BK 3 - Chapter 35 - Wesley's Mate
Wesley looked at the woman in the bed and knew she was his mate. It took everything in him not to run over and wrap his arms around her. The nurse moved to put herself between him and Mindy.
"I'm sorry, but you need to leave." The nurse said, not wanting Mindy to be scared. Wesley showed her his badge, but she didn't move.
"Heidi, it's okay. He can come in," Mindy said softly. She had been adamant about no men in her room, but she felt a sudden calm when the handsome man with thick dark brown hair and piercing brown eyes walked in. Her eyes met his, and she couldn't look away.
"Do you want me to stay?" Heidi asked. Mindy looked away from the man she assumed was the INTERPOL agent and smiled at the nurse.
"No, I'll be fine." Heidi glared at Wesley as she walked out and shut the door. He was completely tongue-tied. He was almost twenty-eight years old and had focused on a career outside of the pack rather than finding his mate. Now, after all this time, he'd found her on the worst day of her life.
"Talk to her, you idiot," Sankar said. Wesley cleared his throat.
"Hi Mindy, I'm Wesley. I work for INTERPOL. Is it okay if I sit down?" He spoke softly, but Mindy still felt his voice wash over her like he had just wrapped her in a warm blanket.
"Yes, please sit down. I don't understand why INTERPOL is interested in what happened to me." Wesley sat in a chair next to her bed. He was careful to keep his distance, not wanting to appear threatening to her. He hid his fury when he noticed the bruises around her neck and wrists. She also had a split lip and multiple scratches on her arms and face. When he saw her studying him, he realized he hadn't answered her.
"Typically, this is not the type of crime we look into, but your case is different. I believe I know the man who did this to you. I just chased him from Venice to California yesterday. If I show you some pictures, can you tell me if any of the men is the one who attacked you?" Wesley saw her bite her lip nervously as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. He started to reach out and touch her but stopped himself.
Mindy watched him pull his hand back before touching her, and she felt disappointed. She hadn't wanted anyone touching her at first, men or women. She did allow the female nurses and doctors to examine her to get the evidence they needed to catch that crooked dicked bastard. Something told her she would feel better if she let Wesley touch her.
"I'll look at the pictures, but can you hold my hand while I do?" Mindy saw the shock on his face when she asked, but there was something else there too. Something that told her he was feeling a pull towards her as much as she was to him. She just needed to keep her emotions in check. There was no reason for anything about the past to come up right now.
"I'll hold your hand, but if I make you nervous or scared at any time, please tell me, and I can leave." Wesley's heart began racing. He wondered if they would feel the sparks everyone always talks about when they meet their mates. Sliding his chair closer to her, he watched her expression to make sure she was okay.
"This is going to sound strange, but you're the first person I've felt comfortable with in a long time." Mindy met his eyes with a small smile. She had never seen anyone so handsome. Her body hurt like she'd been hit by a bus, and all she wanted to do was curl up on his lap so he could hold her until the pain went away.
"I promise I will never hurt you," Wesley said sincerely. He slowly reached out to her. When he felt her cool smooth skin touch his hand, it felt like thousands of tiny electric currents were coursing through his body. He watched her face and saw her eyes widen in surprise as she gripped his hand tightly.
"Do you feel that weird tingly feeling?" Mindy asked, still feeling as though she was attached to a live wire. When she met his eyes, he was trying to stop his grin.
"I felt it too. Are you okay?" He asked while lightly rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand, sending more of those tingles all over her body.
"I'm fine. Do you want to show me those pictures now?" Mindy asked, holding his hand like her life depended on it. He pulled out his phone and flipped to the photos.
"I'm going to show you one at a time, and you tell me if anyone looks familiar, okay?" He could feel her pulse speed up against his palm.
"Okay," She answered in a small voice. Wesley studied her as he flipped through the pictures, and when he got to the fourth one, tears began running down her face.
"That's him. What's his name?" Mindy asked in a shaky voice. Wesley slid as close as he could to her bed and looked into her eyes after taking the picture away.
"His name is Raul. He won't hurt you, Mindy. I'm going to catch him, and he'll never hurt anyone ever again." Wesley gently brushed her hair out of her face trying to comfort and not scare her. She didn't recoil from his touch as he'd expected.
"What am I going to do when I leave here? They said I can go home, but I don't want to be alone. What if he finds me?" Mindy asked with fear in her voice. She was new to the area and had no friends and no family.
"I'm staying in a hotel not far from here where I'm setting up a team to go after him. I think that will be the safest place for you right now. I'll get you a room and make sure you have security until he's caught." Wesley knew there were no other rooms available, so he would give her his room and sleep in the hallway if he had to.
