Soulfated

by Sara Summers

  6 PM.

  I felt worry rise in my chest that the police station would be closed or something, that we wouldn’t be able to get Tanner out of there for an entire night.

  But there was nothing I could do until Emma got there, so I got in the shower.

  I took the fastest shower I could, then put on a tank top and a pair of jeans. It was March, so it was a little cold outside but there wasn’t any snow or anything. The high was in the seventies.

  I started to leave my room but, on second thought, grabbed a cardigan. Walking around with my injuries on display probably wouldn’t win me any brownie points at the police station.

  I was trying to blow-dry my flat hair into looking like it had some volume when someone knocked on the door.

  Hurrying down the stairs, I froze on the steps as I watched my dad open the door with a friendly smile on his face. The whole thing was so surreal. The day before I had been a lonely caretaker, and there I was, meeting my soulmate’s family.

  I hadn’t known what would happen in my future, but I definitely hadn’t thought of that.

  “You must be Hallie’s dad.” A friendly female voice said. “I’m Emma, this is Logan. Can we come in?”

  I didn’t know what people usually did when celebrities were at their door, but I knew it probably wasn’t cool to stand on the stairs gawking.

  “Of course.” My dad held the door open for the two wolf shifters, and I could tell he was a little on guard.

  That put me on guard, because I was used to having to hold him back or take the heat when things got ugly. Plus if there was one thing my dad hated more than anything while he’d been controlled by the tumors, it was shifters.

  I think his coming at Tanner and I with a gun had proved that.

  “Hi.” I stepped off of the stairs and gave Emma the best smile I could muster up with all the craziness that was going on around me that day.

  “Hi.” Emma threw her arms around me for a big hug. “It’s so good to finally meet you. I’ve waited so long to finally have a sister.”

  I hugged her back, and while it felt strange at first, I realized that the gesture was a sweet one.

  “I’ve always wanted a sister.” I admitted.

  “Well good, because I was planning on showing up at your place with ice cream and chick-flicks whether you liked it or not.” She let go of me with a big smile on her place.

  “Welcome to the family, Hallie.” Logan gave me a quick hug.

  “Thanks.” I smiled tentatively, still unsure what I was supposed to do around these people or who they expected me to be. There was time to worry about that later though, because first I had to get my soulmate out of jail.

  “My ride is here, Hallie.” My dad gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Apologize to Tanner for me.” He left without waiting for any more of a goodbye, and it made me a little worried to watch him go. I still felt sure that his mental clarity was only temporary. If Tanner hadn’t been sitting in a police station, I would’ve spent as much time with him as I possibly could before I lost him to the tumors again.

  As the door closed, I pulled off my cardigan to show Emma and Logan why Tanner was in jail. Both of them gawked when they saw the bruises and my swollen shoulder, which were sufficiently hidden by my hair and sweater.

  “My dad has tumors all over his brain. I don’t know why he seems better right now, but he’s usually a completely different person. One of the symptoms is that he can’t control his emotions, anger specifically. He came at us with a gun and Tanner tackled me to save me from getting shot. I hit the ground wrong and this happened.” I gestured to my shoulder.

  “He lost his temper again a few hours later and pushed me against the wall, that’s what the other bruises are from.” I pulled up the cardigan. “I was wearing a tank top earlier and we were sitting on the porch, the cops saw me and just assumed that Tanner hurt me, so they took him away.” I summarized the events leading up to his arrest as quickly as I could.

  “We’ll take care of it.” Logan promised.

  “Do you feel comfortable going with us, or would you rather wait here?” Emma checked. I thought it was really nice of her to ask, because honestly, waiting at my house sounded fantastic.

  I’d just met Tanner, after all, and I knew hardly anything about him. If I showed up to the police station I had no idea what I’d say to him.

  But if I didn’t go, I would be worried and feel guilty, and I didn’t want to do that.

  Still, I appreciated that she cared what made me comfortable.

  “I’m the reason he’s there, I have to go.”

  Emma nodded, and I noticed the way she was looking at me, like she respected me or was proud of me or something.

  “Then let’s go.”

  Nine

  “Is Tanner going to be mad at me?” I asked Emma and Logan, as he pulled the car out of my driveway.

  “Probably not. I’ve only ever seen him mad when another person threatens or hurts someone he loves.” Logan figured.

  “Yeah, but it’s not like I burnt his pancakes. I got him arrested.” I lifted my hand to my forehead, suddenly worried that I might not have a soulmate after everything with the cops was over. I’d just barely met him, and I didn’t want to lose him.

  “Yeah.” Emma shrugged. “I left Logan, though, and he’s still here.” She elbowed him a little, and he grimaced. “Twice.”

  My eyes widened.

  “I didn’t even know that was possible. I thought guys can find their soulmate wherever she is at all times.”

  “We can, but I let her go. Believe me, getting arrested doesn’t even land on the same chart as losing your soulmate. If you’d gotten him arrested and then ran for the hills, this would be a different story. As it is, the wolf in him still feels like he’s protecting you.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, looking out the window. “He’s obsessed with protecting me.” I muttered.

