by C. E. Black
“I’m confused.”
“Elizabeth and I grew up together. We were high school sweethearts. Both me and my wolf loved her, but I’d never had the overwhelming need to mark her. And I never knew why. Until I met you.”
Locke rubbed up and down my back, almost subconsciously and I snuggled closer, greedy for his warmth.
“What was different?”
“I felt the pull the moment we met, but I dismissed it as lust. My wolf noticed you too. But when we touched… God, was that only four days ago? Feels like I’ve known you a lifetime already.”
I knew the feeling. There was so much I didn’t know about Locke, and yet, it felt like my body, and unfortunately my heart, knew him already. And suddenly, three weeks felt like a blink of an eye. I wanted more.
“As soon as my wolf recognized you as his mate, it was over. We both wanted you. It’s rare, but fated mates have been known to happen in werewolves.”
Unsure how to reply, or if I even should, I held my breath.
“You’re it for me, Isa,” he said and I had a sinking feeling we were both going to be hurt in the end.
Chapter 19
Isa
“Sara, meet Maggie.”
The mare dipped her nose into Sara’s hand, looking for the carrot she held. Sara giggled, the sound going straight to my heart. The girl’s eyes were bright and her smile wide. This was exactly why I’d brought her over to Robert’s to see the horses.
When I’d picked her up from school, she’d looked so miserable. Apparently, she needed a bra and Locke hadn’t been much help. I’d had to choke down my laughter when she told me about the bandage incident.
After a quick trip to the city, we found what she needed, then I decided to drop in on Robert. He was busy in his shop, which gave Sara and me a chance to hang out with the horses.
“She’s so pretty,” Sara said.
“She is. Come say hello to Sprite.” In the next stall over, a small brown spotted mare watched us with soulful eyes. “Hi, girl,” I said softly, rubbing up the bridge of her nose.
Sara hesitated beside me when the horse nickered.
“It’s okay,” I told her. “That’s a good sound. You can touch her. She likes to be scratched behind the ears.”
The horse’s eyes rolled back as Sara’s tentative fingers found the spot. Giggling again, Sara leaned closer. “I like her the best.”
“Yeah? Would you like to ride her?”
Sara’s green eyes widened to the size of marbles. “No way! I can ride her?”
“Not yet. I have to get permission from your dad first.”
She nodded, but her smile didn’t waver as she turned back to the horse. Sprite leaned into Sara’s touch and I laughed.
“She really likes you,” I said.
I’d been half worried the opposite would happen, seeing how Sara was a werewolf. Or at least, half werewolf. I was glad to see the horses didn’t care one bit.
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Why don’t you like it when your dad calls you June Bug? Why does he call you that, anyway?”
Keeping her attention on Sprite, Sara shrugged her small shoulders. “My name is Sara June Winfield. I was born in June.”
“And you don’t like your nick name?”
“Not when my dad says it.”
“Why?”
She was silent for a moment, her hand rubbing up and down Sprite’s nose. “When my mom use to call me that, it felt different. She spent time with me. She loved me.”
“Oh honey,” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Your dad loves you. He just needs someone to kick him in the butt so he won’t work so much.”
Sara wiped a tear that had fallen on her cheek and giggled.
“Ladies,” a gruff voice came from behind us and I turned with a smile.
“Uncle Robert,” I greeted. Though his expression was polite enough, I could see the lingering irritation for me when his gaze narrowed on mine.
Grinning I gestured to the girl next to me. “Robert, this is Sara Winfield. She lives next door to you.”
Robert’s expression softened significantly and he tipped his cowboy hat. “Well, hello,” he said. Then he held out his hand. “Pleasure to meet ya.”
Sara shook his hand quickly, giving him a shy, “Hello.”
“I see you’ve met my girls,” he said, nodding toward Sprite and Maggie. “What do you think?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, her shyness suddenly slipping away. “I love them. Isa said she’s going to ask my dad if I can ride Sprite. If he says yes, she’s going to teach me.”
“Is that right?” Robert cut his eyes in my direction, a grin lifting one corner of his lips. “Good luck asking the grouch.”
“Robert,” I warned.
“Sorry, sorry,” he murmured. “Isa here is a good teacher. She’ll have you riding like a pro in no time.”
Sara’s eyes widened. “Are you the man my dad complains about all the time? The one who won’t sell his land?”
For a moment, no one said anything, then I turned to Robert with narrowed eyes.
“Sara, why don’t you hang out here for a moment. I need to talk with my uncle for a minute. We’ll just be right over there.” I pointed to a spot only a few steps away near the barn entrance, that way I could keep an eye on her.
“Isa,” Robert began, but I jerked my head to the side, indicating he should follow or there would be hell to pay.
With a sigh, he walked the few steps with me, then stood against the barn wall with his arms crossed.
I waited for him to explain, but when he didn’t, I asked, “You’re selling your land? When were you going to tell me?”
Robert grunted. “It’s my land, doll. I can sell it if I want to.”
I flinched at his words. “And Maggie? Sprite? What are you going to do with them?”
Robert uncrossed his arms and ran a hand over the back of his neck and my eyes narrowed. He was nervous. Why was he nervous?
