Taking Her for Granted

*Rowan*

“She’s fine,” James tells me for the hundredth time since I brought Hezzlie inside into her room. I’m still kicking myself that I didn’t quite make it to her before she collapsed on the ground outside after the magic battle with Veronica. She didn’t seem to hit her head or harm herself, but I’m sure she’ll have some bruising. I could’ve prevented that if I would’ve moved quicker.

I was trying not to get involved. Throughout the entire battle, I was itching to jump in and defend my mate, but it was clear she was winning, and getting in the way would’ve been a stupid instinctual act on my part. 

Now, Veronica is locked in her room while I try to decide what to do with her. I told her if she harmed a hair on Hezzlie’s head, she’d be a dead woman. I’m not sure if this counts or not since she didn’t actually do anything to my mate. She wasn’t capable of doing anything to her. Hezzlie is a badass who overpowered the most powerful witch the clan could throw to us.

Damn, I’ve never been more proud of her.

But she’s been out for a couple of hours now, and all I can do is sit here and stare at her, wishing she’d open her eyes.

“It could take a while,” her mother says quietly. “It did last time, right?”

“Yes.” She’s right, of course, but that doesn’t make me want to go off and do something else while we wait. It’s getting late in the day. I’m sure there are people in this room who are getting hungry. I wish they would all leave to go see if there are any leftovers from lunch which should’ve been served already.

I’m not going anywhere.

Just when I’m about to tell everyone they should go when Hezzlie’s eyelashes begin to flutter. That’s usually a good sign, and only a few minutes after that, she’s looking at me.

“Wh-what happened?” she stammers, attempting to sit up. 

I don’t let her sit up. “You passed out again,” I tell her. “Don’t sit up yet. Take your time.”

“I’m okay,” she insists, pushing my hand aside so that she can sit up. I let her. “What happened?”

“You used all of your energy to defeat Veronica,” James explains to me. “Let me check your vitals.’

That’s my cue to move, but I would rather sit here and growl at him. He gives me an exasperated look, and I get up and step aside so he can make sure her blood pressure and temperature are okay. When the healer is satisfied that she’s all right, he moves away. “She’s fine.”

“Thank goodness,” Ann says with a sigh. She rushes in front of me and hugs her daughter. I grumble some more. Dean, Natalie, and Wilma are standing behind me. They’ve been here the entire time, refusing to leave even when James said she’d be fine in a bit. Now, they laugh at my reaction. I turn and glare at them.

“Ladies, I think we should go get some food,” Dean suggests, offering them both an arm.

Wilma takes one, and Natalie takes the other. “Glad you’re feeling better,” Wilma calls.

“Get some rest,” Natalie says.

“Nice job out there, Hez.” Dean winks at her in a friendly fashion, but my wolf growls at him, and he picks up his speed walking out the door.

“Did he work everything out with Abby?” Hezzlie asks no one in particular once the three of them are gone. 

I have no idea. It’s been the least of my worries.

“They’ve been talking,” James explains. “Abby feels awful about what happened. She wants to talk to you when you get a chance.”

“Not now,” I bark.

James turns to look at me. “I never said right this minute.” He shakes his head but doesn’t say anything that will give me another chance to snap. “I think we should give them some time, Ann.”

Hezzlie’s mother pats her head. “All right. I love you, baby,” she says. I guess Hezzlie will always be a baby to her.

“I love you, too.” The two of them exit the room, and I move back toward Hezzlie. She narrows her gaze at me. “What’s gotten into you?”

My first instinct is to be defensive. “What?” I sit down on the bed next to her so that my hip is near her knee. “You were unconscious again.”

“It’s not the first time, though,” she reminds me. “It happens every time I use too much of my power. You had to know I’d be okay.”

“I’m never going to take for granted that you’ll be all right,” I tell her. “It doesn’t matter how many times I see you pass out from exhaustion, Hezzlie. It’ll never be easy.”

“I understand that it’s probably difficult for you to see me like that.” She looks slightly embarrassed. “But I don’t know what else I can do. I had to defeat her. Did she leave?”

