"Are you insane?" Lauren Hale whispered, half dazed, eyes closed.

Unsure of what to say to that question, Kaddian sat in silence, waiting for Lauren Hale to open her eyes.

When the massive man said nothing, Lauren knew she was going to have to open her eyes and face the embarrassment of knowing that she kissed Kaddian Grayson.

One lid at a time, Lauren opened her eyes to find Kaddian staring at her intently.

"You're really intense" Lauren whispered. She wasn't sure why but she felt like she had to tell him that.

Kaddian's brow furrowed but he still said nothing.

Lauren Hale let out a deep breath then summoned up the courage to ask him for clarifications.

"So am I to take that..." Lauren felt her face flame up, "incident, to mean that you think I'm your... The other half?". This was beyond excruciating.

"If I understand your question correctly, then yes" Kaddian Grayson said shortly.

Lauren Hale stared at him for a few seconds before stating, "but I'm not a bear".

"You don't have to be" Kaddian replied matter of factly.

"How can the she-Alpha not be a bear?"

"Just because mates are generally both bears doesn't mean that a mate pair can't be a human and a bear. There are no set in stone rules for this, I know what I know, and that is that you are my mate" normally, speaking this much would make Kaddian uneasy but he felt so comfortable with Lauren, especially since she had not rejected his advances.

Sheriff Hale was searching Kaddian's face for something that she could not find. She finally scrunched her face up slightly and asked, "are you sure?".

"Sheriff Hale-"

"Oh no no buddy, we just... kissed... You don't get to call me 'Sheriff Hale' anymore. Lauren" it seemed Lauren Hale had found some assertiveness.

Kaddian found it slightly amusing that it was his choice of name for her that irked her the most.

"Lauren, I've known for five years. Since the night you found me rescuing my sister and you touched my arm. I've just been very careful around you. I was not sure if we would ever be together, but I knew regardless of the end result, I needed to integrate you into our world slowly. I also knew that since you weren't a bear, you wouldn't feel the same pull I did. If you wanted to date someone else or be with another human, I would let you go. This is your choice, with it comes a lot of responsibility and strife no doubt. But it's a choice, all the same. You can walk away from this and I won't ever bother you again, on that I swear" Kaddian finished his speech and rose to leave, knowing he should give her time to think alone.

Kaddian was forced to stop when he felt her hand on his forearm.

"Where are you going?" Lauren Hale felt the concern expressing itself on her face.

"You need time to think" Kaddian stated.

"I do... But don't leave" the last part of her sentenced was added almost in a whispered plea.

The was no earthly way Kaddian Grayson could leave now. He returned to the chair in the corner.

Perhaps the distance would help with his slipping self control. He knew it would be difficult, letting her leave, especially after coming as close as he had.

"I think better out loud" Lauren Hale said, almost as if she was asking him for permission.

"Alright" he said with a nod.

"So you're telling me that for the last five years you've known that I am your... Mate. But didn't you say that mates have a strong effect on each other? That would mean that you just hid everything you were feeling. And I was lucky because I'm not a bear and I didn't have to suffer. But then I'm not lucky because if I was a bear then I would have known what you were and you wouldn't have suffered as much. Plus I would be more graceful, or graceful period, which I'm sure watching me trip and fall anywhere and everywhere probably made you hesitant to tell me the truth. Why would a strong Alpha like you want a mate that can barely walk straight let alone one help lead a whole sleuth? This must be awful for you?" Lauren Hale's tirade against herself finally subsided when she asked him the absurd question.

"No...I quite enjoy you" Kaddian contradicted immediately.

Lauren Hale appeared... disgruntled. "What does that mean?"

"I have spent time, from the moment I first met you in that basement until this exact second, learning about you. You are passionate about your job, and caring of those under your protection, you have odd taste in music, and you enjoy alcoholic beverages in the evening. You don't know how to step away from work because you can't seem to grasp the concept of a case being unsolvable. You want a husband and children but you've never dated anyone since moving here. You're fascinated but respectful of my family and friends and sometimes you don't know what to do or say to us. And you are so clumsy I am constantly afraid you're going to die right in front of my eyes. But I like all of that. I think it makes you interesting" Kaddian Grayson finished his speech in a casual tone but Lauren Hale felt tears falling down her face by the time he finished.

At her tears, Kaddian Grayson felt the urge to stand up and go to her but he knew it would cloud judgment so he clenched the sofa arm and waited for her response.

Lauren Hale didn't know what to say, except, "I've never dated anyone".

"What?" Kaddian seemed surprised by her statement.

"I've never dated anyone. I never felt the desire to" Lauren Hale was starting to put her own things together.

She may not have senses that told her when she found her mate, but she had gone through life craving a family but then had no interest in dating. Perhaps this was why. Lauren Hale had never entertained the idea of taking interest in Kaddian Grayson because she viewed him as so far out of her league, but she had always been fascinated and awestruck by him.

