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Nope, that's my sister. Maybe you should go bother her instead.I had meant it as a jab, but the idea had some merit to it. Ella wanted a mate, and so did Trace. Obviously. If he mated with Ella, they could both be happy and leave me to the life I was living.
NO.
I scowled at Trace's reaction, annoyed that he wasn't even going to hear me out and consider it.
I can hear your thoughts, so you don't need to explain it to me, Mariam. And I don't need any time to consider it because it's a stupid idea. Ella isn't my true mate. You are. End of story.
I huffed and went to help another student who needed to wash the glue off their hands. Overhead, the lunch bell rang.
So, you’re working at a school, not a preschool or daycare. No human school would hire you without at least a social security card, so it must be a pack school. And there are only so many packs that I haven’t searched yet, Mariam.His smooth voice distracted me from my task, causing the child I was helping to complain.You should prepare to see me soon, mate. I’ll be coming for you shortly.
His confidence annoyed me, so I played the only card I had.Don't you think I'd be able to see your plans and all your surroundings if you tried to hop on a plane to come and get me? If you had any clue where I was, I would already know it because of this connection.
I felt Trace’s breath catch in his chest. I tried not to let my emotions leak through, but I was proud of regaining the stronger position in our exchange.
He was silent for a few minutes. His thoughts raced by in his mind fast enough to make me dizzy. Between that and the children running around me, it was difficult to keep track of everything he was considering.
Unfortunately, I think you’re right, little wolf.The sadness in his voice caused me to freeze in my tracks. I felt his emotion as strongly as he did.
Therefore, although I have thoroughly enjoyed our time together and love sharing this bond, I’m going to have to block you out until we are mated and sealed. There’s not a chance in hell I’m letting you get away just because you’re a clever she-wolf.
I frowned at his words. There’s a way to block this? I could have been blocking this the whole time?
Trace chuckled.It’s one of the benefits of being well-versed inwerewolf law, I guess. But just so you know, Mariam, when I find you -and I will find you- the first thing I’m going to do is put you over my knee and spank your ass raw for putting us through this.
My cheeks flamed at the threat, and my hand instinctively traveled behind me to shield my backside. The idea of him putting me across his lap was humiliating. Maybe I had gone too far. There had to be another way to talk him out of trying to find me.Trace?
There was no answer, and I could feel that his presence was gone. I removed the sunglasses, unsure if I should celebrate.
On the one hand, I had gotten him out of my head and protected my own thoughts, but on the other, now I wouldn’t know if he was coming to search Tumblewild. I wasn’t sure which was worse.
___________
“This is delicious, Ella,” Gabe said as he reached for more of the chicken alfredo I made for our evening meal. Without entering Trace’s mind each night, I was getting more sleep over the past few weeks, and I had a lot more energy to help around the house.
It was Saturday, and Gabe had to put in a few extra hours at work, so I decided to scrub the small apartment clean and cook a meal from scratch.
Chicken alfredo was one of the only things I knew how to make, other than simple breakfast food. It felt good to watch him enjoy it. He seemed stressed lately due to a lot of key council members being absent.
I had been at Tumblewild for about a month, and each day I was another day closer to having to leave for good. Butbefore I started planning my next destination, there were a few things I wanted to ask Gabe.
“I’m glad you like it,” I said, offering him another roll. He accepted it gladly. I swallowed hard, knowing that this would be the best time to ask what had been weighing on my mind all day. “Gabe, you know a lot about werewolf law, right?”
My friend nodded slowly, mouth full of noodles and sauce. He regarded me carefully, sensing that I was going to ask something serious. “Well, I was wondering… I heard before that chosen mates… you know, not true mates… that they can’t hear each other’s thoughts and that the males aren’t as possessive. Is that true?”
“Yeah, that’s the catch, right? If your mate is a gift from the goddess, you get all those things, plus mind-blowing sex, a feeling of belonging, boosted fertility.”
He listed the reasons like he was marking off a checklist. I had to hide a grin because it was the first time Gabe had been able to say the word sex without turning red. He had become a lot more comfortable around me over the past few months, even allowing for the occasional hug.
“Yeah, I got it. But if someone doesn’t want those things, would it be possible to mate with another wolf and break the true mate bond?”
He looked at me like I was crazy.
“Yes. It’s happened before, but I don’t think it’s very common. Like, at all. Why would anyone settle for a regular mating when you already know who your true mate is?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re a guy, so you’d never understand. Being on the female end of a true mating is horse shit. Regular werewolf men are bad enough with theirbossiness and controlling ways, but who wants some egomaniac in their head, ready to punish them for breaking some stupid arbitrary rule?”
Gabe set his roll down and sighed. “Well, first off, I would be curious to know who in Tumblewild has been bossing you around and giving you rules. You aren’t a mated she-wolf, and you haven’t even met our alpha or beta, so there’s no one here who has that kind of authority over you.”
