Chapter 2
TWO
Crew
I can’t believe this is happening.
Here.
Now.
I’ve finally found my fated mate, and I didn’t even have to go looking for her. She just wandered into my station.
What are you waiting for? My bear snarls. Go claim her.
“Mate,” I grunt at her as I close the distance between us.
“You,” she breathes as we stop right in front of each other.
My bear is going crazy, and I can already feel my teeth starting to elongate, getting ready to bite and mark her. I can smell her arousal, and it only heightens my own. It’s the night of the full moon, and the need to bite her is extreme.
“You’re mine,” she whispers, and I nod.
“And you’re mine.”
We stare at each other, my green eyes searching hers, and then we’re both moving. I brush her hair away as my teeth sink into the tender skin at the base of her neck. I moan as I feel her teeth sinking into my neck, and a flood of emotions washes over me. Relief at finally having my mate, arousal, and a sense of completeness. We finally have our fated mate. We’re mated.
“Where are you staying?” I ask her urgently. I need to get her alone so that we can be mated fully.
We’re alone right now, my bear points out, and I like how he thinks, but I don’t want my first time with my mate to be in a police station.
We can save that for a later time , my bear agrees, and I bite back a grin.
“I don’t,” she starts. “I just got to town, just moved here, I mean. I don’t have a place yet.”
“Great. You can move in with me.”
“I--…okay.”
“Good,” I say, leaning down and kissing her cheek. “My shift is over in a few, so I’ll just grab my things, and we can go.”
I can’t stop smiling as I go back to my desk and log off of my computer. Tucker is on call tonight, but I still grab my walkie in case he needs me for anything. Then I’m turning and heading back to my mate.
It feels crazy to even think that. I’ve been searching for my mate since I was eighteen with no luck. I can’t believe that she just came in here, that she found me.
She must have been looking for us too, my bear points out, and I nod.
I head back to my mate and take her hand in mine.
“Ready to go home?” I ask her, and she nods, smiling up at me shyly.
“Yeah. I’m Vera, by the way.”
Smooth, my bear says. You didn’t even ask her for her name.
“Shit, sorry. I’m Crew. I just, this isn’t how I expected to find my mate. It’s throwing me off,” I admit, and she smiles.
“Me too. I just didn’t want to keep calling you my mate in my head,” she says with a laugh.
I lead her over to my car, and she looks around as we cross the parking lot.
We could take her in the backseat of the car, my bear suggests, and I ignore him.
We’re ten minutes from home. Let’s make this good for her, I tell him.
“I can give you a tour tomorrow if you want,” I offer, and she nods.
“I’d like that.”
I open the passenger door for her, and she slips past me into my car. I breathe deeply, inhaling her sweet, orange blossom scent. Once she’s inside, I close the door and then round the hood to climb behind the wheel.
“I live a few miles up the road,” I tell her as I start the car.
“I’ve never been in a police car before,” she says, looking around the backseat.
“I’ll take that as a good sign,” I say with a laugh. “I’m guessing no arrest record then?”
“No. I’m pretty boring, and I’m a total homebody. I’ve never done anything exciting or worth being arrested for.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” I tell her, and she nods.
“What about you? Any criminal history?” She asks me, and I shake my head.
“No, I’m an upstanding citizen.”
I turn the car onto my street, and we cruise past some fields and one other house before I turn into the driveway.
“This is home,” I tell Vera as I park.
“It’s nice. Really nice.”
“Where are you from?” I ask her as we climb out.
“Oh, this tiny town up north. You’ve probably never heard of it,” she says vaguely. “How long have you lived here?”
“A few years. I moved here with my best friend, Tucker. He’s the sheriff of this town.”
“And you’re his Deputy?”
“Yep. Less responsibility,” I joke, and she laughs.
“You don’t want to be in charge?” She asks me curiously.
“Nah, I don’t mind. He doesn’t treat me as less than him, and this pack and town are so small that we don’t really have to do much anyway.”
I unlock the front door and usher her in ahead of me. She looks around, and I close the door and take her hand again.
“Come on. I’ll show you around.”
I take off my belt and set it and the walkie-talkie down on the front table by the door. Then we head further into the living room.
“So, the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and an office are all down here,” I tell her as I lead her around.
“It’s nice. Did you just move in?”
“No, I just don’t have much furniture. We can fix that now that you’re here. You can get whatever you want to decorate or fill the space. I know that it’s pretty bare.”
“A little bit, but I like the style and the wall color.”
“Thanks. Come on, I’ll show you around upstairs.”
We head up to the second floor, and I lead her down the hallway, showing her the guest rooms that are empty and the bathroom.
“And this is our room,” I tell her, nudging the door open.
We stand in the open doorway, both of us seeming to hold our breaths as she looks inside. Her eyes lock on the window, where you can clearly see the full moon, and I lick my lips.
“Vera,” I whisper, and she looks at me, her green eyes heated and filled with lust.
I’m sure that my eyes look the same.
This is probably fast to most people, but we’re both shifters. We trust fate and know that we’re meant for each other. Vera is the person that I will spend the rest of my life with. She’s perfect for me in every way. Nothing will take her away from me.
I want her and she wants me, and tonight, on the night of the full moon, we’ll claim each other.
“Mate,” she growls, and I grin as we both lunge for each other.