The males took off, moving through the house. He wasn’t surprised. His pack was good at determining when he meant business. This was one of those times. Lake, however, didn’t budge.
His sister stared at him, tears in her eyes. “This is your mate?”
Oh hell. He hadn’t considered his baby sister’s reaction. It had been the two of them against the world for so long before he’d won control of the Manhattan pack. Maybe Betsy was right. Maybe he was an ass. He should have handled breaking the news to Lake differently. A text message or something. Shit
“Yes. But she doesn’t agree with it yet. Still trying to deny what’s between us. Betsy, this is my sister, Lake Fennell. Lake, this is Betsy. Lake is the Healer in our pack. That’s a special position. You’ll get all the details of pack rolls and politics later.”
Betsy extended her hand. “Look, I don’t know if I’m his mate. If I hadn’t seen him shift from a wolf into a human I wouldn’t believe any of this. But, if you can all help me with Nathan and my family, then I’ll be forever grateful. I’m Betsy Webber.”
Lake took her hand in her own. “I’ve always wanted a sister. If Cyrus says you’re his mate, that’s what you’ll be. Eventually.” She winked at her brother and then closed her eyes.
“Lake. No.” Seconds too late, he realized what his sister would do. In Lilliana’s presence, Lake hadn’t been able to control her need to heal. It was embedded in the DNA of the females in his family. They had no choice. He should never have let them touch. Lake would feel what was wrong with Betsy and need to make it better, whether the other woman was ready or wanted the change.
Cyrus rushed forward and grabbed their linked hands as Betsy collapsed with a scream. He managed to detach them and catch his mate before she fainted. He held her slight weight in his arms and stared at his sister’s wide eyes.
“Is it too late?” Dread settled into his stomach. Betsy shouldn’t be thrown into her wolf life any more than Lilliana should have been earlier that year. Everything it its time, and this was not that time.
“I’m sorry.” Tears streamed down Lake’s face. “It’s done. She’s going to change. Her wolf side is going to finally be free. As it always should have been.”
Buzzing filled his head. This was happening, whether he liked it or not. “Damn it.”
“I’m sorry, Cyrus.”
Betsy jerked against him. He petted her head. “Shove the sorrys, Lake. Help me get her out of here. This is nowhere for a first shift. We’re going to my office.”
Chapter Four
Her eyes had somehow been glued shut. Betsy wasn’t sure how, but she couldn’t open them. And someone had placed her in a fur coat and turned on the heater. Otherwise she couldn’t explain why she felt the way she did.
Betsy groaned, and it sounded more like a whimper.
“She’s waking up.” A female voice. She’d heard it before. Who was it? Lake. That was right. Betsy sniffed the air, wanting to smell Cyrus’ sister, which seemed weird. But since she couldn’t seem to open her eyes, she gave into the instinct. Lake’s aroma spoke of wind in the trees and sunsets.
Betsy forced her eyes open. How in the heck had she come up with that phrasing? How would she know what those things smelled like?
She looked left and right. Everything in the room looked a bit off. The colors were duller. A loud bang sounded somewhere in the distance, and she winced at the sound. Where was she? What was going on? Her heart rate kicked up. Something was wrong…she didn’t know what. Where was she? From the piping on the ceiling, it looked like some kind of unfinished basement.
“Cyrus. She’s fully conscious.”
The man who had blown into her life and thrown it onto a tilt-a-whirl walked over to her. She stared up at him. He was so beautiful. She blinked. Women shouldn’t think that about men. They weren’t beautiful…they were handsome. Yet, somehow he was. So lovely, in fact, that she couldn’t look at him for all of his tremendous perfection. She dropped her eyes.
“Now, now, princess. I thought we’d made some progress in that direction. You were doing a great job looking at me earlier.” He patted her head, and she whimpered. It felt so good to be touched by him, so soothing. He was goodness. He had all their best interests at heart. He would… She whimpered. Her thoughts were so strained, so muddled. What the hell was going on?
Cyrus sucked in his breath. “Damn it. Lake, you’re on notice for this. Learn control or don’t leave your apartment.”
In front of her, Lake looked down. “She needed fixing. That’s what I do. It’s like breathing.”