Leaning over with his head in his hands, Angel replayed how hard it was to leave Becca’s house. He had listened to her slide to the floor on the other side of the wood door, listening to the tears that were falling as she took in ragged breaths. His bear wanted to tear the door down to get to their mate. Comfort her and kiss away her tears. Instead, he forced his animal back and walked to his truck. He sat in it for a while before driving away, staring in the rearview mirror at the little house covered in flowers that held his mate. Now he was sitting at his brother’s kitchen table. His niece Talia was on his knee, gurgling and drooling on him. She was decked out in a black t-shirt with an attached hot pink tutu that barely covered her diapered butt. Her shirt said You Can’t Wear Pink Every Day. “Man, I don’t know what to tell you. Gemma loved me back from the moment I met her.” Eddie lounged on his couch; his feet propped up on the coffee table in the one small section that wasn’t covered in sippy cups and toys.
