Page 79 of His Bullied Fated Mate

She shook her head. “No. I…I mean, there are times my mind does worry about it. But I know that’s not you, Riley. I do this because I want you to think about decisions with a levelhead. I know that the more you stress, the easier it is for your anger to take over.”

I tightened my fingers around hers and sighed. I had come to lean on her, but I only hoped it wasn’t too much for her. With her being pregnant, I didn’t want anything to happen. I wouldn’t risk it.

Chapter 22 - Janella

I heard a knock at the bedroom door, and I groaned. I pulled the pillow tighter over my pounding head and internally screamed at the pain.

“Janella?” Riley’s voice was soft as he grew closer to the bed. “You okay?”

“No,” I grunted, squeezing the pillow tighter.

“Morning sickness?”

It was morning sickness mixed with a massive hangover. I felt like someone had hit me with a truck and, for good measure, backed up. My head was pounding, and light made me wince.

“Yeah.”

I felt his hand reach out, resting on my back. “Is there anything I can go?”

“Can you grab me some meds? My head feels like it’s exploding.”

“Yeah.” His hand moved, rubbing at the back of my neck. “Do you want me to call your mother to cancel? She was going to come over for breakfast.”

I nodded. “Yeah.” I was not in the mood to see anyone. I just wanted to sleep.

I kept my eyes closed as I lay there. I took the meds that Riley gave me, and I held the covers over me, feeling like I was burning from the inside.

Riley was there for a while, rubbing my back. He placed a cold rag on my forehead and brought me more water when I needed it.

“I have to run out for a meeting,” Riley spoke softly as he moved off the bed. “Are you going to be okay here?”

I nodded, desperate to finally go to sleep. “Yeah.”

I heard his footsteps head down the hallway, and I rolled over, shoving my face into the pillow. I could feel tears welling up, wondering what I had done.

I drifted off to sleep, finally hoping to wake up feeling better. But I tossed and turned, dreaming of darkness and eyes on me. My head never stopped throbbing, and the medication did little to help.

I was curled in a tight fetal position when I heard a soft knock on the bedroom door. “Honey?”

I moved my pillow up enough to see if I thought it was who I thought it was. The voice was my mother as she stood in the doorway.

“Mom?”

“Hi, how are you feeling?”

“What are you doing here? Didn’t Riley tell you not to come?”

She nodded, walking into the room. “But he also sounded worried about you, so I told him I would stop in and check on you. He thinks you’ve been pushing yourself too much for the pack.”

I would have argued it, my head didn’t feel like it was splitting in two. “Mom…I’m fine. I just need sleep.”

Her hand reached out, her palm hot against my forehead. “How about I make that tea we’ve used for your headache and run you a bath?”

I just wanted to lie in bed and never move, but I didn’t argue with her. My mother held my hand more than a few times when I was sick, and I wasn’t going to stop trusting her yet.

“Yes…but wait on the bath.”

She brought me up some tea, which helped with the pounding. She rubbed my back while I lay in bed, softly humming. I felt like I was a teenager again, lying in bed while she cared for me. My mother always had a soothing personality, and I’d missed it.