Jaded Hearts
Chapter 33

Kade

“Did that chick just call you a w***e, and me a tramp? What’s her problem?”

“I don’t have time for this s**t now, Scarlet. Get out.”

“You called me here, and now you’re kicking me out? What about—”

“OUT! I need to go replace her.”

I snatched my shirt from the floor and rushed through the halls to replace Morgan. She was hurting because of what she saw, and I needed to fix this. I followed her scent of apple pie and found her in our room, shoving her clothes into a huge suitcase.

“Morgan, that wasn’t what you thought it was. Please let me explain.”

“f**k you, Kade. I know what I saw. I actually trusted you. I had given up on men, but I let you in. But you’re all the same, no matter what I do. I always get hurt.”

“I’d never hurt you, sugar. You know that.”

“Don’t call me sugar ever again! Only the man I loved, the man who treated me with dignity and respect could call me that. You’re nothing to me now. You don’t get to call me that!”

Fat tears rolled down her face, and each one was like a knife to my heart. Having your mate tell you that you’re nothing to them is one of the most painful things a wolf can go through. I had to fix this.

“Morgan, stop packing and let me explain. Nothing happened.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I walk in before you got the chance to shove your d**k down her throat? I know how much you like that s**t. Hopefully, the b***h has control of her gag reflexes, or you’re going to be really disappointed.”

She was getting more and more pissed and was refusing to let me talk.

“Morgan! Just f*****g listen to me! Scarlet is my tattoo artist. And she’s gay. Nothing happened!”

“Bullshit! I saw her all over you. You think I’m stupid?”

I grabbed her arms as gently as I could and turned her to face me.“No, I don’t think you’re stupid, but you’re being really childish right now. Just listen. She is my tattoo artist, and she was looking for the best place to put the design I had sent her.”

I pulled out my phone and opened my messages to Scarlet, then tried to hand it to Morgan. At first, she refused to take the phone. She wouldn’t even look at it.

“Morgan, if I mean anything to you at all, take the f*****g phone. Now.”

She snatched it from my hand and looked down at the screen. It was a sketch I had drawn out one night when I couldn’t sleep. It was of Morgan’s incredible eyes and all seventy-six of her adorable freckles below them. I wanted her with me everywhere. I wanted her image to forever be a part of me.

“You were getting a tattoo … of me?”

“Yes, woman. Damn! You’re all I want. You’re it for me.”

“But why didn’t you say anything to me before? If I would’ve known …”

“It was supposed to be a surprise. I know how much you love my ink, so I figured you’d like to see yourself added to the collection.”

“Are you sure? She just seemed more like your type than I could ever be.”

“How is that? The only type of woman I want is a sexy pastry chef with bi-colored eyes, perfect lips, and the most incredible heart. It’s only you.”

“But, I’m a werebear, Kade,” she whispered.

“And I’m a werewolf. You didn’t turn away from me when you found out what I was, and I’m not going to do it to you either. You’re my world, sugar. I love you.”

She laughed, and I pulled her into a hug. “Can I please call you sugar again? Or do I still mean nothing to you?”

“You can call me whatever you want. And you mean everything to me. I’m sorry I called you a whore.”

I just shrugged my shoulder. “I was a w***e, the biggest one around. Until I met you.” I cupped her face and tilted it up so that she was looking at me.

“So, you spoke to your grandmother?”

She just nodded her head.

“Did she admit what your grandfather was?”

“Yeah, then she tried to deny it and jumped off the phone. I was coming to tell you when I walked into your office. I’m really sorry.”

“I’m over it. As long as you’re still my girl, it’s water under the bridge.”

“I am.”

I took her hand and led her to the bed to sit. “I spoke to the pack doctor and an Elder this morning.”

Her eyes got big, and she looked over at me. “What did they say?”

“Good news and bad news. The good news is that we can have babies. They’d obviously be hybrids, and probably primarily wolf, but you can get pregnant and carry my child with no problems.”