“What’s going on? Do you need money?” I asked, knowing that couldn’t be true. He received a paycheck from Vitale Global just like I did.
“No, doll. I’ve got enough money. I just don’t want the upkeep anymore.”
Stepping closer, I placed a hand on his arm and looked into his weathered face. “Are you sick?”
Scowling, he said, “Yeah, I am. I’m sick of this conversation.”
With a sigh of irritation, I tried once more. “Tell me what’s going on. I know you. You wouldn’t sell your land, the same land you’ve owned all your adult life, all because you’re tired of the upkeep. You hire people to take care of the horses and other chores.”
While Robert stared out of the barn doors, a thoughtful look on his face, I glanced at Sara. She was still rubbing Sprite’s nose, looking as happy as I’d seen her.
“I’ve met someone.”
“What?” My head whipped around in Robert’s direction. “Met someone?”
“Her name is Elaine and we’re thinking of moving to Florida. Maybe doing some traveling.”
The way his voice softened around the name Elaine told me this was serious. His eyes were twinkling, for God’s sake.
“Close your mouth, doll. You’ll catch flies.”
I snapped my mouth shut and glared at my grinning uncle.
“You’ll meet her one of these days. She thinks you’ll hate her for asking me to travel with her.”
“I wouldn’t. But Robert, I don’t understand. Why do you have to sell? You can keep the house and property and still travel.”
“Just seemed easier.” He shrugged. “I was hoping you’d want it. But I hadn’t had the nerve to tell you about Elaine. Then my pain in the ass neighbor found out and he’s been bugging me ever since. I’d decided to just sell it to him when you called to tell me you moved in with the asshole.” He grumbled, cutting his eyes away.
“He’s not an asshole,” I chastised him.
He shrugged and sighed. The man was infuriating, but I lo
ved him.
After a few moments, I took a deep breath. “So, I’m looking to purchase some property. Preferably something that comes with a pretty barn and two sweet horses. Know of anything like that? I’ll pay top dollar. Throw in some frequent flyer miles…”
Robert pulled off his hat and slapped it against his jean clad thigh, giving me a grin wider than I’d seen from him in a long while. I was positive it wasn’t me offering to buy his land that had put it there, either. I couldn’t wait to meet this Elaine woman who’d stolen my uncle’s heart.
“Sold,” he said and stuck out his hand.
Laughing, I shook his hand, then pulled the old man into a hug. I was now the owner of ten acres of land. The same ten acres my makeshift mate had been stressing over for the last couple of weeks.
Should I tell Locke? Probably. Would he be upset? Definitely.
Biting my lip, I turned to watch Sara talking to Sprite. With less than a week left in our deal, I didn’t want to rock the boat. I wanted all the time I could get with both Sara and Locke. Especially since Locke had been absent a lot lately.
In fact, I’d been planning on talking to him about that. But I needed a plan.
Sara waved me over and I headed in her direction.
It would be best if I waited until the three weeks were up. Then I’d offer him a portion of the land at a substantial discount. It wasn’t like I needed the money, or all those acres, only enough for the horses.
I only hoped he’d forgive me for the slight omission.
Chapter 20
“Tell me about your parents,” I demanded as I barged into Locke’s office. He looked at me with irritation, which I ignored as I sat down on the couch.
His eyes followed the movement of my legs as I crossed them, but said nothing. That was okay, I’d wait him out.
More than two weeks of hot nights and even steamier mornings and I’d come to the conclusion that this wasn’t working. When I’d first moved in, I hadn’t been so naïve as to think that falling in love with the man I was playing house with wasn’t possible. I’d known it could happen. I’d just hoped it wouldn’t.
And I was pretty sure Locke loved me back.
However, we had a few issues to work out. One of them being that he rarely talked about himself. And worse yet, despite his growing hunger for me in the evenings, during the day he was playing absentee father again.
Just that morning he’d walked right past us while Sara and I watched a football game. And he never said a word. Didn’t even acknowledge his own daughter. I’d wanted to grab him by the ear and force him to spend time with her. But being the smart woman that I was, I knew it wouldn’t work.
Instead, I derived a plan.
Locke leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, giving me a narrowed eyed look that said he was irritated. The heat in his gaze told me the irritation was more than welcome. Holding back a smirk, I mimicked his posture and crossed my own arms.
He gave in first and sighed. “Like yours, neither of my parents are around.”
“You said your dad passed away recently. What about your mom? Is she still alive?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t a clue if she is or not. She left us just after I was born.”
The unexpected statement rattled me. My arms fell to my lap and I leaned forward. “Locke, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. Really,” he said, chuckling at the dubious look I gave him. “I dealt with those issues a long time ago. My mother was human, and like an idiot, my dad didn’t tell her what he was. When she found out, she split. It scared her. I understand that now.”
“Still, a shitty thing to do,” I murmured.
He shrugged again. “Maybe. But like I said, I’m over it.”
“And your father? How did he die?”
I followed his gaze to the window where a hummingbird circled the feeder I’d gotten for him. I’d told him at the time, that if he was going to spend so much time in his office, then he should at least have a nice view.