I shake my head. “No. She’s in her room. I’m not sure what to do with her now.”

“What do you mean?” Her forehead crinkles. “She didn’t hurt me. She could have, after I passed out, I suppose, but that’s not what we were doing. I won the battle. I proved I’m stronger than her, and now she can just go back to training Mom. Or go home. Maybe I can train Mom myself.”

“Hezzlie,” I begin, running a hand through my hair and trying to choose my words carefully. “Do you have any idea how difficult that was to watch?”

She stares at me for a moment, unblinking. “What? Me passing out?”

“No! I mean, yes. That, too. But watching you battle against that woman and not being able to help you. It was all I could do to keep my wolf contained. He wanted to rush over there and rip that witch limb from limb.”

“But I was always winning,” she says. “There wasn’t any point where you would need to hurt her or defend me.”

“It doesn’t matter.” It’s difficult to keep from getting exasperated. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Even when I was rushing up those stairs, bleeding all over the place, trying to get to my parents’ room in time to help them, I didn’t feel as compelled to protect as I did watching Hezzlie battle against Veronica. “I saw you in a precarious situation, and I wanted to protect you.”

“What are you going to do when we’re on the battlefield together?” she asks. “You won’t be able to let my situation distract you then.”

“I definitely won’t let you be out there without me somewhere nearby where I can make sure you’re safe,” I tell her. “When you’re focused on using your power, you open yourself up to attacks from other directions.” I can just envision someone sneaking up on her and taking her out from behind because she isn’t used to being on a battlefield and doesn’t know all the risks doing so entails.

She laughs. It’s a sarcastic sound that I would probably think was cute if it wasn’t pointed at me. “I’m not going to let someone sneak up on me when I’m on the battlefield. I’ll be able to blast the hell out of anyone who comes at us because they don’t have anyone who’s nearly as powerful as I am.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” I tell her. “And you can’t be everywhere at once. Your magic has a range, you know?” 

“Who do you think they have that can counter my power if Veronica can’t? And she’s on our side, but the way.” She folds her arms in a show of defiance that has my cock twitching despite the anger I’m beginning to feel.

“I don’t know. Alistair? We don’t know for sure,” I remind her. “I would like to think it’s as easy as you just walking out there and frying all of them, but it won’t be.”

“It might be,” she counters.

I shake my head. “No, it won’t be. So you’ve got to accept the fact that I’m going to make sure no one hurts you while you’re out there.”

“Then you’ll be distracted, and you’ll get hurt,” she argues. “You don’t want to be in another situation where you have to depend on someone else to save your ass, right?”

That stings. I’m sure she didn’t mean to offend me, but the fact that I’d gotten myself into trouble during the last fight, which was nothing more than a skirmish, is a wound I don’t need to be poked. “I would’ve figured it out.”

“If my brother hadn’t shown up when he did, you’d probably be dead.” I don’t hear anger in her voice. She’s unfolded her arms and is leaning toward me. “We all have to watch out for one another, I get that. But I can’t have you treating me like I'm a liability out there.”

“I will always protect you.” I move closer to her so that there’s only a centimeter or so between our noses. “You are my mate, my wife-to-be, my Luna. I can’t let anything happen to you. Not on the battlefield, sure the hell not in the back yard or under my own house. I love you, Hezzlie.”

“I love you, too, Rowan.” She’s smiling now, and I realize we’ve argued our way right out of the fight. 

I capture her lips with mine in a searing kiss and pull her close to me. I explore her mouth for several moments, my hands roaming, but the entire time we’re kissing, my mind is focused on something else.

I can’t just take for granted that she’ll be my wife.

I pull away from her. “I have to go.”

“What?” Hezzlie’s forehead wrinkles once more. “But things were just starting to get interesting.”

“I’ll be back.” I hop up off the bed and headed for the door, hoping my dick calms down a little before I get out into the hallway. 

Briskly, I walk to my room and close the door behind me. She’s probably wondering what the hell I’m up to, but I can’t continue to live like this. Crossing to my dresser, I open the top drawer and pull out a box. Taking a deep breath, I pull out the contents and make up my mind.