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Chapter Nine
Xander
From the moment I saw the half wolf, I felt the connection. I was hoping it was a fluke, a false signal, something I could ignore.
By the time she was in my office, there was no denying the attraction. Her scent called to me like a siren, trying to drag me under.
If not for the nature of her visit, I might have claimed her right then. Each moment that passed made it more clear.
Skylar Aven was my mate.
My true mate.
It took all my willpower to talk my wolf down so I could listen to her. Once the gravity of her visit was revealed, the desire to bed her was gone, but it didn’t stop the call of our bond.
I watched her leave the bar with the enforcer, my inner wolf clawing at my insides, begging me to follow. Jealousy tangled inside me, threatening to undermine my promise to give her time.
But I had assured her, I would wait one more night. She deserved the time to clear her name and if I interfered, she could lose her chance at freedom.
If anyone else had come into my bar with the news of Lola’s death and asked me to do nothing, I would have killed them on the spot.
Lola’s killer needed to pay. But the request had come from my mate. Even if she didn’t know it yet, I would do anything to keep Skylar from meeting Lola’s fate. Even if it meant doing nothing. For now.
I walked out into the bar just as the pile of injured shifters were starting to stir.
“What you want me to do with them, boss?” Luke, my bartender asked.
“Who started it?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Luke said. “The girl was asking for you.”
I growled. “That girl is my mate. If you ever disrespect her again, I’ll rip your throat out.”
Luke tensed. “I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t either,” I said. “But when these assholes wake up, you tell them if they so much as harm a hair on her head, I will make it so their families can’t even identify their body.”
I didn’t wait for a response before storming toward the door. I pushed it open then turned back to Luke. “And clean this place up. I want it ready to open tomorrow.”
“You got it, boss,” Luke said.
My Harley was parked on the side of the bar, near the dumpsters. I climbed on and took off, leaving the waterfront district, and heading for the outskirts.
I needed open roads, fresh air, and a place I could shift and let my wolf run until I was numb.
Lola was gone. Taken from me too soon. We’d said our goodbyes when she was seventeen. Our aunt Juanita had just passed so Lola inherited the stone. She was brave, taking the responsibility with maturity and grace. I was twenty and would take on my role as pack leader the spring after she left.
When our dad died, I couldn’t even write to her to tell her. We had no contact other than the letter delivered by courier five years ago.
I knew the letter meant she was worried that someone was hunting her. Despite the rules, I sent members of the pack out looking for her to ensure her safety.
She was well hidden and none of them ever found her. Turned out, she’d never even left the city.
My lips curved in a smile, impressed by her ability to blend in so close to home. I wondered if she was staying nearby so she could keep tabs on me. In a way, that made me feel a little better. She’d been closer to me than I realized.
It was a strange feeling, missing someone you mostly let go of already. I always thought we’d see each other again, when we were both old. When I had children, Lola could have passed the stone off to my second born when he or she was eighteen. Then, Lola could have come home.
I always thought she’d return.
