Kieran POV
We pull back up to the apartment, and it feels like all of the nerves in my body are tingling with anxiety. The last time I was here, Mae kicked me out and made it clear she didn't want to see me any time soon. I am back less than twenty-four hours later to beg her to move in with me.
I follow Tish up the stairs of the apartment building in silence. I keep going over what I will say over and over in my mind, and the truth is, I have no idea how I will convince her to move away from everything she knows.
Tish pauses outside of their door and looks me up and down. "Just let me do the talking," she commands me.
I am not used to being commanded by someone else, and it doesn't sit well with me. A growl threatens to rumble in my chest, but I suppress it. I will let Tish take the lead just this once in hopes that she can get Mae to come with us.
Tish enters the code into the new keypad lock on their door and steps into their apartment. I follow her inside and see Mae sitting on the couch with a pint of ice cream in her lap and tears streaming down her cheeks. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a towel and she is wearing nothing but a thin tank top and a pair of pajama pants.
As soon as she sees Tish and I together, Mae drops her spoon inside the tub of ice cream, and her mouth drops open. "What the fuck," she screams at the both of us. "Are you two sleeping together again?"
"What?" Tish exclaims. "Of course not. He is all yours."
"Then what are you doing together," Mae asks, choking back tears.
Tish ignores Mae's question and storms back the hallway into Mae's bedroom. Mae gets up and chases her back into the hallway, and I follow close behind.
Tish has pulled a duffle bag out of somewhere and is stuffing Mae's clothes inside of it. I stand stunned in the doorway, watching Tish uproot Mae's room without her permission.
"What are you doing?" Mae screams.
"You are moving out," Tish says harshly.
"You can't kick me out," Mae says as she begins to unpack the clothes that Tish has shoved in the bag. "I am on the lease, too."
"I don't care who is on the lease," Tish screams back at her. "You can't live here any longer. Go be with your mate."
"You did this," Mae turns her anger on me. "Everything was fine until you came along."
"What the fuck, Tish," I yell over Mae. "This is your idea of breaking the news to her? Have you lost your mind?"
Tish continues to pack the duffle bag, ignoring my outburst. Her green eyes are glistening with tears as she zips it shut and shoves it toward Mae.
"You need to leave," Tish says. "It is for the best."
It is chaos. Tish is screaming for Mae to leave, and Mae is sobbing loudly. I watch from the doorway as it all unfolds in front of me. I know I need to inject myself, but I don't know how.
Finally, I can't handle it any longer and I growl loudly. Tish freezes mid-sentence, and Mae immediately stops crying. I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration and take a few calming breaths.
Mae is still sobbing on the bed, and I cannot say that I blame her. She has no idea what is going on. Tish's idea was pure insanity. I should have never listened to her in the first place.
I push Tish out of the room and shut the door behind her. I can hear her huffing angrily on the other side of the door before she storms off.
"Will you please explain to me what is going on?" Mae says through her tears.
"It is complicated," I begin. "But I believe that you are in danger."
"Why would I be in danger?" Mae sniffs back her tears.
"Because of me," I admit quietly. "People are looking for me, and once they find out that you are my mate, I fear they will come after you."
"But I haven't done anything," Mae cries. "Why would they come after me?"
"Just to hurt me," I tell her. "These people will stop at nothing to hurt me, including coming after the most important thing to me."
"What do I do?" Mae asks in fear.
"You would be safest if you were to move in with me," I tell her. "You would have your own room, and I have even offered to allow Tish to come with us as well."
"What about my family? Will I ever be able to see them again?" Mae asks the obvious question.
"I know your family is important to you. We will work something out." I tell her.
Mae sniffs and wipes her nose on her shirt. "You would do that for me?"
"Believe it or not," I chuckle. "You are the most important thing in my life right now. I would do anything to keep you safe."
"Including bringing Tish with me?" Mae asks.
I sigh. "Yes. Tish is invited."
"But you don't like her," Mae replies.
"It doesn't matter. You love her, and she is important to you."
Mae wraps her arms around my neck and begins to sob loudly. Hesitantly, I engulf her in my arms and pull her onto my lap. Even with her tear-stained cheeks, she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I let the tingles of the mate bond soothe us both until there is a knock on the bedroom door.
Tish pushes the door open, and her eyes narrow as she looks at Mae sitting on my lap, but she doesn't comment on it. There is a bag at her feet, and she is tapping her foot impatiently.
"Are we going or not?" Tish demands to know.
I look at Mae, not wanting to answer for her.
"We are going," Mae says as she picks up the duffle bag at the end of the bed.