  Logan and Emma both grinned, and then Emma turned in her seat to face me.

  “I’m sure he’s going to be annoyingly overprotective for the rest of your life, but right now he has a reason to be.”

  She gestured to me, and I knew she was talking about both the bruises she’d seen and the ones that she hadn’t seen but had realized were there.

  My face heated a little.

  “I wasn’t trying to get hurt.” I protested.

  “If you were trying to get hurt he would’ve tied you to a tree by now.” Logan grinned, and Emma rolled her eyes while I raised my eyebrows. Tied to a tree? That didn’t exactly sound like a soulmate who loved me more than anything.

  “Look, Tanner is more accepting of his wolf side than anyone else I know, Cody included.” It took a second for me to remember that Cody was his twin brother, but I kept up with what she was saying. “He’s a stubborn pain in the—you know, this is coming out wrong.”

  “She’s trying to say that male wolves will do whatever it takes to keep their females safe, especially Tanner.” Logan summarized.

  “Right. When a shifter loses his soulmate, he typically loses his mind and his humanity along with her. We call it going rabid.” Emma took over again. “Someone with as much dominance as Tanner could tear apart an entire pack if he lost himself. He knows that so he’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, not only for you but for everyone else’s sake too.”

  “Dominance? What is that?” I frowned, completely confused by the conversation.

  Logan pulled the car in front of the police station.

  “We’ll explain better when we’re done here.” Emma apologized, as we all got out of the car. “Tanner only means well, Hallie. Just take my word for it for now.”

  All thoughts of dominance and rabid shifters left my mind as we walked into the police station. I followed behind Emma and Logan, looking around in hopes that Tanner was just sitting in one of the chairs at the entrance. I hoped that the cops had just let him go and nothing was going to have to go down before we got him out.

&
nbsp; Of course, that was just plain old wishful thinking.

  Ten

  “Let me make something very clear, Mr. Kross. I’m leaving with my brother ten minutes from now or I will sue your department for discrimination. You have no proof that he hurt his soulmate; if you would bother to check, you would realize that the bruises on her arms are proof that he didn’t hurt her. His hands are twice as big as the ones who did this.” Emma gestured to me.

  She’d had me take off my cardigan so the cops would take us further into their station where we could refuse to take no for an answer without strangers snapping pictures of us because of hers and Logan’s fame.

  “No, it’s not discrimination, it’s just—“ the cop protested, but he stopped when Logan took a step closer.

  “I can make one call right now and have every social media platform talking about Nevada’s hatred for shifters. I doubt you would be allowed to keep your job when word gets out that you’re keeping people in your holding cells when there’s proof that they didn’t do what you’re accusing them of.” His voice was full of warning.

  The cop finally shook his head and looked at his partner.

  “We can at least put his hand up to her arm to see if it was his.” He said, though anyone could tell he was reluctant.

  “Alright. I’ll be right back.” The partner grudgingly agreed.

  He left us with the one cop in a room that was so tense I could’ve eaten the tension for dinner.

  When he finally came back with Tanner a few minutes later, I felt relieved in a way I couldn’t even explain. He met my gaze and, though he didn’t smile, when he nodded once at me I knew he was okay and that everything was going to be fine.

  I hadn’t realized how much I needed to feel that.

  “Put your hand next to the bruises on her arm.” The cop ordered, pushing Tanner forward a little.

  I was impressed when none of the wolves growled at that.

  Tanner lifted his hand beside the finger-shaped bruises on my arm, and it was clear to everyone in the room that there was no way he could’ve been the one who hurt me. His hands were massive compared to the small bruises from my dad’s frail hands.

  His fingers barely tickled the side of arm. When I had to bite back a smile, I realized something.

  I wanted to be with him. Not because I liked the way it felt when he touched me, though I definitely liked it, and not because I missed having human connection. The man standing in front of me had gotten arrested for something my father had done and yet there he was, doing his best to make sure I wasn’t nervous and that I felt safe.

  I’d never heard of a guy like that before, and I’d definitely never expected one to show up at my door insisting that we were soulmates and refuse to leave.

  But if a man as good as that was refusing to leave my side and insisting that we were meant to be together, I would’ve been insane to keep pushing him away.

  So I decided that I would stop pretending not to be attracted to him, I would stop pretending I didn’t want to be with him.

  The idea that Tanner wanted to be with me too made my heart so full it almost hurt.

  “You’re free to go.” The cop pulled me out of my thought.

  “Thank you.” Tanner took my hand and led me out of the room.

  “I’ll make sure your superiors know that you’re making arrests without a shred of proof. You’re supposed to help people, not make their lives harder.” Emma glared at the men.

  I had a feeling she would’ve had more to say if Logan hadn’t dragged her out of that police station.

  Logan and Emma took their seats in the front while Tanner and I slid into the bad seat of the car. He wasn’t a small guy, so he took up a lot more space than I did.

  “Thanks for coming, guys.” Tanner said, as Logan pulled away from the police station.

  “We would’ve come even if you hadn’t gotten arrested. You know I was dying to meet Hallie.” Emma looked back at us with a smile. “Besides, we’re family.”

