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He chewed the corner of his lip and watched her. If he had a heart, he would feel a little guilty for snapping on her. “Look, thanks for the heads-up, but you or Lucia or Damon himself can’t stop that woman if she’s tracking me.”
“Damon could keep her out of the territory.”
He huffed a defeated sound. “God Himself couldn’t keep her from doing whatever it is she has planned.”
“I don’t want her here,” she murmured as she sat down against the wall of his bedroom.
“Knowing that would only make her want to come here more.”
“She sounds fucking awful.”
Kru scrubbed his hands all over his face to release the last of his agitation. “She wasn’t always like that. I made her into what she is. Whatever happens is on me.”
“Have you tried to move on?” she asked suddenly.
That took him aback, so he thought it over for a few moments before he responded. “The cat has a mate. What’s the use in trying? Do I find a woman to distract me every once in a while? Sure. And then they ask for more and I know I can’t give it, so I do them a favor and cut them loose to find something better.”
“I don’t want her in our territory,” she said again. “My animal won’t tolerate it.”
“You haven’t even met her, how do you know what your tiger will tolerate?”
“Because sometimes she has an issue with Jenna and Lucia, and I actually like them. I already know I don’t like Sasha.” Indeed, there was a soft snarl to her voice as she talked. “I think we should play defense.”
“Play defense,” he murmured tiredly.
“Do you want her back?”
Kru thought on it, and so many flashbacks of their fights rang across his mind. His saber-toothed tiger should’ve been snarling at the chaos that woman caused, but he remained silent, as always when he thought of his past life. With a shrug, he said honestly, “I don’t know if I have a choice.”
“You do. Gunner said he bonded to me, but his bear tried to kill me in the woods three nights ago.”
“Geez, Cadence. Did you tell Lucas? That’s toxic as hell. Pretty sure a Crew isn’t supposed to be trying to kill each other.”
“My point is, Gunner clearly ripped up any bond he imagined for us, so you can do the same. You just need…”
He blinked slowly and arched his eyebrows. “What do I need? I would love to hear your plan for this.” Because clearly she didn’t understand what he really dealt with.
“You need to go on dates! And fast. Lucia said Sasha is still searching and hasn’t pinpointed where you are yet, but that she’s getting closer. So…you should go on dates with a new frame of mind. You should go in open to the possibility that there’s more than a relationship with some gremlin who left you.”
Kru pursed his lips. Right. She really didn’t understand. “And you’re suggesting that what…you and I go on a date?”
“Oh God no. I would be just as toxic as Sasha. I’m a mess and a head case, living in a trailer park with two of my exes—one of whom has moved on right before my eyes and bonded seamlessly to the love of his life, and the other is a psychopath. Mixed feelings about my love life doesn’t even begin to cover it. With a lot of work, I may be able to be good for a man in ooooh, thirty-seven years or so, but for now? No, I wouldn’t be a solution. I think we should do speed-dating.”
He waited a three-count, and then hit his knees with his palms and stood up. “I need coffee.”
“Hear me out,” she said, following close behind him as he strode down the hallway for the kitchen. “You know that axe-throwing bar you love so much? Well this Wednesday night, it’s Singles Night, and they are hosting a speed-dating event.”
“And you think I would do well just thrown into speed-dating?”
“With enough beer? Yes.”
“It would take seven hundred beers for me to be comfortable with that and Cadence, you freak out if I leave the territory. Now you want to throw me into talking with strangers while drinking? Do you not remember my animal trying to eat you? It wasn’t that long ago. I tried to kill the entire Crew.”
“Well, you will be chaperoned.”
“By who?” Not by Gunner, clearly, because Cadence was right—he was a psychopath. She was probably thinking of Lucas, because that gargantuan silverback shifter could actually keep his big cat in line…
“By myself, who will also be participating in the speed-dating event.”