"I see" Kaddian responded.

"I feel guilty" Lauren Hale admitted.

"Why?"

"Because I feel like you've suffered a lot at my expense, and I also feel like you're preparing yourself, as we speak, to suffer more if I reject you. I feel bad because you spent a long time learning about me and who I am, and I know practically nothing about you. I just feel... Guilty" Lauren Hale took a deep breath before continuing, "but I wish you would stop sitting in that chair looking as if you're preparing for the next atomic bomb. I'm not rejecting you. I probably never will" Lauren watched as Kaddian's fists unclenched slowly as his eyes widened, holding something like hope aloft within them.

"I'm human... And the idea of just... Moving into your house and being all in your business instantly is unsettling. That's not the way it's done. All I ask is that we try to do this like normal human couples. Go on... Dates... And stuff".

Kaddian Grayson didn't know what to do or say.

At his silence, Lauren asked, "is that not ok?"

As if snapping to reality, Kaddian responded, " of course it is. Whatever makes you happy. I was... fully expecting a no. My life is overwhelming for me sometimes, let alone a human new to all this. I was positive that you did not see me as a romantic interest and was going to request that we remain friends" Kaddian Grayson was struggling, something that was interesting for Lauren Hale to witness. It was like she was the one that needed to save him from incessant babbling.

"I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much" Lauren said with a chuckle.

Kaddian Grayson said nothing but he did look down briefly then back up.

"Did you just... Did you just hide a smile?" Lauren was shocked.

Kaddian Grayson stared blankly at Lauren.

"You did. I made you smile and when you felt it you looked down! That's so... Wrong!"

Kaddian smiled again, this time at her outburst, and when he did, Lauren Hale felt warmth spread through her body at the rare sight.

"Wow" she murmured, her previous smile fading.

"What?" Concern dawned his visage as he cocked his head to the side with a slightly furrowed brow.

"A girl could get used to that picture" Lauren Hale's accent coaxed another smile to his lips. He glanced down, then back up again.

"I must admit that I do not know how to...date. But I can try" he responded with a look of admiration and... Promise.

"Well I'll tell you right now, grilled cheese and soup in bed is a great start!" She laughed. She went to pick up her spoon, but dropped it. When she briskly tried to catch it, her staples pulled and she winced. Kaddian was immediately on his feet.

"Stop" a rumble laced his command as she continued to reach for the spoon that was impossibly out of her reach in her current state.

She froze, and leaned back, watching as he picked up the spoon and returned it to the cooler, collecting a new one for her in turn.

"Did you just...growl at me?" She asked, her bright blue eyes gaining her infamously curious, owl-like stare.

He cleared his throat, loudly, and replied, "that will happen... Every now and then".

Thinking back now, she realized he had done it multiple times before, but she had always credited it to the tense situations, rather than his... Connection to her.

"I do not like seeing you hurt" he repeated, taking a seat again.

He was staring at her intently and suddenly Lauren had no idea what to do with her hands... So she slurped soup quickly and blurted, "so Kyrrian and Scottlin, huh?"

Kaddian's lips quirked at the corner, and looked in the general direction of where they would be. "Yes... He told me the day he met her, but insisted that I did not tell her. I could understand his logic".

"What was his logic?" Lauren took a nibble of the sandwich he had made and waited patiently.

"He immediately saw something in my sister that I have... Never been able to handle. Knew that she would be unable to handle the emotions that accompany matehood. He is also a good man and did not want her to feel pressured to be with him simply because he said so. Kyrrian has always been... Willful... And she generally denies things that she has been urged or ordered to do. I believe most people call her prickly. As her brother, I know what she has been through, and I understand her current emotional state and have never held it against her, but I could never... Help her heal. I think that Scottlin can... They are very much the same, you know, he has just learned to overcome his past" Lauren listened intently, loving the emotion that flitted across his face as he discussed his sister.

"You love her very much" she whispered in response.

"She is a part of me... She and I shared a womb but we also share a spirit, our bears are cut from the same cloth. I can feel her intense emotions and she brings me solace and comfort when I am struggling with my duties" Kaddian explained.

"Is she going to stay here, now that she has met Scottlin?" Lauren asked, immediately worried for his state of mind.

"No, I doubt she will" he whispered, his eyebrow roughly sewn together.

Lauren Hale sat in silence before finally stating, "that's ok, I think I can take care of you".

Her soft smile faltered slightly at the intense light that took over his eyes.

"Do you want to?" He whispered, inching toward the edge of his seat.

"I think so...yes" she answered with an unsure tone at first but then quickly, and honestly, added the second part.

"Why?" He seemed so eager to understand. As if he couldn't grasp why she was giving him a chance.

Lauren Hale went to answer "because I think I could really like you" but was interrupted when the hospital door opened.