AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If there is something, it has to be buried deep in the books somewhere. That entire shelf on your left is records of conflicts between humans and wolves that were minor enough to not make it into the more popular texts.”
“Well, thanks to the rain, we have nothing but time. I can help you look through these, just tell me where to start.”
She moves to my side and points to the spine of a black book that’s less worn than the others. “The system is pretty self-explanatory. This book is where all the most recent stuff is, and then each book to the left is progressively older. So if there’s anything that’s happened that my brother would be interested in, it’s probably in this one.”
I can’t help but stare at her.
“What?” She lets her hair fall to cover her face, hiding her expression from me.
“You seem to have the system down pretty well for only being here a few days.” I assumed she hadn’t spent much time here yet. The Sovereign Pack seemed to have her pretty locked down until I stole her out from under them.
“I needed a distraction, and this room is a good one. I got familiar with things fast—are you trying to say that’s suspicious?”
I can tell she’s getting pissed off again even before she turns on her heel and stomps toward the desk to stare down at that birth records book. Women are fucking exasperating. This one even more so than any other I’ve ever met.
And I have to keep her from diving back into that damn book.
“Tasha.” I grab the book we need off the shelf and stroll toward her. “I’m not being accusatory. I’m impressed; you impress me.” She’s still refusing to look at me, so fuck trying to pretend I’m any kind of gentleman.
I step behind her, leaning into her as I slam the book down on the desk harder than necessary. I put my other hand on her hip to hold her in place when she shifts nervously like she’s thinking about trying to get away from me.
“If you’d never met your first mate, would you still be trying to run from me?” I speak quietly and directly into her ear. I need her to stop running.
“Maybe.”
“That feels like a lie.”
“I’m still not convinced this isn’t somehow all manufactured as some kind of big conspiracy.” Her shoulders tighten defensively. “You don’t look or act like someone who should be fated to me.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You look like you just stepped out of a boxing ring with that crook in your nose and the scars on your hands. You’re covered in tattoos that look… intense. And you would rather forget your family than care about them. The two of us couldn’t be more opposite. You’re intense, and I’m soft and care about family more than anything. Tradition, too. You don’t seem to care much for that either.”
I hear what she’s saying, but I can’t get past the first part. I do have scars on my hands from years of fighting, but they’re faded enough that someone would really have to be looking to notice them.
“You been looking at my hands, Tasha?”
“That wasn’t the point, and you know it.” I can see her cheek flush as she tucks her chin and stares down at the table. “I’m saying this isn’t right.”
I’m getting so fucking sick of this. “I didn’t just wake up one day and hate my family, Tasha. We split up because it made us feel safer. If we weren’t together, no one could ever take advantage of our numbers again. Even once our parents were gone, Greg tried to follow in their footsteps and look how that worked out. Your family might have been stronger together, Tasha, but mine was stronger apart.”
Her shoulders slump a little and she murmurs, “I’m sorry.”
“You’re a sweet woman. You’re soft where I’m hard; I get that. But did you ever stop to think that that’s exactly why fate matched us? The universe is all about balance, right? So what’s so wrong about two people that balance each other out?”
“It’s not…” She trails off, and I can feel myself losing her.
“Tasha.” I turn her to face me and lift her by the hips onto the desk. Her eyes widen as I step between her legs, effectively pinning her there and offering myself some extra assurance that she can’t run away from me without finishing this conversation.
“What are you doing?” She narrows her eyes warily.
“Talking some sense into you.” I put my hands on the desk even though I’d actually like to put them on the woman in front of me. “I understand you’ve already had one mate, and I know it was devastating to lose him. But don’t you think it means something that you haven’t fallen apart the way some wolves do after losing their mate?”
She turns her head away from me. It only confirms I’m right when she doesn’t contradict me.
“Our wolves are our souls, Tasha. Stop thinking about all the things that seem wrong. It’s your head that’s giving you trouble, but wolves aren’t ruled by logic. We’re ruled by instinct.”
She blinks slowly and something I don’t recognize crosses her face.
