Page 69 of Seducing Sasquatch

I’m on my feet in seconds, rushing towards my bedroom, finding my mate wrapped up in my blankets with a tired look in his eyes.

“Hey, baby.” I sink into the side of the mattress, taking Blake’s outstretched hand in mine. He smiles at me, but it’s gone just as fast as it had appeared.

“Still sleepy?” I ask. I want to ask him if he’s alright. But I know he isn’t. I want to take the pain for him. I want to carry his burdens until the day I die.

Blake shakes his head, his bottom lip finding its spot between his teeth. It’s the anxious tick I can’t decide I love or hate.

“Hungry?” I run my fingers over his palm, seeing gooseflesh bump around his wrist.

Blake nods with a timid whisper, “I want a cheese toastie.”

My heart swells. Yes! Let me care for you. I’ll make you a thousand cheese toasties if it brings you joy!

“I’ll make you one, baby.” I smile down at him. “Did you want it in bed?”

For the first time today, Blake’s eyes light up. Nodding vigorously and bringing a chuckle to my lips, I scrub his bedhead before making my way to the kitchen.

Hurrying through the process, I’m carrying two plates with warm, crispy bread and melted cheese and a glass of water back to the bedroom.

Blake hasn’t moved an inch; his eyes peek open as I set the glass on the nightstand and hand him his plate.

“Thank you,” he murmurs, before taking a tiny bite from the edge.

I sit in silence, watching him as he begins to fill his stomach, my own toastie cooling rapidly, but I don’t care. I can’t take my eyes off him.

Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe he should have gone with his father. Our bond would have broken over time, and he would have been promised the life most people dream of. Unlimited money, success, respect. But as I watch the young man swallow a mouthful of bread, with his blond hair strewn across his forehead, I can see just how much he suits this life instead.

He can do anything he likes now. He can learn to hunt, or rock climb, or even to canoe. Hell, if he wanted to learn to surf, I’d move to the seaside in a heartbeat.

“Who was on the phone?” Blake’s voice draws me from my thoughts.

I clear my throat. “My mom. She was just checking everything was alright.”

Blake’s eyes widen with alarm. “She was supposed to come today! For breakfast! I’ll get changed!” His plate is thrust into my lap as the sheets billow around me. Blake tosses himself from the bed, his sleep shorts wonky on his hips.

“Wait.” I reach an arm out, banding it around his body and drawing him into my side. “I told her not to come.”

“What!?” Blake panics, his fingers tightening against the fur on my shoulder, making me wince.

“Breathe, baby. It’s fine. We needed some space from everything. I didn’t want you having to be social when you’ve just…” My words die on my tongue.

When you’ve just been disowned by your father.

Tears well in my mate’s eyes, and I push my sandwich aside, pulling him onto my lap and cupping his chin. “I’m sorry.”

Blake shakes his head. “It’s okay. I’m just… relieved.”

I nod, keeping my mouth shut to let him speak when the words find him. Blake’s chest rises and falls, and his eyes dart around my face, his brain pulling together each syllable.

“I am sad, I guess. But it feels like I can finally breathe.” Blake loosens his grip on my fur and fiddles in his lap. “But it’s so big. Like my world has suddenly exploded in every direction and I don’t know where to go. Like my brain can’t figure out whether I’m actually free or if my father will come back.”

I hum. “Give yourself time to find your center. No matter what happens, you’ll be able to handle it.”

Blake nods, blinking back tears. “I knew he wouldn’t understand. He’s always so… angry.”

I wince. “It probably doesn’t help that I threatened him.”

A small smile slides across Blake’s lips as he looks up at me. Yet before I can ask what’s funny, another wave of worry flashes in his eyes.