“The rabbit,” Cara murmured, almost to herself. I absent-mindedly rubbed at my forearm. Correct.
“The second that happened, you were both marked. You were mates. Shifters mate until death, and it’s… it’s vital to our survival, and happiness. Wyatt's parents insisted on our family staying with their pack to ensure that you wouldn't escape from their son's grasp. They did not allow safe passage, but instead tried to bribe us to keep you trapped there.”
“You liar.” I was on my feet before I even realized it. “How dare you. You were mated yourself. Yes, there was a deal, a financial deal, but all of it, our keeping you in the pack, our paying your family money, was to ensure that you were safe. To ensure you had the resources to protect your family.”
“And what good that did that do? You failed us!” William roared. “My wife was murdered that very evening. I have been running with my daughter ever since. Shifters, their pack wars, their territory clashes, their emotional dependence on a mate they have no choice in, their war with those who want us exterminated like vermin, I wanted nothing more to do with that, and I didn't want my Isabel to grow up enslaved to someone she had no choice in picking.”
“Enslaved?” I saw red. “Are you telling me you were enslaved to your mate? That she was enslaved to you? That my mother is enslaved to my father? One more fucking word from you about this lie and you will pay dearly for it.”
Cara had both hands over her mouth and she was staring at the phone with tears steadily trickling down her cheeks. Her father’s bleating about how I was threatening him was quickly drowned out by her rapid-fire questions. “How did you hide from me that I’m a shifter? How could you not tell me that my own mother was murdered? How could you…” She trailed off, looked at me in horror. “If your parents tried to buy me, if my own parents sold me to be in your debt, and you tracked me down to claim that debt, how are you any different than that sheriff?”
My entire fucking life, during every shifter’s life, we are drilled with the same lesson. If you are lucky enough to find your mate, treasure them. Love them, be there for them through the end of the world. Value them, believe in them, listen to them, protect them at all costs.
“I understand why you see them as parallels, but the two situations are in no way the same. Once you understand what having a mate means, you’ll understand why your father’s wrong.”
“But I'm not a real shifter!” she burst out.
“You are.”
“I don't want to be. And yet here I am, with a man who swore he was there to help when all he cared about was getting me under his control. All of you are complicit in this. And every single one of you has proven to care more about themselves than me. I'm done. I'm done with all of you. I've always been alone. I’m fine with always being alone.”
The raw emotions pouring out of her suggested otherwise.
“I'm sorry I lied,” her father said. I wanted to punch him.
“You have lied to me over so many things, that I don't know if I can ever trust you about anything again.” She reached out and ended the call, leaving us in the kitchen with a gun, phone, and grief between us. Back to square one.
Sunlight filtered in through the kitchen window, and the occasional bird sang out despite the softly falling snow. Cara sat in a small pool of sunshine, the skin under her eyes swollen and bruised-looking, skin more gray than creamy. “I won’t stay here with you, Wyatt. I don’t belong to you.”
Yes, you do. You belong to me in the same way that I belong to you, heart, body and soul. “You can't leave. It's still snowing and you haven't slept in over a day.”
She glared at me. “Why the hell are you assuming that I’m the one leaving here?”
“So, you're going to kick me out?”
“It's what you deserve.”
I sat back in the chair, crossed my arms arrogantly across my chest. “I’m not leaving this cabin. You can’t force me, and you sure as hell aren’t going to shoot me, so come to terms with that real fast.” I learned forward again, using every ounce of seductiveness and earnestness I could muster as we locked gazes. “You felt it,” I said urgently. “You felt something fundamentally change in your world, in your own body, and in your mind when your necklace came off. I felt it, too, and it was as though someone punched me in the stomach with every emotion on the planet.”
She trembled.
“You felt it when we touched for the first time back in Seyville. You feel it every time you smell my scent on the coat I put over your shoulders, every time our bodies touch as I carried you through the night to safety, every time you stare at my lips or at my ass when my back is turned and you think I won’t notice. We’re connected.”
Her cheeks caught fire, and she dropped her gaze from mine.
“This is normal. That feeling of warmth, of belonging, of lust, feeling like you suddenly have someone at your side no matter how ugly it gets, that somehow, you’ll make it through and you’re safe in a way you never were before…all mated couples have that. Share a connection where they become entangled in so many ways unmated couples cannot.”
“Why does my father hate the idea of having a mate?”
“Your mother,” I said carefully. “Was not a second mate. When his real mate died, he felt guilty over not protecting her enough. I think… I think his second wife, whom he did love, even though it wasn’t the same, her death tipped him over. He viewed the loves he lost as something that forever ruined him. And he’s right that things were ugly when he ran. But we’ve brought peace back to many of our packs. Things are different now. Better. You’ll be happy with me. Happier than you’ve ever been before.”
“We are not a couple. You are not my mate. I don't feel anything from you in this so-called connection.” She narrowed her eyes, head shooting up again. “Unless you’ve been emotionally manipulating me? Making me feel attracted to you?”
“That steam room invitation was entirely of your own doing,” I replied silkily. Dangerously. Accusing me of manipulating her sexually was something I would not tolerate. From anyone. “And the reason you feel nothing from me is because I've been shielding it from your mind. I don't want to overwhelm you. You've been through a lot. I can feel your emotions, and I can reveal mine and also show you how to block me off in the same way that I’m doing so right now to protect you. But later. It’s too much for now.”
“Show me,” she challenged. “I'm tired of being lied to in an effort to protect me. So far, that's brought me nothing but grief.”
I stared at her. I was boiling inside with fear and anger and lust, and I didn't think it was something she should handle right now. But since it was important that I prioritize her agency over my instinctive protective tendencies, then perhaps it was time to show her just what she had been missing.
“Do you want to feel it now, or do you want me to shift and share what it feels like to run on four legs with you? Do you want me to wait until we’re fucking in the shower, as you fantasized about, so that you feel double the pleasure? Or hell, I could go out there and track down some of your enemies and take care of them, and share with you just how important it is for me to keep you safe.”
“Just show me what you're feeling now,” she snapped.
So I did.
Chapter Eight
Outside Seyville, Nebraska
Cara
I am beautiful. He can’t believe how beautiful I am, and he wonders how his heart will stand it when I learn how to shift. He wonders if my pelt will be all black or black and white, maybe black and gray. He knows my eyes will be the same clear gray. With whatever coat I end up with, I will stand out in the snow and melt into the shadows, surefooted and wild and free.