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His plans, things he’d put off for years, would change everything, and yet it would bind him to this place. He’d have to sacrifice everything for this pack, but he’d run out of options.
He glanced at Vivian, knowing she was already broken inside. How could she not be after what she’d endured, or the future that loomed ahead of her?
He might be stuck in this godforsaken shit hole, but there might just be a chance for Vivian.
CHAPTER FIVE
The alarm on her phone woke Vivian the next morning. Rolling onto her stomach, she reached to the floor and fumbled blindly for her phone. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, flickering across the floor and wall as it filtered in through the swaying tree branches.
In the winter months, she shut the heavy curtains to help block out the frigid chill, but in the warmer months, she left them open.
Finding the phone, she shut off the alarm and shifted to her back before lifting the screen to scroll through any messages. It was unlikely she’d find any, as the signal was weak here, but the odd time, they came through.
She dropped it to her chest and took a moment to stretch. She wanted to linger in bed, to sleep and read and enjoy a slow morning, but she knew what would happen if she wasn’t back at the house soon, especially if her father was in a mood.
So, she dragged herself out of the bed, changed, and left her beloved treehouse behind.
Thinking back to the night before, Vivian cringed as she remembered Benjamin’s sexual threats and the heat of his body as it pushed against her.
Yuck.
Then Hara intervening. Double yuck.
Benjamin was a bully, but Hara was a serpent. And you never knew when they would strike. Any friend of her brother’s was not a friend of hers.
If either of them went to her father to request a mating, what would he say?
Maybe she should tell her father about Benjamin’s unwanted advances. Though she knew her father would probably blame her for what had happened.
At least the evening had ended happily, time spent with Rafe plus a wine buzz.
Her childhood crush had caused them problems in the past, but she was a grownup now, and knew better. Though she’d dreamed of a mating between them, she understood how doomed that would have been. He could never love her.
He was hot, she could admit that, even without blushing these days. All his friends were hot. But it was the way he made her feel. Safe and cherished. Like she was important enough to care about.
Last night, though, whatever smell he’d carried with him to the tree fort had left her unsettled. She’d been aroused and confused and didn’t know what to make of the sensations. Could it be that he really was her fated mate, and now she was old enough to realize?
She didn’t want that to be the case.
It could be another shifter. As he’d said, there were plenty arriving for the Curusm. If he was there for the Curusm, what did that say about him? Was he an omega? Was he someone who enjoyed the idea of chasing and claiming a mate?
That wasn’t something she’d ever really wanted for herself.
Clearing the last of the trees, and approaching the buildings that made up the heart of the town, Vivian headed toward the bakery. A few chocolate donuts might help if her father was hungover. Often that could placate Norman Conners’ sour moods.
While she waited in line at the shop, she glanced around, discreetly sniffing the air, attempting to get another sniff of whatever had triggered that response in her last night.
Maybe it was childish and silly to think that she’d just happen upon her mate, that they might reach for the same cup of coffee, smile at one another and just fall in love.
Sighing, she stepped up to the counter. Apparently, the romantic in her still had a pulse. Funny, she’d thought that part of her had been destroyed long ago.
“What can I get you?”
“Half a dozen chocolate donuts, please.”
The cashier winced. “Sorry, we’re all sold out.”
She gasped. “Sold out?”
