Lighting The Fire

10

Sabrina

I woke up to find Gwen and Lily hanging out in my living room. From the looks of it, they had been there a while. I walk over and sit on the couch and smile at them. Gwen smiles at me, and Lily pulls me into a hug.

"Feeling better?" Lily asks.

"Yeah. That amount of power always takes a lot out of me. I haven't had to use that much in a while." I chuckle as I say this. 

"I heard it was pretty bad. I also heard that Eva was of no help at all." Gwen says.

"Maybe she didn't know what to do?" I say, trying to justify her inaction.

"Stop being so nice, Sabrina. You know as well as we do that she isn't any kind of healer. If she is, then she has very little power." Lily says, sighing in frustration.

I know she's right, but part of me feels sorry for the girl. Not only did she find out that the man she loves is my mate, but she also sees I'm a better healer. I have no doubts that Eva is suffering and depressed because of all this. I know I shouldn't feel bad for the girl since she didn't wait for her mate, but I can't help it. The problem is I'm too soft-hearted. Seeing anyone in any kind of pain is hard for me.

"I honestly think that she was trying to use the excuse of being a healer to get close to Oliver," Gwen says.

"Surely not?" I say. I can't imagine lying about healing to get something out of it. "What did the pack do during that pack attacks?"

"None of them were that serious. Most wolves healed on their own. This was the worst attack we've had in years. I've never seen a rogue inflict that kind of damage." Lily said.

"I'm sure once the guys have everything under control, they'll tell you what is going on. In the meantime, you guys hungry?" I say, feeling my stomach empty.

They both grin, so I know that they are right there with me. I go and pull out a frozen pizza and pop it into the oven. In minutes we are all sitting there stuffing our faces and talking about random topics to keep our minds off what happened. I found that I feel like I can relate well with both Lily and Gwen. I haven't had that many friends that were girls because of my friendship with Sebastian.

I look at the time and realize that it is almost midnight. The attack happened mid-morning, so what is taking so long. Surely, someone would have come and gotten me if there were more people hurt? I look over and see Gwen's eyes clouded over, so I know that she is mind linking someone.

"They're finally finished. Oliver and the guys are on their way over." Gwen says.

I tense up knowing that Oliver is going to want to talk about what happened this morning. I have no idea how to even feel about what I saw this morning. Hurt and confusion are eating me alive. Now, after the attack and seeing that Eva freezes under pressure and may not have that much power, I feel incredibly guilty that I am everything she wants. I also have this nagging in the back of my mind that she may not go down without a fight.

A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts, and I go to answer. There stand three very frustrated-looking men. They all walk in, and as soon as the door is closed, I'm pulled into Oliver's arms. He puts his face into the crook of my neck and inhales deeply. He and his wolf must be on edge, and my scent can calm them both down. After a few moments, Oliver walks us over to the sofa, and we all sit down.

"The attack was rogues, but not normal rogues that we see all the time. These rogues were stronger than anything we have ever seen. Their eyes were completely white, and they smelled like death." Eric says.

"Don't rogues always smell bad?" I ask.

"Yes, Sunshine, they do. The guys on patrol said this was the worst smell you could imagine. We have no idea what happens to these rogues to make them like that, but I have a feeling that isn't the last we'll see of them." Oliver says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "You guys head home and get some rest. We'll pick this all up in the morning."

Everyone says their goodbyes and heads home, leaving me alone with Oliver. I sit there on the couch, trying to think about what I want to say. The air is thick with tension, and neither of us is making a move to change it. I know that I need to be the bigger person and start.

"Oliver, I don't want to start our relationship with fighting. I'm going to try to give you the benefit of the doubt and try to move forward. You have an uphill battle in gaining my trust, but I think you already knew that. I'm begging you to please don't break my heart." I say, looking him in the eye.

"I know that what happened this morning was what you were afraid of. I also know that it makes me look like a man-w***e for being with more than one girl at a time. I promise you that there will never be anyone but you. I didn't consider how anyone would feel when I did all these things, and now I'm paying for it. I want the rest of my life to be with you." Oliver says.

"I hope you know that I'm trying to not let things get to me. I'm all new to this. I've never dated, or anything so be patient with me. I want this to work too." I say, trying to smile at him.

"I know we said we were going to talk about sleeping arrangements today, do you have anything in mind?" I ask, knowing that with today's surprises, he is going to want to stay by my side.

"My wolf and I do not want to be separated from you. The attack is just an excuse that I could use. The truth is that I can't bear to be away from you that long. I've been struggling all day, to not run over here and stay by your side." He chuckles at himself as he says this.

"Well, then I guess that means you're staying in my room. Do you need to get a shower and change? Do you have clothes?" I ask, not knowing if I have anything that he could use.

"I have an emergency overnight bag in the truck. I'll go grab it." He heads out, and in just a few seconds he is back with his stuff.

We head to my room, and I show him where the bathroom is so that he can get ready. I go ahead and lay down on my normal side of the bed and start reading a book that I have been enjoying. Thirty minutes later, a clean and bearly dressed Oliver emerges from the bathroom. He's shirtless with only a pair of sleep pants hanging off his hips. And my oh my, those hips.

I clear my throat and rip my eyes from their gorgeous view and see Oliver standing there scratching the back of his neck. He looks up at me and gives me a shy smile. I find it fascinating that a man with his experience seems nervous at the thought of sleeping next to me.

"Do you have a side of the bed that you prefer to sleep on?" I ask, honestly wanting to know.

"Um, no, not really. I've never shared a bed with anyone before." He says as he walks over and enters the other side.

"What do you mean?" I ask, slightly shocked by his words.

"I may have had s*x with those girls, but they never slept next to me. They've never been to my home either." He says, turning to look me in the eyes. "Suprised?"

"I hate to admit it, but, yeah I am." I sigh. "I don't mean to insult you or anything."

"I get it. To be honest with you, I didn't feel comfortable with them in my space that I would share with my mate. So it was either at their place or my office."  

"We are scrubbing that office down and getting all new furniture." I huff out.

Oliver, breaking into laughter, and I feel my face heat up. I look over at him, and he's trying his hardest to calm down, but he has tears streaming down his face from laughing so hard. I cross my arms over my chest, trying to keep myself from joining him in laughing. I fail miserably.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine, but your face was hilarious. Don't be mad." He wraps his arms around me and hugs me. "I will build a whole new office if that would make you happy."

"No, don't do, that," I say, chuckling to myself.

We end up falling asleep in each other's arms, talking. All the things that we wanted to learn about each other today we learned in bed. The day ended better than I thought, and I'm glad that I got the chance to get to know him.