Reed

I wake before Simone this time, the light barely coming in through the window. I haven't slept that long and am still exhausted, but I get up anyways. Carefully, so I don't wake up my mate, I climb out of bed and get dressed. I go down to the kitchen and make coffee, then grab a few eggs and bacon, getting the bread last.

In a half hour, I'm bringing up bacon and eggs with toast and orange juice, with a mug of coffee in case she likes it. She still isn't awake, and I see she's moved towards my side of the bed, her face in my pillow. Smiling, I set the tray of food down on the dresser and sit beside her, brushing her hair out of her face. "Wake up, beautiful."

Her amber eyes flutter open and lock onto me, a hint of surprise before they close again, and she takes a deep inhale. "What smells so good?"

"Your breakfast," I chuckle and go grab the tray.

"You made me breakfast?"

"I would have done it yesterday, but you got up before I did," I say and set the tray on her lap carefully. "Besides, I wanted to."

She takes the fork and digs in, moaning her appreciation. After a few bites, she holds the forkful of eggs to me, her eyes determined. I lean forward and close my lips over it, watching her carefully as she smiles. Pulling back, I chew and swallow as she tries the bacon. She grabs the orange juice and drinks before looking at the coffee and scrunching her nose. "No offense, but I don't like coffee."

"It's fine," I say and grab the mug, drinking it. She makes a weird face at me before going back to her food. I chuckle. "I'll remember next time you hate coffee."

"How can you stand the taste?" she asks.

"I add sugar and milk. It mellows it out and gives it flavor."

Shrugging, she finishes the food and moves the tray to the side, staring at me. I raise a brow and she shake her head, looking away, but then glances at me again. I laugh and set the coffee down before standing up and taking the tray. "What's funny?" she scoffs.

I glance at her and see she's blushing. "You're adorable. I like seeing you being shy." Simone rolls her eyes and pulls the blanket over her head. I chuckle again. "Get dressed. We're going out today."

This gets her attention and she look at me. "Where?"

"Surprise." She frowns but I shake my head. "Get dressed. Meet me downstairs and we'll go." Closing the door, I go back to the kitchen and clean up.

An hour later, I'm finished and waiting for her on the couch when I hear soft footsteps. Looking up, I see her in a black t-shirt and jeans with some sandals on her feet. Her hair is down, and she has little makeup on. Slung across her arm is a sweater and I can't help but stare at her. She smiles and walks up to me. "Now will you tell me?"

I smirk. "Nope."

"Why not?"

Standing, I put a hand on her lower back and guide her to the door. "Because that would spoil the fun!" I see her curious eyes glance around outside before coming to rest on the car. "Hop in."

I open the door and she slide in the passenger seat. Going around, I get in the driver's seat and start the car, pulling it onto the dirt road leading out of the territory. "You don't have to buy me anything else," she whispers.

I glance at her. "I'm not. We're not going to any stores today." She visibly relaxes and smiles. I furrow my brows and continue driving, unsure why she'd say that. "Simone, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

I sense more her nervousness more than anything. "Sure."

"Besides telling you lies about mates and keeping you isolated, how did they treat you?"

She was silent for a moment. When she answered, I was surprised to hear her voice was steady. "Usually they left me alone, but there were some in the pack who didn't think I was much more than a pile of dirt. In school, they bullied me and then after we all had grown up, 'he' continued to harass me."

"Who is 'he'?" I caught her glancing at me from the corner of my eye. "I won't do anything unless he comes after you again. I just wanted to know so I can be prepared."

"I think he's Roniston's Beta," she said quietly, not entirely answering my question. "He's never liked me even though I was minding my own business."

"What about Jena?"

"She's always been on the Alpha's side, always agreeing with him, but also taking part in the Beta's jokes."

"What do you mean?" She doesn't answer and I glance at her. Her hands are trembling slightly, and her eyes are glassy. I pull over and turn to her. "Simone!"

She looks up with fearful eyes. "Reed, they try to…to… It hurts and Jerom…"

"Hey, look at me." I cup her face and lock eyes with her. "The Beta and Jena cannot hurt you. Jena has already been warned once. She knows the consequences of trying to hurt you again. This Beta isn't allowed on my territory without permission, okay?" She nods, relaxing a little. "I'm not going to let anyone get away with hurting you ever again."

"Roniston never claimed to hear anything and wouldn't believe Jerom when he told him anything."

"Listen carefully," I whisper. "I'm not Roniston. I will listen to you if ever something is wrong. I will seriously drop what I'm doing and come to your aid. You don't need to fear me, okay?"

"I don't want to see them ever again."

"You don't have to, Simone. I'm not letting you go near their territory. They aren't safe for you. If they come here, someone will always be with you, okay?"

She nods, wiping her tears away and gives me a strained smile. "I trust you," she whispers shakily. Reaching up, she embraces me. I wrap my arms around her, hugging back and feeling relieved we're getting somewhere. When she pulls away, Simone takes a deep breath and lets it out.

"Are you okay?" I ask softly.

"Yes. I just don't like thinking about it," she says.

"Okay. Let's forget about it for now and see what good can come out of this day, shall we?"

Her smile brightens as she nods vigorously. This gives me hope and I turn back to the road and continue to drive.

I finally steer us into the city's downtown area and park the car. Simone looks around and has a little lighter in her eyes as we get out. I take her hand and walk past all the stores and people, past the cars and stop lights, past all the noise of the bustling business, and into the park. There are trails leading to different areas of the city for pedestrians and bikers, a small pond in the center where birds fly in and out, and benches scattered about.

Simone lets go of my hand and runs up to the edge of the pond, scaring all the birds away and gazes at the crystalline water with a smile. I go up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, seeing the joy she has at being here. Putting her hands on mine, she leans her head back on my shoulder and closes her eyes, a small smile on her face. After a moment, I make us move so we go down a trail.

Simone opens her eyes and walks beside me, hand clasped in mine and taking in the views. I watch as she seems fascinated by everything around us, including the squirrels, and laugh while she dances around for a minute or two. Her hair shines golden in the sunlight, her skin glows, and she's the happiest I've seen her. We make it to a little vending stall where a man is selling hot dogs. I buy two for each of us and continue walking with Simone.

It's early afternoon when my phone goes off and I see its Corey. "Is it okay if I answer?" I ask Simone. She glances at the phone then nods once, going off a short distance. I press a button and answer. "What's up?"

"Just seeing how everything was going," he says, and it sounds like he's eating something.

"Fine. Did you just call for that?"

"No," he murmured and was silent a long moment. "Jena wanted to talk to her."

"About?"

"She wanted to apologize. She said she wanted to explain her actions to Simone and ask if they could start over."

"And she couldn't wait till we got back?"

"Jena just said she wants to do it as soon as possible because her guilt is killing her."

I snort and walk up to Simone, putting an arm around her waist. She smiles up at me and says, "Is everything okay?"

I press the phone against my chest so no one on the other end could hear and whisper, "Corey wanted to know if you could talk to Jena for a minute. She wanted to apologize."

Simone instantly turned pale and I close my eyes, hating that look. "Can it be later?" she asked softly.

"Of course, it can." I hug her to me and put the phone to my ear. "Not now, Corey. She isn't willing right now."

"Jena's insistent, but I understand."

"If she can't wait, then she can suffer."

"She can wait," Corey said and hung up.

I sigh and put my phone back, looking down at Simone. She was quiet but didn't seem like she was going break. "Want to go somewhere else?" I ask.

"Can we get ice cream?" she asked and looked up at me. "I haven't had ice cream in a long time."