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Chapter one
Reclining in his officechair, August Tucker kicked his shoes off and propped his feet up on the desk with a silent groan.
“Ok, you’re definitely going to be here Thursday, right?”
It felt like the hundredth time the question had been posed in the last twenty-four hours, and August barely bit back his sigh. “Yes, Meredith,” he answered into the phone. “My last appointment is at noon Thursday. I’ll be on the highway before rush hour.”
“I still don’t get why you’re driving all the way from Tulsa.”
Considering how little they had in common, it still amazed him that they’d ever become friends. Maybe it had something to dowith the fact they were both too stubborn to let those little differences stand in their way. Whatever the reason, they’d made it work and had been inseparable since junior high, even after August had packed up his things and moved halfway across the country to nurse his broken heart.
“It’s not that far to Indianapolis.”
Most people probably wouldn’t agree, but nine hours didn’t feel like a chore. If nothing drastic happened, he could probably make it in eight.
“Besides, I like to drive,” he reminded her. August found the hum of the tires over the highway peaceful, and driving gave him the time and space to think.
“Yeah, yeah,” Meredith conceded. “Well, I’m closing the shop for the weekend, and Lucas will be at his dad’s house in Fort Wayne until next Thursday because of fall break. Starting Friday afternoon, I’m all yours.”
“Sounds like a plan, but you really don’t have to entertain me.”
“Oh, oh!” Meredith exclaimed, completely ignoring his subtle plea for a nice, quiet visit. Honestly, he should have been used to it by now. “You are never going to guess who’s back in town!”
Wincing as he jerked the phone away from his head to avoid a ruptured eardrum, August scrolled through his mental Rolodex, trying to figure out who could make his friend squeal like that. “Idon’t know, Mer. Peyton Manning?” A lame guess, perhaps, but he had nothing.
“Funny,” Meredith answered, her tone dripping with sarcasm, “but no.” She paused for a long time, likely for dramatic effect, then squealed again. “Micah!”
She said it as though it should mean something to him, but he only knew of one Micah. Surely, she didn’t mean…
“Micah Hayden?” Barely able to speak through his trembling lips, August winced when his voice broke and prayed his friend hadn’t noticed.
“Yes! I saw him in the pharmacy last weekend when I was visiting Mom. I guess he’s in town for the closing on his parents’ farm out by Booker’s Pond. Remember it?” She didn’t give him a chance to respond before continuing. Hell, she didn’t even take time to breathe. “Now that they’re getting older—his parents, not Micah—they’ve decided to move to Florida. It’s cliché, I know, but there you have it.”
August blinked twice, replaying the monologue in his head, because he’d definitely missed something. “His parents are moving to Florida? What does that have to do with Micah?”
“Oh, well, they signed over the farm to him, didn’t they? He finally found a buyer over in Greenfield.”
“Ah, I see.” August drummed his fingers against the gleaming oak of his desktop and swallowed hard, trying to force his heartout of his throat and back into his chest where it belonged. “So,” he began, hoping he sounded casual, “how is he?”
“Good, from what I could tell.” If Meredith sensed his growing anxiety, she didn’t say anything. “He’s been back in Indianapolis for a few months now, and he said he just signed a lease with…”
“Yes?” August dropped his feet to the floor and sat up straighter in his chair. “With what?”
“His partner,” Meredith answered. The glee had disappeared, replaced by a more somber tone, and perhaps even a hint of pity. “He moved into an apartment with his partner.”
If his life was a movie, August might naively think Micah’s return meant a second chance for them. They’d meet somewhere for coffee, just for old time’s sake. One thing would lead to another, and they’d stroll off into the sunset together.Roll end credits.August lived in the real world, though, with real-life disappointments, and Micah Hayden had turned out to be one of the biggest.
“I have his number.” Meredith’s voice pulled him back to the conversation. “He asked about you. Actually, he had a lot of questions about you.” Smugness saturated her voice, and August could just picture his friend’s bow-shaped lips curling into a smirk. “He asked me to pass on his number. Want it?”
“Uh, Mer, I don’t know. Maybe it’s not such a good idea.” Part of him, the part that had been desperately in love with Micah,wanted to say yes. A louder, more logical voice chastised him for even considering it.
“Auggie, c’mon. I know things ended badly between you, but he’s youralma.”
Fate. Soul. Heart. Intended. Mate.A sacred and cherished bond within the paranormal world, especially amongst his particular breed of werewolves. No one came between aLobosand their mate, not without violent consequences. Apparently, that only applied to lesser beings, not to someone as self-important as Micah Hayden.
Yeah, I’m not bitter at all.
“You just said he was seeing someone else.”