“My father liked to kayak on the river,” he nodded at the window to indicate the river that flowed at the back of the property. “Sometimes I joined him, but that day I hadn’t.”
“Not your fault,” I said because I had a feeling that was where this was going. But he surprised me when he shook his head.
“Oh, I know. Doesn’t mean I haven’t wished a billion times that I’d been there.” He waved his hand as though to push that confession aside. “He hadn’t gone alone, though. A friend of his went with him. My dad drowned saving his human friend. He had a weakness for humans.”
A mirthless laugh escaped his lips. “Like they say, like father, like son.”
He hadn’t intended to offend me. He was hurting, relieving the memories I’d forced him to talk about. My fault.
His gaze caught my flinch and he frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just…” He ran a shaky hand through his hair.
“It’s okay…”
“No, it’s not. That was wrong of me to say. I’m sorry.”
“I accept your apology. Please, continue?” I pleaded.
Taking a deep breath, he nodded, so I asked, “When your father died, you became the Alpha?”
“Yes. He’d been preparing me to leave and lead my own pack, but when he died, I got his job instead. I’ve never heard of a pack accepting an Alpha so young, but they did.” His expression told me he was bewildered by the idea.
“I thought you were thirty-five,” I said. “Not to sound insulting, but that’s not very young.”
Locke laughed and I was glad to see the shadows had lifted from his eyes.
“It is for a werewolf. We live very long lives.”
“Oh, yes, I remember. There was an article in Time magazine last year about the oldest living shifter. He was going on a millennium.”
“A thousand years is extremely rare, and it depends on the species, but yes, you get the idea. Most Alpha wolves don’t lead their first pack until their early fifties at least. I’m surprised my pack is willing to take a chance on me.”
And suddenly it clicked. “You’re trying to prove yourself to them.” That’s why he was always working, always searching for ways to improve pack life. Like with the purchase of more land, or building a new clinic, or whatever else he’d been trying to accomplish.
Admittedly, all those things were what I’d expect a good leader to achieve or at least try to attain. But it felt like Locke was trying to do everything at once. Which took all his time away from those he loved.
His gray eyes caught mine and he frowned. Then he stood from his chair and stalked across the room toward me, his intentions clear in his eyes. I squirmed in my seat, warring with myself. I hadn’t forgotten my goal from when I’d first walked in, but ignoring Locke’s heated stares were impossible.
He offered me his hand and I gasped when he tugged me up and into his arms in one fell swoop. Gripping his shoulders, I melted when his lips brushed mine, softly at first, then deepening. If I wasn’t careful, I would be naked and writhing in minutes.
Locke’s tongue stroked the roof of my mouth and I paused to wonder why that was such a bad thing again?
Pulling his lips away from mine, he nuzzled my neck just under my ear. “God, I love the way you smell.”
Oh, yes, now I remembered. Love. I loved him. And Sara, I realized. And the two of them needed each other. Even if things didn’t work out with Locke, this was something I could give them.
Ripping myself out of his arms was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Even more difficult was looking into his wounded gaze when I said, “I can’t do this, anymore.”
Locke
Isa slipped the purse strap over her shoulder and shook her head. “I thought this would work, but I was mistaken.”
Lust still muddying my brain, I had a hard time following the conversation.
“What do you mean?” I asked, following her out of the office. When she headed for the front door, I called her name
. “Where are you going? Are you leaving?”
She swung around, piercing me with a fiery stare. I’d become accustomed to the tight feeling in my chest whenever she looked at me, but it never failed to cause me to gasp.
“I’m in love with you, Locke. I walked into this deal with open eyes. It might have started out as an opportunity for both of us, but there was always a possibility that our hearts would get involved. How could they not? We’re living under the same roof, sleeping in the same bed…”
She shook her head once more and though there were no tears, her disappointment was clear.
“Will you ever see me as more than a body warming your bed?” she asked softly. “As more than the woman taking care of your child? And what about Sara? Doesn’t she deserve more? Like a father who is present?”
Though her eyes were dry, the pain in her voice was real. And it killed me. Killed me. The words stuck in my throat, but they were there. I just didn’t know what to do—what to say.
As the Alpha of the Wild River Pack, it was a first.
When I didn’t respond right away, her shoulders slumped and she turned for the door. My wolf panicked. She was our mate. We couldn’t let her go.
Lifting a hand as if I could physically stop her from leaving, I finally croaked out a word. “Wait.”
She stopped walking but didn’t turn around.
“Sara deserves more,” I said. “She deserves a whole hell of a lot better than me.” A father who pawned her off to whoever was willing to babysit probably wouldn’t be awarded dad of the year.
“I just don’t know how to fix it,” I admitted.
“And?” she asked.
“You’re more than a warm body in my bed, Isa. And you know it.” I growled. “You’re more than just someone who takes care of my kid. I care about you.” My voice softened as I took a step in her direction. “You’re my mate, Isa. I love you.”
My hands clenched at my sides as I waited impatiently for Isa to turn around. To run into my arms crying tears of joy on my shoulder. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to get my hands back on that ass of hers that I loved so much. Then pull her into the bedroom…
