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Kendall nods. “On your new mate. You locked the big guy down. He used to be part of the traders, but he’s Ryker’s now. What’s his name?” He snaps his finger. “Jack Conlon.”
A lump lodges in my throat. I’m not sure if it’s hearing Duke’s old name—or just my reaction when Kendall’s meaning finally hits home. I swallow roughly, then tell him, “He goes by Duke now. And he’s not my mate.”
Even if I wished he was.
With a snort, Kendall says, “Does he know that? His scent is all over. You don’t have an alpha’s nose, Trish. If you did, you’d know he left a musk that tells all other males to back the fuck off. You’re taken.”
What?
I shake my head. “No. It’s not like that. It was the full moon. That’s all.”
He gives me a look of such disbelief, I begin to wonder if he’s right. I know I smell like Duke and sex. But a warning? I don’t get it.
He doesn’t explain any further.
Instead, he says, “So why the run by? You thinking about petitioning to join River Run again? Because, I told you last time, I demand loyalty. You’d have to give up on Mountainside.”
I could never do that.
With a half-grin of a my own, I shake my head. “Thanks, but that’s okay.
“That’s fine.” He jerks his chin. “So long as you stay on your side of the territorial line.”
I make sure I do the rest of the time I spend away from Accalia. When the sun starts to set, the moon rising high again, I realize that I’ve probably been away too long. Following her glow as a beacon home, I chase the moon until I’ve slunk back onto Mountainside land.
For once, things go my way. No one stops me as I purposely make my way toward my cabin, ignoring my wolf’s urging that I search out Duke. I’m in complete control tonight. No blaming moon fever when the Luna’s pull on us both is far weaker tonight than yesterday. Tracking him down would be a mistake, and I tell my stubborn wolf that when she starts pacing around inside of me.
Or maybe she’s only riled up because she can scent Duke all around my personal territory.
It’s fresh. Even if I wanted to pretend that it’s from any other night, I can’t. Especially when I notice there’s a foil-covered plate with a white square resting on top of it on my front porch.
He would’ve guessed I’d come in this way. He’s gone—his scent at least an hour older—but he was here.
And he left me a note.
Crouching down, I pick it up. It’s folded in four. My hands are trembling as I unfold it.
One line in a heavy block print stares up at me from the center:
We need to talk.
Folding the note up again, I crouch down and slip it under the plate.
I leave them both there. Before, I could fool myself and believe that he only left me food because he was treating me like a pup.
That all changed with the scars.
I know better now. Some way, somehow, a bond formed between us, one I neglected to see until it was too late. No denying that. Today, while I curled up beneath an oak, I finally listened to what my wolf was telling me. There’s a shadow of a jagged bond inside of me, barely there but nowhere whole… and I know exactly who is on the other side. It’s a bond, but it’s twisted, broken just like me, and it’s all my fault. I didn’t mean to, but I marked him beneath the Luna. I took him from the female he was meant for, and I can only imagine how confused he must be right now. Especially since he would’ve woken up to me gone like that.
We need to talk…
He’s right. But I can’t.
Not now.
I just… I can’t.
Locking the cabin door, I lean up against it with my back, staring up at my ceiling as I try to make sense of everything that happened since last night.