“That’s good to know. What’s the bad news?”

“I can’t turn you. The fact that you still have strong bear traits, like that sexy eye of yours, means that you have too much bear DNA in your b***d. If I added wolf DNA to the mix, they would battle for dominance and destroy your body. It’s not a possibility that it would kill you; it’s a guarantee.”

“So, I can’t be a member of the pack, can I?”

“Of course you can. You just wouldn’t be able to mindlink them.”

“Can we mark each other?”

“I can mark you, but I don’t know if you can mark me. We’ll have to replace out if you have the ability to shift, at least partially.”

“So, you still want me?”

“Yes! What do you need me to do to prove this to you? I’m going to always be faithful to you, I’m going to always want you, and I’m going to always love you.”

“Sorry, I was just never good enough. Constantly getting hurt is what made me kick off my man-free celibacy period. It’s hard to accept that someone like you actually accepts me.”

Her heart had been broken so many times. It didn’t matter how much I told her I wanted her. It would never be 100% again. It’s like if you broke a vase and glued it back together. Even if you had every single piece, it’d still never be the way it was before. Morgan’s heart was that broken vase, but I was determined to love her through all the past pain until she was as close to perfect as she would allow herself to get.

“Forget about everyone before. Just focus on me. You’re more than good enough, Morgan. You’re more than I deserve.”

* * *

Morgan

After Kade calmed me down, I made sure he let Scarlet know how sorry I was for how I reacted. I had been cheated on more than a few times in the past, and it was hard not to immediately think the worst when I saw them together. But I believed him when he said he loved me, so I was determined to work on my insecurities and make our relationship work. And the first thing I needed to do was learn more about being a werebear.

I hadn’t gotten a response to my text to Tyson, so I decided to call him instead. If he was still in Rome, the time difference could be a problem, but at least he would see the missed call and know that I really needed to talk to him.

He picked up right before I was going to disconnect the call. “Hey, Mo! I haven’t heard from you in a while. What’s going on?”

“A lot, actually. I heard you ran into Taylor in Rome. How was that?”

“It was good until her dude walked up and interrupted us. Do you know him?”

“I do. He’s my boyfriend’s best friend.”

“s**t. So, you couldn’t help your cousin out by hooking me and Taylor up?”

“Not at all. Matt and Taylor are perfect together, and more than a little bit in love. You really don’t stand a chance.”

“We’ll have to see about that. So, what can I do for you? I know you didn’t call to reminisce on old times.”

“You’re right. I called because I need you to teach me about werebears.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You don’t deny you’re a bear?”

“No, I’m proud of what I am. But why do you care?”

“Because it seems that I’m a bear too, or at least partially. And my boyfriend’s a wolf, so I need to figure myself out.”

“Ohhhh, I see now. I thought I smelled dog, but you can’t always be sure who it’s coming from. Matt’s a wolf, too, huh?”

“Why are you so focused on him? I need your help. He has nothing to do with it.”

“Fine. You want me to help you? I will, but you also have to help me.”

“Tyson, I don’t have the patience for this right now. If you’re after Taylor, the answer is no. She’s happy, finally. Leave her alone.”

“That woman is my first love; she’s the one that got away. Now, are you going to help me get her or not?”

“Hell. No. You know what? Get off my phone, Tyson. I’ll figure all this out some other way. Bye.”

“Wait! Mo, just wait a second.”

“What?”

“How about we all have lunch? It can be the three of us, just like old times. Then I’ll teach you everything I can about what we are.”

“I’ll see what Taylor and the guys say. Then I’ll let you know.”

“Why do you need to tell them? Just bring sunshine and meet me.”

“Bye, Tyson. I’ll let you know.”

I hung up my phone and tossed it on the bed. I needed to replace another werebear knowledge base. Tyson was going to make me crazy, lusting after my best friend like he was. Kade walked in to replace me massaging my temples, trying to figure out my next move.