  “Never mind that we still owe you for getting us together in the first place.” Logan remarked.

  Tanner grinned and Emma rolled her eyes.

  “Don’t remind him.” She complained to her soulmate, who just pulled her hand up to his lips for a quick kiss.

  “How did you get them together?” I asked, curiosity winning over my inclination to be quiet and just listen.

  “The first time Emma ditched Logan, she wouldn’t answer his calls or texts. I stole her phone and pretended to be her boyfriend.” He explained, still grinning.

  “And he showed up at your house?” I raised my eyebrows.

  “Ready to rip a few heads off.” Emma nodded.

  “With flowers and chocolates.” Logan had to stand up for himself, of course.

  “You were that jealous?” I could hardly believe that was what made him show up at her doorstep.

  “Wolves don’t share.” Logan shrugged.

  “And if you think that’s jealous, just wait until you’re on pack land and some guy stares at your butt after you shift. Tanner’s going to be way worse.” Emma smirked when her brother protested.

  “No one will look at her butt.” Tanner shook his head and met my eyes. “No one will look at your butt.” He reassured me.

  He didn’t need to reassure me because I honestly didn’t care who looked at my butt; it was just a butt.

  “They will look.” Logan agreed with Emma. “Every time we go back to the pack, they always look. I just like watching them realize that fantastic butt belongs to me.”

  He and I both laughed when Emma smacked him on the arm.

  “Pretty sure this fantastic butt only belongs to me.” Emma looked up at her soulmate through her extremely long eyelashes, which I hadn’t noticed until then. “But like I said, just look at him.” She gestured to Tanner, and I looked.

  His face was red and he looked a little worried.

  “It’s all your fault, Hallie. If you didn’t have a great butt, no one would want to look at it.”

  Logan glanced at Tanner in the rearview mirror.

  “Alright, let’s change the subject before Tanner shifts in here.” He suggested. “Hallie, what is there to eat in this tiny town?”

  “Umm…” I actually wasn’t sure. It had been a long time since I’d gone out to eat, it costed more than my dad and I could afford.

  “Oh, look at that. The Steakhouse. How generic, let’s try it.” Emma pointed to a little restaurant as we passed it.

  “Only you would want to try someplace generic.” Logan shook his head at her while he turned the car in a U-turn.

  “Sometimes the people who can’t come up with good names make the best food. You’ll see, just wait.” She and her soulmate exchanged bright-eyed glances.

  When I saw the way they looked at each other, I took Tanner’s hand.

  He met my eyes for a second, and I could see that he was surprised. While the car’s small back seat forced us to sit fairly close to each other, we hadn’t held hands or touched at all during the ride.

  When I gave Tanner a tentative smile, he squeezed my hand.

  I’m sure he was wondering what had changed my mind. I hadn’t exactly been open with him earlier in the day, after all. So what had changed my mind?

  I’d seen the way Logan and Emma looked at each other, the way they knew each other so well and teased each other and talked to each other. I’d seen what they had, and I wanted that.

  “Hey, give us a second.” Tanner told his sister and her soulmate, holding my hand to stop me from getting out of the car.

  “We’ll get a table.” Logan tossed Tanner the keys to the car and the two of them headed inside the restaurant.

  “You okay?” he checked.

  “You were the one who almost wolfed out in the car a few minutes ago.” I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure of what to say and how much of what I was thinking I should tell him.

  “What happened with your dad after I left?” he wasn’t rolling
with my teasing him, taking the serious route instead.

  “He’s better.” I admitted.

  “What?” Tanner’s forehead got all wrinkly as he frowned.

  “He’s the one who called the cops. He got up a few minutes after I went out onto the porch with you and he’s back to the guy he was three years ago, he doesn’t even remember the last three years.” I figured he at least deserved to know what was going on.

  “That’s insane.” He looked shocked. I couldn’t hold it against him because I was still a little in shock myself, especially after my dad had almost killed us twice that day.

  “I know. I’m sure it won’t last, maybe one of the tumors moved somehow when he hit his head and the symptoms will just change again.” I figured.

  “Hallie, do you want to go home and be with him? If this isn’t permanent, you need to spend as much time with him as you can while he’s like this.” Tanner touched the side of my arm with the hand I wasn’t still holding.

  “He went to get some brain scans at the hospital, he doesn’t want me with him right now. He said I put my life on pause for long enough.”

  “Wow.” Tanner nodded slowly. “And what about this?” he lifted our linked hands a little. “You were telling me to get away from you last time I saw you.”

  He thought he had to remind me about that, but he didn’t. Tanner getting arrested was something I’d never forget.

  “I saw Emma and Logan. They’re perfect for each other.” I gestured to the front seat, where they had been a few minutes earlier.

  “They’re soulmates, of course they’re perfect for each other.”

  “Exactly. We’re soulmates too, so if they can be like that so can we.” I wrapped my second hand around his that I was holding and pulled his hand closer. “You asked me what I wanted this to turn into. I want this to become like that.” I used my head to gesture toward the restaurant.

  “Really?” Tanner asked, a smile threatening to make an appearance.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, hugging me tightly.