissed?” Zoe glares at me.

“Have I ever lied to you?” I ask seriously and she shakes her head. “It was a single kiss, Zoe. Up till then, there was a possibility that he could be my mate.”

“I had no idea Zoe was my mate when my wolf was dormant,” Cooper explains. “But even in his dormant state, he was aware that we’d met our mate when I saw Zoe for the first time. I just didn’t know it. When I kissed Ada, my wolf fought me for control because he knew it wasn’t our mate. That’s why I got a headache. And when Ada touched me outside while Zoe was approaching us, he fought even harder until he surfaced.”

“Impressive,” I nod and look at Zoe. “Your mate’s not a cheater.”

“But why didn’t my wolf pick up on the mate bond?” Zoe frowns. “I mean, isn’t it similar to a wolf being mated with a human?”

“If I were a human, yes,” Cooper gives her an endearing look and I cannot help but feel emotional. No woman will be able to resist a man if he looks at her like that. “But I’m not. I’m still a wolf, he was only buried deep inside. Too deep for your wolf to pick up on the bond.”

“Well,” I clasp my hands together as I look at them. “All my questions have been answered. Now, I will leave the two of you to discuss you know … stuff.”

I wink at Zoe before I get out of the room as fast as my ankle allows me. As much as I would like to stay and watch their fairy tale unfolds, it is not my place. Besides, I know Zoe will give me all the details later.

“We can go,” I smile at Reese and Blake when I meet up with them in the waiting room. “I doubt that we’ll see those two until dinner.”

“I must see for myself that he’s okay,” Blake grunts as he pushes past me, and I grab his wrist.

“Let them be,” I say softly as he sternly looks at me. “He told me everything and he’s fine. I will repeat word for word if you want, but the last thing they want or need is an audience.”

Blake does not say a word as he stares at me but I refuse to budge. He might be used to getting his way, but not this time. Not only is Zoe my best friend, Cooper has been nothing but kind to me. They deserve a moment to themselves.

“Blake,” Reese says firmly. “Let it go. Zoe is not June.”

Blake snorts indignantly as he jerks his hand from my hold and storms to the exit.

“Geez,” I roll my eyes. “His mate really did a number on him.”

“You have no idea,” Reese sighs heavily as he follows Blake.

I am caught up in my thoughts as I follow. Cooper found his mate. Blake has – or had, I do not know – June. Does that mean Reese is my mate? It is not impossible. Taima did like him best. And honestly, I will not complain if Reese is my mate. He is steady, uncomplicated and caring. Not to mention hormone-spinning beautiful.

**

“Did you find anything deeper in the caves?” I ask when we drive back to the castle.

“Not really,” Reese replies as he turns in the passenger seat to look at me. “Nobody is living there but people go there often. There are plenty of footprints.”

“To do what?” I murmur to myself as I look out of the window. There is nothing in those caves. I know – as kids, my brothers and I played there often.

“There are no blankets or empty food containers,” Reese continues. “Absolutely nothing. It looks like people are walking and out and that’s it.”

“We’ll have to look at the tides,” I look back to Reese. “And we must stake that place out. It makes no sense for people just to stroll around there. Once is curiosity but more than that means there’s purpose.”

“We’ll do it,” Blake speaks for the first time since we left the clinic. “Besides the obvious that you’re injured, nobody will miss us at night.”

“Zoe and Cooper can stay with you at night while we stake the caves,” Reese smiles at me.

“There’s no need,” I say politely. “Once we tell Tyler …”

“No,” Blake cuts me off brusquely. “The less your brothers and father knows, the better.”

“I trust them,” I argue. “And my dad is the alpha. It’s his right to know.”

“Your dad is also related to Clyde and we don’t trust him,” Blake says adamantly. “And the fact that Theo covers for Clyde to a certain extent makes us cautious about sharing information with him.”

“Dad only covers for him because he’s family,” I reason. “But he will never allow his feelings to interfere with the pack’s safety.”

“If that were true, Theo would’ve investigated Clyde for the bomb after your accusation,” Blake insists. “For f*ck’s sake, Ada, he didn’t even take action against him after he came into your room and for that you had witnesses.”

“Yeah,” I mumble as I cross my arms and stare out of the window. I want to argue, but I know they are right. As much as I love and respect Dad, I cannot deny that he has a blind eye when it comes to Clyde. If I were Reese and Blake, I would not trust him. So, yes, I get it, but that does not mean I like it. It just really, really irritates me that I cannot go. I might not be the alpha or future Luna, but this is home. My home. And I am a warrior. It is my duty to protect the pack.

“Home, sweet home,” Reese says as Blake parks the car.

“Yeah, whatever,” I mumble and roll my eyes.