“Okay, first things first. Where’s the food?” I ask Ruby as my stomach grumbles in agreement.
Ruby leads me to the kitchen and starts pulling food out for a sandwich. I manage to stop myself from eating the ingredients before the sandwich is made. But once that sandwich is in my hands, I eat in total silence, enjoying every mouthful.
Once I'm finished we both head up to the bedrooms. Since I have to get up so early I should get as much sleep as possible. I also need to ring Misty and Benji, he should be home and I haven’t heard from him yet, I understand why he was so mad when I didn’t ring him after arriving here.
We get to Ruby’s room and say our goodnights before she enters and closes the door behind her.
My door is painted a lovely lavender colour. The bedroom is laid out the same as all the other rooms I’ve seen. There's a brass bed with the head against the far wall, which has bedside cabinets at either side. There is a dresser on the side wall that has a plant pot with a lavender plant in it. The other wall has two doors - I’m guessing an ensuite and a wardrobe. The room has a really calming feel to it. Not that it will help calm my wolf at all, she's too edgy. The only thing that will put her at ease is having our mate happy and healthy in front of us.
I take my phone from my clutch bag and call Benji. It rings for a long time making me think it's going to click over to voicemail.
I'm just about to disconnect the call when Aunt Lily answers.
“Hello this is Benjamin’s phone.”
“Hi Aunt Lily. It’s Rosabel. I’m just ringing to make sure he got home safely. Is Uncle Jack okay?”
“Jack is doing fine. He’s complaining about being cooped up so it seems he is back to his normal self. Benjamin is trying to distract him with a game of chess at the minute, but you know Jack. He won't be fooled for long. Shall I get him to call you back?”
“It's getting late now. I'll try him again tomorrow. Thanks, Aunt Lily. Pass my love onto Uncle Jack and you take care.” I suggest knowing I need to get as much sleep as I can.
“Thank you, Rosabel. Good night.”
“Bye,” I say, disconnecting the call.
I don’t bother putting the phone away. Instead I scroll through my contacts and call Misty.
“Hello?” she answers with a sleepy voice.
“Misty, it’s Bel. Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t in bed. I dozed off on the sofa with the candle burning, so it’s a good job ya called or the candle could have burnt the apartment down. How’s the pack coping without Theo?” she asks sounding more alert.
“They’re doing as good as can be expected and surprisingly they're letting me lead them. I only had a little trouble from Chloe, but that wasn’t anything new. She wouldn’t let me in. I knocked her out and ended up breaking Theo’s front door in the process.” I'm still dreading the cost of that door.
“You knocked her out?” she asks, surprise clear in her voice.
“Yeah, in my defence I just wanted to get past and I did try asking first. We have a plan for tomorrow night. The only thing is, with me falling into the leader position it means I need to be there. Do you think Lucy will be able to cover for me?” I ask dreading her answer. If she can't do it I have no idea what I will do.
“I guessed ya’d need a few nights off. She said she can do the next three nights.”
“Oh Misty you are a star! I’m so bloody unreliable. I’m surprised you haven’t fired me yet.” I say only half joking.
“The reasons you’ve been unreliable have been through no fault of your own. I’m not firing you for that.”
“Thanks anyway. I have to go now Wesley wants me up at eight thirty. Can you believe it? I think he’s mad. I’ll try and pop in the bar before all hell breaks loose."
“No problem. Sleep tight. I’m glad I won’t be up that early. He’s definitely not sane,” she jokes before disconnecting the call. I didn't even get to remind her to blow out the candles.
I quickly type up a text before setting my alarm for eight thirty and placing my phone on the cabinet by the bed.
I head into the bathroom to clean up. I find a towel and a towelling robe hanging on the back of the door so I decide to take a shower. The hot water running down my body is calming and relaxing but I start to remember my last shower with Theo. Before I know it I have tears streaming down my face. I don’t want Theo to be torn away from me before I really get to have him.
