Page 5

Staying in the shadows, I crept from one house to the next to the edge of the village and then took off running in the direction of the highway —opposite the woods where the pack currently ran. They wouldn’t be much longer, and I needed to get as much distance between them and me as possible.

Would the alpha notice me missing at the party. Possibly. Not because of any fondness or enjoyment of my company. We had officially spent the most time together ever when he announced our upcoming mating. No, if he did ask for me it was going to be about his ego and having his female dancing attendance on him. A taste of my future if I’d stuck around. Which I had not.

Pounding down the path, I veered off and ran through the low brush. I could be trailed this way, by an expert, but I couldn’t think of one in our pack. And I didn’t plan to be anywhere in the vicinity when they thought to look. My heart slammed against my ribcage, and my legs burned with lactic acid. Most of my running was done in wolf form, and I hadn’t even considered leaving that way. It would have meant figuring out how to carry my backpack, which was too bulky and heavy for my wolf to carry in her mouth, and would mean I had one less outfit because I didn’t have room to put anything else in the pack.

I ran, tripping over tree roots and catching my arm on a thorny branch that left a long, bleeding scratch, but I couldn’t stop to deal with it. In the distance, lights showed me where the highway was, and I had to get a ride before someone came and caught me. Every minute passing lessened my chances of escape.

If the alpha found me missing, I’d be dragged back and wearing his mark tonight instead of tomorrow. Likely his bruises as well. And I’d pay for a long time for embarrassing him. So, I burst from the roadside brush and onto the blacktop, tumbling head over heels, and landing to look up at the front grill of a semi bearing down on me.

I had no time to untangle my legs before it was mere feet away, and only a second to think it was better to die under the wheels of the huge truck than to be murdered by an alpha who tired of torturing me before the vehicle squealed to a stop.

Unable to believe my luck, I rolled onto my stomach and pushed up on my arms, just about to stand when a door creaked open and two black boots thudded to the ground.

“What the heck were you thinking, girlie?” He marched over and reached for my forearm, lifting me to my feet. “I almost smashed you into a stain on the highway. Shouldn’t you be at home in bed? Where are your parents?”

About to snap at him, I stopped and remembered what was going on. The situation I found myself in. I needed this human male to want to help me, and so I let another emotion just below the surface burst free —in the form of tears. I flung myself at the man, sobbing and blurted out a version of the story that he might understand. I was over eighteen and had made a very bad relationship decision, and now I was running. Could he…would he take me to the closest large town on his route?

“I’m not supposed to carry passengers…”

“You would be in trouble with your boss.” I sniffled. “I wouldn’t want to have that happen. I’ll just walk there.”

“Little lady, you already almost got run over, and now you tell me there’s some asshole —” He clapped a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry, some jerk of an ex out there chasing you? I don’t have a boss. This is my truck. The insurance company wouldn’t be happy if the found out, but which of us is going to tell them?”

“Not me,” I breathed. “Are you really going to help me?”

“Climb in. I’d rather lock you inside and wait to show that ex of yours how to treat a lady, but I’m running behind schedule, and I don’t need to have the police involved in my business. Not again.”

Again? I hesitated then heard voices in the distance and scrambled into the passenger seat. Whatever trouble he’d gotten into with the police, he was a perfect gentleman, even buying me the best tacos ever from a truck parked at a gas station where he stopped to fill up. He dropped me off before dawn at a bus station and waited outside until I was safely indoors. After all the negativity surrounding humans in our community, the first one I really met and had time to talk to turned out to be the best male I’d ever encountered.

Sitting in the waiting room, I pulled out my phone and brought up the app. Nothing about my situation had improved. I still had no skills to get a job and only a small amount of money. I needed a pack of my own, and without even looking at their pictures, I jumped into the void and swiped on the names.

Chapter Six

Lark

I’d reached a holding point at the bakery. The rolls and loaves were rising for the first time, the coffee cake in the oven. Cinnamon rolls were ready to be rolled out but the baker, being me, wasn’t.

I needed an espresso. Maybe a double. No, wait, a latte.

While I sipped a maple latte, made not as well as the place down the street, I picked up my phone to check the weather.

I flicked at the top of the phone to catch up on notifications and saw one from the Mail-Order Matings app. Sometimes I ignored them. Most of the time. But today, the notification made me put my drink down and pay attention.

I clicked on it, and a profile came up. Her name was Evren, and she was made of all my dreams of what my female might look like one day.

The timer on one of the ovens went off, and reality called me back. I tucked my phone into my pocket but knew what I had to do. One, get through this shift. Make sure the bakery was settled for the day. Two, tell my packmates about what I’d just found.

It was possible that even after all this time, our mate had just tumbled into our lives.

My wolf agreed.

Hours later, the female was still on my mind but with little time to review her profile, I had more questions than answers.

With the last batch of baked goods in the case, I headed out. One of the rare days I had an employee who could run the place. I really did need to hire some other people.

By the time I left, it was almost eight.

Warren was off and so was Rain. In the house, I called out for them.