“You alright, sugar?”

“Not at all. I called Tyson to get him to help me learn about bears. It didn’t go how I had planned it.”

“No? What happened?”

“Ugh. I told you he’s been in love with Taylor since we were kids. Apparently, that hasn’t changed, and after seeing her in Rome, she’s now his ‘one who got away,’ and he wants me to hook them up. He asked if the three of us can have lunch together when he gets back. If so, he’ll gladly teach me everything I want to know.”

“No.”

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“Just like I said, no. We’re not pimping out Taylor to your cousin. Especially not now.”

“I didn’t plan to ‘pimp her out,’ but I figured we could at least ask and see what she says about lunch.”

“Matt would never go for it, and neither will I. We’ll replace someone else to teach you, baby. It’s fine.”

“So, what do you mean ‘especially not now’? Are you talking about Drew?”

“No. There are other reasons why now isn’t the best time. Talk to Taylor; she’ll fill you in.”

“What do you know?”

“I know that you should call your friend and stop questioning me. That’s what I know.”

I rolled my eyes at his back as he walked into the closet. What was he hiding? I snatched my phone up and called Taylor. There was something going on, and I was the last one to know about it.

“Hey, Morgan! Do you miss me yet?” Taylor said as soon as she picked up.

“Maybe. So, what’s going on?”

“Not much. We’re getting ready to go see another location—”

“No. What’s really going on? Kade is being hella cryptic about something, and he won’t tell me. He said I needed to call you. So, what’s up?”

“Ohhhh, right. Well, Matt kinda proposed out of the blue the other day. I said yes!”

I couldn’t contain the squeal that jumped from my mouth. I was beyond ecstatic for them. “That’s amazing, Tay! How did he do it? I need details!”

I had a huge smile on my face as I listened to her recall the proposal. It was a total spur of the moment thing, and I think those are so much more romantic. He didn’t give himself time to rehearse a speech or pick a perfect outfit. The moment was just right, and he went for it.

“I always knew Matt was perfect for you. This just proves it.”

“He really is. But there’s more. We also took a pregnancy test… and it was positive.”

I couldn’t help it. I screamed at the top of my lungs right in the receiver. I heard Taylor curse on the other end as Kade rushed out of the closet, ready to fight. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” he asked, looking around the room.

“Yes! I’m gonna be an aunt. Why didn’t you tell me they were pregnant?!”

Kade let the tension out of his shoulders and sighed. “Oh, that. It wasn’t for me to tell. But I’m actually really excited too. Babies love me.”

He walked back to the closet, and I picked up the phone I didn’t realize I had thrown on the floor. “Tay?! I can’t believe it. Well, I’ve seen your fiancé, so I kinda can, but I’m so pumped! How do you feel?”

“Besides deaf? I’m a little nauseous and tired. That’s it so far.”

“Well, I guess this is a definite ‘no’ to lunch with Tyson.”

“You’re having lunch with Tyson?”

I filled her in on my werebear b***d and how Tyson’s help came with conditions. She wasn’t too pleased.

“He’s a d**k, Morgan. He should help you because you’re family, and for no other reason. We can replace someone else to explain it all to you. I know we can.”

“That’s what Kade said too, and I agree. Tyson was just right there, and so easy to get to. He’s still in love with you, you know.”

“Doesn’t matter. We were never a thing, and I’ll never love anyone more than I love Matt.”

I was so proud of her and how confident she was in her relationship. One day, I would get to that point. “I’ll let you get back to touring around. Call me when you get a free moment, and we can chat some more. And tell Matt congratulations on the engagement and the baby. I can’t wait for both!”

“Cool. I love you, Morgan, talk to you later.”

I got off the phone and walked to the closet to replace Kade pulling on some jeans and a hoodie. “Where are you going?”

“We’re going to see the elders. Get dressed; bear training starts right now.”