"Are you sure it will be okay for me to be there? I don't want to be in anyone's way." Mindy answered. She would let Wesley take her wherever he wanted if she didn't have to be alone and could be near him. She knew she was being irrational. She had been raped repeatedly by Raul and shouldn't be comfortable around another man only a few hours later. However, Welsey wasn't giving her any vibes that he meant any ill will toward her. He was exuding something that made her feel safer than she'd ever felt in her life.
"You won't be in the way. There are women there and even a few children." Mindy felt her heart breaking at the mention of women and children. She had to ask the question she dreaded even though it wasn't any of her business. He was just an agent doing a job, and she was a scared woman.
"Are you're wife and kids there?" Wesley looked into her dark blue eyes. Was she starting to feel the mate bond? His hand was still holding hers, so he lightly rubbed his thumb along the back of it again.
"I'm not married, and I have no kids or a girlfriend. The women that are there are my sister and members of her family. We have a rather large unique family." Mindy narrowed her eyes at him in confusion.
"Are you gypsies or something?" She asked. Wesley couldn't help the chuckle that came out.
"No, why do you ask?" He questioned.
"I just didn't think it was protocol for agents of any agency to travel with their extended family," Mindy said, looking down at their hands. His was large and warm. It completely encompassed her hand in a safe cocoon.
"Let's just say the man that hurt you has also hurt some of the women in my family. So this has turned into a family affair. I'm going to need to question you about exactly what he did, but we won't do that now. Let me talk to the nurses and see when you can leave, okay?" Wesley asked, already thinking of a plan.
"Sure. Please don't go far." Mindy said as he stood up and slipped his hand from hers. He gently rubbed her cheek where Raul had slapped her.
"I'll just be in the hallway. I'll be right back." He walked out of the room and found the nurse Heidi at the desk.
"Can you tell me when Mindy will be ready to leave?" He asked and noticed she had yet to warm up to him.
"Why is it any concern of yours?" She asked defiantly.
"That's between Mindy and me. She said she was told she could leave, and I would like to get her out of here. So can you drop the attitude and tell me if everything is in place for her to go?" Wesley appreciated the nurse trying to protect Mindy, but his patience was wearing thin. He had a call he needed to make before going back into her room.
"I'll talk to her myself. if she wants to tell you what I say, that's up to her." Heidi walked to Mindy's room, and Wesley pulled out his phone. Kitty answered on the first ring.
"Wesley, where are you?" She said without bothering to say hello.
"I'm at the hospital, but we'll be leaving soon. I need to ask you for a favor." Wesley walked to the end of the hall, where it was quiet.
"What do you need?"
"The woman I came here to see was raped by Raul, and she's my mate." He heard his sister gasp on the other line.
"What? That's unbelievable. So I take it she's not a shifter." Kitty asked.
"No, she's not. I'm going to give her my room at the hotel. Can you ask Melanie and Saxon if they can stay with her? I think Melanie will be able to comfort her as a woman and a caladrius." Wesley heard Kitty whispering on the other end.
"They said they'll stay behind with the cubs and Jade. Are you coming now? We can clear out the lobby so she's not overwhelmed if you'd like."
"Yeah, that would be great. Her name is Mindy. You and a few family members can stay in the lobby. I told her you were there." Wesley started walking back to her room.
"Will do. Oh, and Wesley. Congratulations on finding your mate." Wesley smiled as he hung up the phone. When he opened the door to Mindy's room, she was already in a wheelchair wearing a set of blue scrubs. He looked at her in confusion.
"How long was I gone?" He asked.
"Only a few minutes. Heidi said I could leave, and she gave me the scrubs to wear. The police took my ruined clothes. I've already signed everything, so can you push me, or do you want me to get a nurse?" Mindy had told Heidi that she was leaving as soon as she walked into the room. There was no way she was giving Wesley the chance to leave her behind.
"I'll push you. My car is outside, and the hotel isn't that far. I've got some work to do when we get there, but I've asked my sister's niece and her family to stay behind with you if that's okay. I don't want you left alone. Melanie is a sweetheart and about your age. She and her boyfriend Saxon have their adopted five-year-olds with them. They're also babysitting Jade, the adopted baby of Saxon's parents." Mindy looked up at him in disbelief as they got onto the elevator.
"Okay, I see what you mean when you say your family is unique. Thank you for having them stay with me, but I don't want to feel like a burden." Mindy answered. Although she was curious to meet his family, it would make her feel close to him.
"You're not a burden, trust me. If you would rather be left alone to rest, I can just have them check in on you." Wesley said as he pushed her next to his car.
"No, I would like them to stay with me. It will be a good distraction. When you're done working, will you come back to see me?" Mindy asked as he took her hand to help her out of the chair. She was still sore, but he made the pain better. She knew she hadn't dealt with the rape yet, and it would come crashing down on her eventually, but something told her he would help her get through it when it did.
"Of course, I will. I'll call and check on you while I'm away too." Mindy didn't know what came over her, but she threw herself into Wesley's arms and hugged him. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like she had come home when he wrapped his arms around her.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