Once I’m dried with Theo fresh in my mind I decide to drop in on him to check he is still okay. I close my eyes and pray he’s there.
“Theo It’s Bel, can you hear me?” I wait for a reply but it doesn't come. I try again.
“Teddy baby, keep fighting. I’m coming to get you.” I still don't get a reply but I can faintly feel his hope. He must be in a deep sleep, hopefully healing. Either that or the tranquilliser hasn't worn off. I'll hope for the former.
I open the door of the bathroom to find Wesley sitting on my bed. Glad I decided to wear the robe; I pull the tie making sure it’s secure.
“Oh, hi Wes.” To say I'm surprised to find him here is an understatement. The look on his face tells me how worried he is. I have no doubts it's about Alyssa.
“How’s Theo? Is Alyssa with him?” He blurts out.
I make my way over and take a seat next to him. “I’m not sure. I couldn’t get a response from him maybe the tranquilliser hasn't worn off. I think he heard me because I could feel his hope, faintly. The good news is he's still alive. Sorry if I woke you up. I didn’t think I’d be noisy.”
“No it’s okay. At least we all know it’s just you and we’re not under attack. You need to keep checking on them to make sure they're all okay.” His voice trembles as he speaks. I don’t blame him.
I'm worried and I haven't been mated anywhere near as long as he has. I'm surprised he hasn’t tried communicating with her since she’s been missing. “Did Theo order you not to try and communicate with Alyssa?”
He looks across at me, with a stern look on his face. “Yes, he said I'd get lost in the communication and wouldn't leave her. It’s been killing me knowing I could talk to her but I’m not allowed. I know he’s right but it’s still hard.” he turns his eyes back to the floor before standing and making a move for the door. “I suppose I better let you get to sleep before you want to contact Theo again.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep.” I admit.
“I know,” he says as he closes the door behind him. Just before it shuts he sticks his head back in, “Thank you.”
I smile in return, but it's too late I'm left looking at a closed door. Getting into bed is easy. Laying there and trying to fall asleep is harder than I expected. I can't stop thinking about Theo and how if he hadn’t been taken we would probably be in his room right now, snuggling up in bed amongst other things. Thinking about snuggling with Theo makes me crave his scent. I quickly pull on the robe and go to his room.
I open the door to Theodore’s room and see Ruby sat on the bed with her back against the head board, cuddling one of the pillows in a death grip. If that pillow was a person they would be struggling to breathe. The room looks different from how it looked last night and I can’t quite place what's causing the change.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone would be here. I’ll leave you to it.” She looks up at me in shock like she hadn't even heard me enter.
“No stay.” She pats the bed next to her in a gesture for me to join her, “You miss him too. You need to be here just as much as I do.” That's what's different; the bed has fresh sheets on it. A deep blood red satin set is replacing the black set from last night.
I sit on the bed next to her and we both slide down under the covers and sniff the sheet at the same time trying to breathe in Theo’s scent. We look at each other and laugh.
“I know it doesn’t even smell of him because I helped him put them on fresh this afternoon. How stupid am I?”
“As stupid as me because I know they were black
sheets last night.” We both chuckle in unison.
“Do you like the red? He put them on especially for you. He said red is the colour of passion. It reminds me more of blood than passion but, hey, that’s my opinion,” she says with a shrug.
“Well to be honest, I thought of blood too, but don’t tell Theo I said that. I do like it though, now I know what he meant by it.” I admit.
“I heard you growling not long ago. Were you talking to him? How is he?” All the happiness she just had in her face vanishes with her words. I can feel nothing but sadness coming from her.
“He’s still in a deep sleep. I didn’t get a reply from him but I could feel him. He’s still alive,” I say cheerily, hoping to give her something to cling on to. “Will you tell me about him? I haven’t known him for that long; I’d love to hear some stories.” I add. Hearing about him will make me feel closer to him, and hopefully talking about him should do the same for Ruby.
25. ONE TRACK MIND
Rosabel